South Central Los Angeles represents one of the areas in Los Angeles hardest hit by COVID-19. In light of the challenges of the past year, the four South L.A. neighborhoods of Hyde Park, Leimert Park Village, Exposition Park and Willowbrook are featured in a collaborative art project titled, Creating Our Next LA, led by artist Dominique Moody. Each of these communities hosted online story circles in March and April, organized by local high school and college students. The process documented the narratives of residents in their neighborhoods, and how they envision their community now and in the future. Having lived through the acute impact of the pandemic, discussions addressed the collective and personal impacts on our mental health.
The narratives from these story circles were shared with eight local visual artists—from portrait painters to muralists—who collaborated with lead artist Dominique Moody, the project photographer and poet to create multi-layered, multi-dimensional life-sized portraits inspired by the storytellers. Fabricated for an outdoor public setting, the community artworks are located in the respective communities in which the storytellers reside, and with the full series on view outside of the California African American Museum. These sites present a total of sixteen artworks in public spaces on view during the month of May.
Additional project credits:
Lead Artist: Director Dominique Moody
Participating Artists: Moses Ball, Dezmond Crockett, Noni Olabisi, Brittney Price, Amani Holbert, Kayla Shelton and Floyd Strickland
Poet: S. Pearl Sharp
Photography: Halline Overby
Art Tech support: Marina Scott and Khari Scott
Art Subjects: Robbye, Kareem, Marie, Sequoia, Minna , Luna, Rose and George
“It is our stories that have always enabled our survival, given us the ability to understand our strength, and to envision a better tomorrow.”
-Dominique Moody
“I like nothing better than to bring the voices of the community to life, the more we do this, the more dynamic our communities become.”
-Moses Ball
