Afrofuturist outdoor sculpture park to be built in Los Angeles
Acclaimed Los Angeles artist Lauren Halsey is bringing a futuristic sculpture park to her native South Central, Los Angeles.
Freshly released renderings of her plans show that the coming park will be another cerebral and striking blend of the Afrofuturist and Ancient Egyptian aesthetics that she had become lauded for doing so with such impact.
As it stands, it appears that the new work will be closely related to that of the revered rooftop installation, the eastside of south central los angeles hieroglyph prototype architecture, which arrived on The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Roof Garden in 2023.
Specifically designed to be inhabited by visitors to the museum, who could explore first-hand the tangible connections to Ancient Egypt, utopian 1960s architecture and contemporary visual expressions, it probed how people seek to take ownership of public places. One graffiti-style message on a wall read: “Unite gangs / Unite the poor / Stop gentrification”.
Regarding that project, the Met’s former head of Modern and contemporary art, Sheena Wagstaff, who also initially commissioned it, told The Art Newspaper that it was “extraordinary”. She continued: “I think Lauren tested this institution more than any other artist I’ve worked with, except Doris Salcedo at Tate Modern, but that’s what she should do and why we’re here.”
The new temporary outdoor installation coming to Los Angeles is titled, sister dreamer, lauren halsey’s architectural ode to tha surge n splurge of south central los angeles. It is curated by the co-founder of the Los Angeles Nomadic Division (Land), Christine Y. Kim, who the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project supports in her efforts.
Building on the strides of her Met installation, the coming project further explores Black culture through the lens and language of dynastic antiquity and “approved” heritage to elevate Black art. To do so, eight sphynxes and eight columns featuring the face of Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of beauty, maternity and sensuality, will be cast. In true style, the busts will feature motivational phrases and pictures of community leaders.
The park will be open to the public in the spring next year and will be there until autumn 2026.
In July 2020, Halsey and childhood friend Korina Matyas started Summaeverythang, an initiative to bring organic produce to working-class parts of Los Angeles. They revealed this week that they are opening a community centre in South Central, and according to the announcement, it will be “committed to fostering personal growth, educational opportunities, and holistic well-being for individuals of all backgrounds”.
