The Architect, Lauren Halsey

South Central is not just where Lauren Halsey lives—it’s where she builds. On a Monday afternoon, she called in from the warehouse she’s occupied for five years, a space teeming with activity. Picking up her computer, Halsey showed me as much as she could of the block-sized space where she and her team are working to complete a sculpture park and community center. A few years ago, Halsey reached a pinnacle—both literally and figuratively—when she was commissioned to design an installation atop the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The work entitled the eastside of south central los angeles hieroglyph prototype architecture (I) was a 22-foot-tall structure surrounded by four columns and four sphinxes modeled on Halsey’s family members, inscribed with phrases from her community. In the months following its debut, it felt impossible to attend an art event without hearing about the piece. Yet this work in its final form, entitled sister dreamer, lauren halsey’s architectural ode to tha surge n splurge of south central los angeles, now slated to debut in South Central, feels less like a relic and more like a talisman, imbuing South Central not just with art, but with power. A reminder that history can be rewritten, and monuments can reflect the communities they rise from. It’s a long road to get to the top of The Metropolitan Museum, and for Halsey, that is hardly the end goal.