The Pink Project

Click Here to Launch the Pink Project Concept

The rich cultural community of the Lower 9th Ward was devastated in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Although prayers poured out for the fallen victims of the storm, unfortunately the initiatives to rebuild this once vibrant area have fallen short. As a catalyst for positive change and the inaugural event for the Make It Right initiative, the Pink Project represents opportunities hidden within this tragedy and focuses attention on the plight of the Lower 9th.  Pink is a virtual city of Hope. A hybrid of art, architecture, cinema and media, Pink is conceived as an informational, commemorative, communication tool which raises awareness and activates individual participation to heal local wounds in need of global aid.

While filming a movie in New Orleans, Brad Pitt noticed a pink fabric house that was being used as part of the set.  He perceived the visual potency of pink houses as a metaphor. Working together with GRAFT, the idea was born to merge film and architecture into an installation that would bring immediate global attention to a pervasive local issue. The scenes within the assembly create emotive storyboards containing perspectives rich with history and memories. Like a tangram puzzle, the components of each house lay haphazard at the installation's commencement. It is only through monetary donations that these pink placeholders will become reassembled, registering the effects of a collective consciousness, ultimately enabling the construction of 150 real homes. Pink, a symbol rich with the promise of homes that will be constructed for the community of the Lower 9th, resonates with an immediate and cogent message: "They have not been forgotten."

The simple legibility of the pink monopoly house reassembled from smaller individual components intentionally focuses attention on a problem of manageable scale, allowing the individual to physically participate in the installation through donations. Contributions become incorporated into the built environment through architectural assembly. In this, there is a transformation from an individual American Dream into a collective one. Real beauty arises from harnessing the power of global awareness and global helplessness and providing an outlet.  Pink is an opportunity to interact meaningfully with the world by rebuilding a torn cultural fabric.

Pink does not dwell on the past but rather empowers the future. Through the immediate potency of the spectacle, aided by local and global media, it attempts to disassociate itself from the negative connotations of that which has failed. Creating a call to action filled with hope and promise, Pink generates an armature robust enough to enable the outpouring of individuals into a collective effort striving for positive change—Reversing the diaspora and bringing people home.

Click Here to Launch the Pink Project Concept