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LA's Destination Crenshaw pushes Sankofa Park opening to February 2024

2023-10-05T14:47:00-04:00

This fall’s anticipated debut of the Sankofa Park component of the new Destination Crenshaw public space redesign from Perkins&Will and Studio-MLA in Los Angeles has been pushed back to February of next year, according to an announcement made Wednesday by the group managing its construction in the city's Leimert Park neighborhood.

The park had previously received $3.4 million in federal funding, which added to another $2.4 million fundraising drive initiated by actress Issa Rae and star NBA guard DeMar DeRozan. Planners have now set Sankofa Park to open on February 24th. It is part of the larger $100 million project that will transform a 1.3-mile corridor into a new arts-oriented civic space. Perkins&Will says it is “destined to be a space for celebrations, protests, and demonstrations of grief and peaceful healing.”

Once it is completed, Sankofa Park will include art installations f...

Destination Crenshaw's Sankofa Park segment sets an opening date for fall 2023

2023-02-01T17:46:00-05:00

LA's Destination Crenshaw initiative has revealed an updated opening day for its largest component along with news of $3.4 million in federal grant contribution that will help further shepherd the project towards its eventual completion later this year.

The development’s Sankofa Park segment will now open in the early fall of this year, according to CEO Jason W. Foster. The beautifully-metaphored nod to the eponymous bird of Akan folklore is designed by Perkins&Will’s award-winning Principal and Director of Global Diversity Gabrielle Bullock and includes art installations from heavyweights such as Alison Saar and Kehinde Wiley, along with additional murals and greenspaces that will be completed in the months immediately following its inauguration.

Sankofa Park. Image: Perkins&Will, courtesy of Destination Crenshaw

Situated along the northern end of the site on the border of the traditionally arts-centric Leimert Park neighborhood, the park is meant as a gathering space for the larger...

Destination Crenshaw reveals new renderings as LA grants approval for its arts program

2021-10-15T18:52:00-04:00

New renderings have been unveiled following the city’s Cultural Affairs Commission approval of the recently announced first slate of sculptural installations set to line the forthcoming Destination Crenshaw development in Los Angeles.

The $100 million community redevelopment scheme features a streetscape designed by Perkins&Will’s local office in addition to several green community meetings spaces from Studio-MLA.

Overhead view of Destination Crenshaw’s Sankofa Park featuring designs for works by Maren Hassinger, Kehinde Wiley, and Charles Dickson. Rendering by Perkins&Will, courtesy of Destination Crenshaw.

Overhead images reveal the Sankofa Park section of the corridor dotted with artworks by Kehinde Wiley, Maren Hassinger, Artis Lane, and Charles Dickson. The park lies along 46th Street on the northernmost bookend of the 1.3-mile-long site. Its elongated avian shape is derived from the eponymous sankofa bird, a traditional African symbol representing movement that Dickson captures...

LA's Destination Crenshaw announces first cohort of artists to create permanent outdoor monuments for cultural corridor

2021-09-01T17:13:00-04:00

Destination Crenshaw, a $100 million initiative that will transform a 1.3-mile stretch of Crenshaw Boulevard in South Los Angeles into a business, art, and cultural corridor in celebration of Black LA, has announced the artists commissioned to create permanent outdoor artworks. The initiative is featuring artists at every career stage who are closely connected to the Black community of South LA.

The cohort includes Charles Dickson, Melvin Edwards, Maren Hassinger, Artis Lane, Alison Saar, Kehinde Wiley, and Brenna Youngblood. This is the inaugural group out of the 100 artists who will create works for the public-private initiative—the largest commissioned project ever undertaken for Black artists. This initial group will create sculptures, including a monument by Wiley, for Sankofa Park, a public gathering space being created for the project, and for other sites within the Destination Crenshaw route.

Previously on Archinect: Destination Crenshaw breaks ground on 1.3-mile-long outdo...

Destination Crenshaw breaks ground on 1.3-mile-long outdoor "cultural experience"

2020-03-03T15:14:00-05:00

On Saturday February 29th, over 2,000 community residents, business owners, and artists came together to attend Destination Crenshaw's groundbreaking for the 1.3-mile-long "cultural experience" to celebrate Black Los Angeles along Crenshaw Blvd. The project will transform sidewalks, storefronts, and various other structures with permanent and rotating art installations. 10 pocket parks will also be introduced as part of the project in addition to culturally-themes street and landscaping interventions.

Design and architecture firm , Perkins and Will , celebrates groundbreaking on future site of Sankofa Park with LA County Supervisor, Mark Ridley - Thomas. Courtesy of Jun Tang Photography

“Destination Crenshaw has been entirely driven by the community itself, and honors not just the neighborhood as a creative hub, but also Black L.A.’s impact on popular culture and social change. Our role as architects is to translate, through design, the very real, very significant voices and energy o...