Kevin Beasley Creates an Installation That Will Continue To Bring A Community Together for Years To Come

Alum discusses his process and inspiration for an installation in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans with CBS Saturday Morning. 

Kevin Beasley (‘07, Art Practice) was selected to create an installation for Prospect New Orleans, a contemporary art triennial that invites artists from all over the world to create projects in a variety of venues throughout New Orleans.

Beasley’s work has been featured in two Prospect.5 venues, the Contemporary Arts Center CAC, and a property in the Lower Ninth Ward. Both locations hold related parts to an expansive project centered on the purchase of a plot of land in the Lower Ninth Ward.

The Lower Ninth Ward was a predominantly Black-owned community, and that changed after Hurricane Katrina. A lot of owners didn’t return after the Hurricane, and homes were bought out by newcomers.

Beasley came up with the idea to purchase the land because the premise was to think about what Black land ownership had looked like. He hopes to welcome the people within the community in subtle ways by adding electrical outlets to charge phones and equipping the lot with wifi, too.

“It’s not only a project that people can experience now, but one that they can come back to and see its evolution.”

Prospect New Orleans held its 5th edition “Yesterday We Said Tomorrow” from Oct. 23, 2021 to Jan. 23, 2022. The exhibition focused on the unspoken present, the place where the past and future come together, and where other courses of action become possible change.