In 2017, the bronze statue of Confederate president Jefferson Davis, which symbolized the history of slavery, segregation and racism in the South, was craned from its perch in Mid-City and hauled away from public view.
The wide, tree-lined parkway where the statue stood for 115 years still bore Davis’ name until 2021, when it was renamed in honor of Dr. Norman C. Francis, former president of Xavier University.
Symbolically speaking, an era had finally ended. And another had started, as artists began appropriating the pedestal where Davis once reigned as context for their own alternative artworks.
Two sculptures and a Black masking Indian suit have appeared where the Davis bronze once stood. All were anti-racist expressions.
Artist kai lumumba barrow has created a conceptual artwork titled “Abolitionist Playground,’ meant to confront New Orleans’ history of racism.
Two blocks of contemplation
The most recent artist to confront New Orleans’ troubling history is kai lumumba barrow, a Chicago native who has lived in New Orleans for more than a decade.
The artist’s “Abolitionist Playground” is a two block-long gravel trail studded with conceptual sculpture. It begins at Norman C. Francis Parkway and Bienville Street and ends at the former Davis monument at Canal Street.
On Friday (Sept. 22) at 6 p.m., barrow will lead a tour of the trail, starting on the Bienville Street end. The tour will conclude at 7 p.m. at Canal Street where a reception with live music, vegan snacks and beverages will continue until 9 p.m.
‘Abolitionist Playground,’ by kai lumumba barrow is a conceptual artwork meant to confront New Orleans’ history of racism. Assemblages of weathered doorways represent entryways and barriers.
Untraditional sculpture
The carefully laid gravel trail, crossed with wooden planks, is meant to honor Harriet Tubman and other heroes of the Underground Railroad, the legendary secret routes used by enslaved people to escape the South.
The “Railroad” is obstructed with walls made of repurposed doors, shutters, and gateways that seem to represent both portals and obstructions. The gravel trail splits near the small pedestal that once held a marble bust of Confederate hero Charles Didier Dreux, which has been piled with concrete rubble.
The “Abolitionist Playground” pathway ends at the former Davis monument plinth, which has been piled with an avalanche of authentic-looking gray boulders made from foam, seemingly meant to celebrate the crumbling of the Confederacy.
Artist barrow was unavailable for an interview for this story. But an online essay accompanying the artwork concludes with the statement: “In community, we aim to carve out new paths among the rubble, ruins, and routes of these inherited systems of exploitation and abuse. With radical and liberatory imagination, we build anew.”
The “Abolitionist Playground” sculpture trail will remain in place until March. For more information, visit the exhibit website.
‘Abolitionist Playground,’ by kai lumumba barrow is a conceptual artwork meant to confront New Orleans’ history of racism. A pedestal that once held a Confederate war hero is part of the two block long presentation.
More public artwork to come
The Abolitionist Playground was the first of three outdoor artworks sponsored by Prospect New Orleans, the triennial international art exhibit. Each project in the Artists of Public Memory Commission received between $40,000 and $50,000 to complete the project.
Before the end of the year, look for an earth mound with a stickball field and native plant gardens, to arise on the Lafitte Greenway near Galvez Street, created by The Intertribal Collective. And look for a photo/sculpture installation dedicated to the Lower 9th Ward community by Chandra McCormick and Keith Calhoun, to be installed near the intersection of N. Claiborne Avenue and Flood Street.
For more information, visit the Prospect New Orleans website.
‘Abolitionist Playground,’ by kai lumumba barrow is a conceptual artwork meant to confront New Orleans’ history of racism. Part of the installation is a pile of authentic looking concrete boulders piled on the plinth that once held a statue of Confederate president Jefferson Davis.
