Lauren Halsey Is Building a Monument to South Central Los Angeles

Known for her monumental installations that celebrate the visual language, history, and cultural memory of South Central Los Angeles, artist Lauren Halsey has spent the past decade transforming everyday neighborhood ephemera into immersive worlds.

 

A former aspiring architect, Halsey draws equally from ancient Egypt, Afrofuturism, funk aesthetics, and the communities that raised her—building spaces that function as both monuments and living archives.

For Halsey, the work of Archigram has become a touchstone. “It’s more about the poetics of space and space making than the actual process and act of building a space,” she tells TEETH. “My process is more informed by my Funk and my community than it is informed by traditional architectural principles that you might learn in a classroom.”

Currently installed at the corner of Western Avenue and 76th Street in South Central Los Angeles, sister dreamer, lauren halsey’s architectural ode to tha surge n splurge of south central los angeles honors the stories, memories, and people that have shaped the neighborhood. The long-awaited sculptural park features eight sphinxes and a series of towering columns, each etched with the faces of family members, friends, and local icons.

Among them is Halsey’s late grandmother, Antoinette Halsey, who appears as one of the sphinxes—a figure the artist remembers with deep gratitude and affection. The columns pay tribute to hyperlocal heroes, including activist Margaret Prescod, founder of the Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders, and Rosie Lee Hooks, longtime director of the Watts Towers Arts Center. At the center of the installation sits an open-air cube inscribed with the names and likenesses of neighborhood figures alongside signage from beloved businesses that have since disappeared from the area.

The site itself carries personal significance. Once home to an ice cream shop where Halsey spent afternoons eating sugar cones and chili dogs as a child, the lot now serves as a meeting point between ancient Egyptian architecture and the vibrant pulse of South Central Los Angeles.

References to Egyptology appear throughout the installation, echoing symbols that have long circulated across the neighborhood—in clothing, cars, architecture, and hairstyles. “Black folks have always looked to Egypt as a source of empowerment and inspiration of what could be possible for people who look like us if we are afforded the opportunity to exist outside of the confines of institutionalized racism and the legacies of chattel slavery,” Halsey says. “Many people in my immediate community hold an appreciation for these symbols and the legacies marked by them.”

Rooted in the community that has been both her birthplace and her family’s home for generations, Halsey sees the project as an act of reciprocity. Part public artwork and part communal gathering space, the park is designed not only to commemorate South Central, but also to serve it.

On view through September 2027, the site will host a range of public programs through Halsey’s nonprofit, Summaeverythang Community Center. Art workshops, jazz performances, sound baths, and educational initiatives are all planned to unfold among a landscape of California Lilac, Beaumont Guava, and Mexican Marigold—plants chosen for their ability to thrive in the local climate.

“But I’m also hopeful that there will be moments I can’t plan for, like if a run club decides to use it as their meeting spot, someone in the community hosts an impromptu dominoes night, or game night or anything else,” Halsey says. “I hope that the lush gardens, water features, and artwork allow the space to function like an oasis for people, welcoming them in and holding them there for however long they need it.”

---

Plan your visit here, and follow Lauren Halsey on Instagram to keep up with har latest updates.