“Since I first came here I’ve had my eyes on that wall.”

Henry Lipkis, a California-born artist, developed his grasp on graffiti painting and street art during years of traveling before he landed in New Orleans in the spring of 2014. Now, Lipkis has his eyes set on a 150-foot-long, 35-foot-tall wall on Saint Claude Avenue, which he plans to use for his biggest project to date.

The proposed mural would transform what is now an empty lot into a full-on memorial depicting a passing second line, one of New Orleans’ oldest and most recognizable traditions. To achieve his goal, Lipkis has reached out to the community for funding (via a Kickstarter campaign) and, more importantly, for collaboration.

After getting in touch with WWOZ DJ Action Jackson, the young artist was introduced to members and leaders of the Original C.T.C. Steppers, Original Big Nine, and Original Nine Times, the three clubs who second line by the empty wall once a year.

“I’ve been going to talk to all these clubs, meeting with the different presidents and finding the right way for this to get done,” Lipkis said. “I want to promote respect and put the right people up front. There’s just a lot of elements that have to be done right.”

Lipkis emphasized that this collaborative effort is the essence of the project and that, in a neighborhood that is quickly changing, street art can be a tool for the affirmation of the community’s cultural roots.

“Intentionally or unintentionally, [street art] glosses over the culture that is there, that made the place. And because we’re on a kind of cusp time with this in New Orleans, now is a good time to set an example of how it can be done. Working with communities and really representing things that are here. What’s the city made of, what the neighborhood has been brought up on.”

“My eyes are trained for looking for walls like that. Really big, really visible, nice surfaces.”

Lipkis stands in front of a previous painting of second line dancers

 

The neighborhood initiative The Green Project recently joined WWOZ in partnering up with Lipkis for the project. As his vision advances, the artist is staying focused on his objective to create something that the people value.

“I hope it would give people even more ownership over this street. You know, when you’re second lining, that’s major ownership over the street,” Lipkis said. “It just transforms the entire landscapes when a second line is going by. It’s about that.”

“But it’s only for four hours on a Sunday, once a year. This won’t go away on Sunday, it won’t get cleaned up.”