Project Row Houses: How art is transforming part of Third Ward

HOUSTON, TX (KTRK) -- As COVID19 concerns continue, many community leaders are adapting to help those in need deal with the virus.

"Project Row Houses" is a non-profit artistic community housing project in Houston's Third Ward.

The non-profit's art houses, community gallery, and administrative offices have been closed since March, and now administrators are working with residents to find financial and health resources they need.

"There are dire warnings that a third of cultural institutions may not re-open after this," Eureka Gilkey, the non-profit's executive director said. "What does that mean for us? How can we ensure that Project Row Houses exists in perpetuity?"

The place began to transform into an artistic community in 1993.

More than 80 households now live in renovated row houses. Affordable housing and small business programs mean that many families have been in the same homes for generations.

"Part of what we seek is to preserve the rewrite the narrative is on what a shotgun style house is," Gilkey explained. "Most people have heard the urban legend of a shotgun style house being called shotgun because if a slave tried to escape, the slave owner could shoot a shotgun style through unobstructed, when in actuality, it is architectural ingenuity brought over by enslaved people.

More info: https://projectrowhouses.org/