The Atlantic Ave Art House functioned as a content creation studio from 2016-2021 in Old Algiers, New Orleans, LA. The space was used for photo/video shoots, collaborative meetings, brunches, dinner parties, product fabrication and more. Every six weeks at minimum, the Art House underwent an aesthetic and/or atmospheric transformation, so no two projects had the same set. The space constantly changed but never felt unfinished, always aligning with the objectives of the creator in question.
History
The Westbank has long been ostracized by New Orleanians. It’s the place nobody goes. Algiers Point was often the first place enslaved Africans stepped foot upon arrival and at one point, had the densest population of African people in the region. Most were enslaved and detained until they crossed the river to meet their fate at the auction. Others dispersed throughout the swampland on the Westbank and made a free life for themselves (from Cierra Chenier’s Algiers is very much New Orleans; was often the soil where enslaved ancestors first stepped foot). Fast forward 300 years and you’ll find Algiers Point to be majority white and highly priced. This doesn’t mean the descendants of enslaved Africans disappeared. They are still very much present on the Westbank and so are their stories.
Spirit will not be silenced.
When I first arrived in New Orleans, Algiers Point is where I landed. The neighborhood cradled me as I moved sometimes silently, sometimes violently through my own rebirth and resurrection. Through the lens of my home - the textures, the color palette, the bookshelves - I witnessed myself transforming. Before Spatial Therapy was ever a business, it was a spiritual practice. It was the acknowledgement that the house is a mirror and reflects back to you the things you’re willing to see, be they light and lovely or heavy and ugly. In time, I grew more comfortable being witnessed in this process and opened the space to trusted confidants.
During its five year run, the Art House welcomed creatives from California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Texas, Tennessee and Washington D.C. It became a place where black creatives gathered to politic and pour into each other.
We felt powerful in that space.
We felt beautiful.
We felt free.
We felt safe and held when it was time to talk about heartache, ancestral trauma and the ways we constantly wrestle with the idea of freedom. We were empowered to re-imagine the future as we see fit for ourselves and our families.
Fortress
Affectionately referred to as the Fortress, the 800 square-foot shotgun home was equipped with ample parking, a front porch, full kitchen, full bath, laundry and an outdoor garden. The front room, where visitors met and gathered, had no TV. This intentional design decision made some uncomfortable while others never noticed and easefully fell into conversation.
View still shots and footage from some of our projects below.
