Solidary & Solitary
Roll Out the Red Carpet to White Flight (They Didn't Pitch Tents in the Open Prairie)
red loop carpet
variable
2019
Mimicking lanes on a highway, this site-specific red carpet runs out of the gallery doors and into the museum's lobby. The installation extends from an examination of the history of white flight in Chicago, in which white homeowners left south side neighbors when black families began moving in during the 1950s and 60s. The title is derived from an excerpt of an article written by Chicago-based author and journalist, Natalie Y. Moore. Moore was my collaborator for the works produced in this exhibition.
"White families didn't pitch tents in the open prairie. Their choice to leave was eased by the federal government, which rolled out the red carpet to new communities outside of the city by building highways." --Natalie Y. Moore