COMPLETION DATE
August 2023
LOCATION
African American Library at the Gregory School
1300 Victor St
Houston, TX 77019
District C
CLIENT
City of Houston
SPONSORING DEPARTMENT
Houston Public Library
PROJECT BUDGET
$235,000.00
The Meditative Space: Barbara Jordan Monument
Jamal Cyrus & Charisse Pearlina Weston
Project Description
The Houston Public Library designated an exterior location for a stunning large-scale artwork honoring the life and legacy of the esteemed educator and civic leader Barbara Jordan. The artist team Jamal Cyrus and Charisse Weston were chosen for this prestigious commission.
The Meditative Space is an evocative transformation of the lawn to the right of the Gregory School Library’s entrance. This monument invites visitors to step into a realm of reflection, contemplating Jordan’s unwavering dedication to public service, racial justice, and the pursuit of American ideals. The artwork is crafted from archival materials from the Gregory School Library and The Barbara C. Jordan Archive at Texas Southern University, interwoven with geometric motifs inspired by historical maps of the neighborhoods that shaped Jordan’s life.
The monument highlights her formidable presence and powerful voice as a politician, lawyer, professor, and public figure while also celebrating her often-overlooked compassion and deep connections to family and community.
The Meditative Space’s structure draws inspiration from the Adinkra symbol serow, which symbolizes justice and authority and perfectly encapsulates the essence of Barbara Jordan’s legacy.
Image Credit: All images courtesy of the Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs; Photographer: Alex Barber
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HAA oversaw the artist selection, design, fabrication, and installation process for this artwork. Working diligently with sponsoring city departments, Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, and the selected artists, HAA created and publicized the opportunity, coordinated the panel process, managed artist communications, and monitored on-site installation. Recommendation reports were submitted at the conclusion of Artist Selection and Design phases, and a robust closeout report was provided upon project completion detailing project summary and ongoing maintenance requirements.
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Built in 1926, the two-story, former elementary school named after Edgar M. Gregory, a Union officer and Assistant Commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau for the Texas area, is in historic Freedmen’s Town, in Houston’s Fourth Ward. This area is the city’s oldest established African American community. By 1876, the former Gregory Institute became a part of Houston’s public school system, and the Gregory School became the first public education institution for African American children.
The State Historical Commission designated the Gregory School building as a State Archaeological Landmark in 1995; the highest historical landmark classification that can be placed on a building. In 2008, ground-breaking work began to restore and transform the former school into The African American Library at the Gregory School. The renovated library opened on November 14, 2009. The library’s name was changed to the African American History Research Center in 2022.
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This project was funded through Houston’s Civic Art Ordinance, which requires 1.75% of the budget for eligible City-funded construction projects to be spent on integrating artwork and artists' ideas in public spaces and conserving the City of Houston’s Civic Art Collection. The Houston Arts Alliance administers the civic art program for the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.
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ARTS REPRESENTATIVES
Rebecca Matalon, Curator, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH)
Leamon Green, Visual Artist
Kanitra Fletcher, Curator, Museums of Fine Art Houston (MFAH)
COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE
Zion Escobar, Executive Director, Freedmen’s Town Conservancy
SPONSORING DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVE
Danielle Burns Wilson, Curator and Manager, African American Library at the Gregory School (HPL)
Artists Bios
Charisse Pearlina Weston (born 1988, Houston, TX; lives and works in Brooklyn) is a conceptual artist and writer whose work contends with the dynamic interplay of violence and intimacy through repetition, enfoldment, and concealment. She holds a BA in Art History from the University of North Texas, a MSc in Modern Art: History, Curating and Criticism from the University of Edinburgh’s Edinburgh College of Art and a MFA in Studio Art, with Critical Theory emphasis, from the University of California, Irvine. She is an alumna of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program (2019-2020).
Jamal Cyrus (born 1973, Houston, TX) received his BFA from the University of Houston in 2004 and his MFA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008. In 2005 he attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and in 2010 he was an Artist in Residence at Artpace San Antonio. Cyrus has won several awards, including the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award, the Artadia Houston Award, and the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship.