Transforming Vacant Properties Into Creative Hubs for Communities

Scarlett A. Martin shares news of the House Life Project, a creative approach to neighborhood revitalization in the city of Indianapolis.

"The HLP launched in 2015 as a community of artists and residents who use abandoned houses to create art in the St. Clair Place neighborhood," writes Martin. DePauw University professor and Indianapolis-based artist Meredith Brickell leads the initiative, partnering with the non-profit land bank Renew Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art.

"Each year, the HLP hosts several resident artists from spring to fall at one abandoned home," explains Martin. "Artists are tasked with much more than installing an exhibit; they host weekly porch parties with neighborhood residents and lead arts-based programming at the HLP site." So exhibits could include a theater performance, other types of performance art, and the creation of physical objects like ceramics. So far, HLP is only operating in one house at a time, which allows the artists and the program as a whole to focus on "building relationships and serving as a creative hub for the community."