Bywater Toile

​Any day of the week, a stroll through the Bywater neighborhood in New Orleans offers a glimpse into the rich culture of the neighborhood. Old men sit outside corner stores, hipsters ironically pluck at their guitars on their stoops, and little kids play kick-the-can in the middle of the street. If you're lucky, Mr. Okra might drive by, singing for his (or your) supper: "I have on-yons, I have coll-ard greens, I have sweet potatoes..." Traditionally an ethnic working class enclave known for its craftsmen, the Bywater and its twin, the Lower Ninth Ward, were devastated during Hurricane Katrina. Seven years later, the neighborhood is starting to thrive again, but now its residents face a new problem: how to embrace burgeoning gentrification without losing the community's quirky character and unique history.

Toiles traditionally tell a story, and this one speaks to the narrative of the Bywater. The past, like the dilapidated Poland Avenue stables, is juxtaposed with the present, like the mountain of bicycles chained to the street sign (evidence of a new generation moving in). Desire references the famous streetcar line that formerly serviced the neighborhood as well as its residents' hopes for the future. The peeling paint texture honors the local patina, while the color palette is pulled straight from the technicolor cottages of the area. Meanwhile, Mr. Okra cruises through the streets in his truck, a symbol of survival and an enduring reminder to be nice or leave.​