Los Angeles, California

Watts Towers Art Center Campus

Assemblage in the Landscape

The archival documents that memorialize the 1959 movement of the Committee for Simon Rodia’s Towers in Watts reflect the extraordinary synergy between the Watts Towers Arts Center Campus and its adjoining communities. So, too, does Tyrese Gibson’s 2001 album cover, staged at the Towers. So, too, do the daily rhythms of the Watts community gardening, attending a class, or simply hanging out on the campus. A five acre campus in the heart of Watts, the Watts Towers Arts Center Campus surrounds the Watts Towers, and hosts the Watts Towers Arts Center (WTAC).

The Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust (LANLT) and the community have engaged in over a decade of project development. Understanding this monumental effort, the Studio Zewde team is building from the previous master plan and engagement efforts, working to confirm site programming, narratives, and the ways that this site can support the Watts Towers, the Watts Towers Arts Center, and its community.

Inspired by the Village created by the WTAC, its neighbors on 107th, and the Watts Towers, the design expands the heart of this village and unites the site in the spirit of the Assemblage art movement led by Watts Artists.