Planning, art and community participation converge across the Industrial Canal.

While the Lower Ninth Ward’s Holy Cross neighborhood is in no danger of becoming “gentrified” anytime soon, there’s definitely a renewed interest and vitality that wasn’t there before.  Prospect.1 included numerous sites in the Lower 9, which resulted in a lot of people moving in and around neighborhoods that were familiar only to their residents.  Now, over the last few years, more and more folks have been venturing across the Industrial Canal.  It seems odd, then, that Prospect.2 only has one venue in the Lower 9 this year, the Art House on the Levee, which houses Art by Committee: A Collaborative Installation by New Orleans artist Robert Tannen. 

While the venues and artists for P.2 have been scaled back significantly from the inaugural event in 2008, that’s not necessarily the primary reason for Prospect’s noticeable absence for the neighborhood.  Back in July, Prospect director Dan Cameron told NoDef, “The story of the Lower 9th Ward is a very different story in 2011.”  While he felt like Prospect.1 succeeded in bringing people out to places like Holy Cross, “having done that,” he said, “I don’t think there’s any need to do it again.”

Maybe he’s right.  Earlier this year, plans for a development in the neighborhood were announced that would bring a supermarket to the area, in addition to affordable housing for teachers.  Groups like Global Green have joined Make It Right to build more sustainable housing, and efforts are being made to restore wetlands along Bayou Bienvenue.

Still, it’s nice to see that Prospect hasn’t abandoned the Lower 9 altogether, and the Art House on the Levee is a great excuse for visitors and local alike to take a look at what’s happening in the neighborhood. Tannen is also an ample guide. He moved here in 1969, and had his foot in many disciplines around the city.

"I came here not as an artist but as a planner working on the redevelopment after the storm, but I've been an artist all my life as well so let's call it parallel courses of activity; one is art and the other is working in the urban and environmental areas in planning and related fields." Tannen said.

The Art House is a shotgun double at 4725 Dauphine Street that’s in the process of being renovated. The side that houses the exhibition will become Tannen’s studio, and the other side will be rented out as a residence. On the walls of the studio side are canvasses, actually two large drop clothes, where Tannen, other artists, and even visitors to the Art House are able to pick up a brush and contribute to the work. 

“The idea is that art by committee means the product will be the result of people working together over time," he said. "That's my general view of the arts is that we participate together and learn from each other and collaborate.”

While the final product may lack the finesse of high art, the concept fits squarely within Prospect’s mission of bringing people together to celebrate the spirit of the city and contribute to New Orleans’ visual arts culture.  Tannen has also received permission from the Army Corps of Engineers to host events on the levee outside of the house during Prospect 2. Other installations around town might be more carefully conceived or more provocative, but few allow such active participation, and Art by Committee is the only Prospect.2 exhibit that gives people a reason to cross the St. Claude Bridge.