PITTSBURGH, March 18, 2026 – Rick Lowe, internationally respected artist, MacArthur Fellow, and National Council on the Arts appointee, has been named to The Heinz Endowments' Board of Directors.
“For generations the Endowments’ has believed in the power of the arts to inspire and generate community belonging for all of us,” said Andre Heinz, Chair of the Board. “Rick shares that deep belief in the power of art to connect, communicate and inspire change, and we welcome his collaborative perspective.”
Mr. Lowe began his initial three-year term on Feb. 10, 2026, bringing over thirty years of experience in community-based art that has gained him a host of recognition and awards both in the United States and abroad.
The Houston-based artist’s extensive body of work in painting, drawing and installation has been exhibited in dozens of cities in the United States and in countries including Italy, Greece, Korea and Japan. Mr. Lowe was appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Endowment for the Arts’ National Council on the Arts in 2013 and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2014.
He received the President’s Medallion Award from the University of Houston in 2015 and has been a Professor of Interdisciplinary Practice at the university since 2016. His teaching centers on artistic practice that combines the creative process with community development and advocacy for social change.
“Rick’s lasting impact from the neighborhood to the national level is drawn from his significant creative talents meshed with his powerful capacity to engage people across differences,” said Endowments President Chris DeCardy. “His excellence in artistic expression, deep experience in community and economic development, and effective advocacy for better outcomes for everyone are a unique combination. We are grateful and excited for him to bring his leadership to The Heinz Endowments’ Board and mission.”
Mr. Lowe garnered considerable recognition for his leadership in 1993’s Project Row Houses, which he conceived in collaboration with six other Black artists as a way to bring art, community cohesion and pride to a neighborhood in Houston’s Third Ward. The project revived 22 1930s-era shotgun-style houses, transforming them into vibrant spaces for art studios, exhibitions, and creative residencies related to African American culture.
Project Row Houses has since expanded to 40 buildings across five blocks, with seven of the locations offering affordable transitional housing and supportive services to single mothers, while other houses offer free after-school art classes, music lessons and community meeting spaces.
Other major community-based collaborations have included the Watts House Project in Los Angeles; the Delray Beach Cultural Loop in Delray Beach, Florida; and the Transforma Projects in New Orleans, Louisiana, which engaged artists in the rebuilding of the city after Hurricane Katrina.
“My work and my career have been rooted in the belief that artists can play a meaningful role in shaping social and civic spaces, and that creative practice can help surface the knowledge, resilience, and aspirations already present in communities,” said Mr. Lowe. “Community-centered philanthropic work can support building structures that allow creativity, collaboration and local leadership to flourish.”
Born in Alabama, Mr. Lowe studied painting at Columbus College in Georgia and visual arts at Texas Southern University in Houston, where he settled in 1985. In the decades that followed, his work garnered numerous awards, including the American Architectural Foundation’s Keystone Award in 2000; the Heinz Award for the Arts and Humanities in 2002; and the 2010 Creative Time Annenberg Prize for Art and Social Change.
"Rick Lowe's art practice is a testament to the transformative power of collaboration,” said Assata Richards, Director at Sankofa Research Institute, which partners with Project Row Houses in data collection and analysis that informs its programs. “His art creates a space where communities are not just audiences but co-creators in a visionary journey celebrating their ability to produce beauty that is both aesthetically appealing and deeply relevant to meeting communal needs.”
Mr. Lowe’s expertise in facilitating collaborations between artists and civic, education and business partners aligns well with the Endowments’ slate of strategic priorities. Arts & Culture is one of the Endowments' primary areas of focus, along with Civic Participation; Climate, Environment & Health; Community & Economic Development; Food Systems; Workforce; and Veterans.
“I’m excited about joining The Heinz Endowments as a trustee and sharing my experience with community-centered work with the Board,” said Mr. Lowe. “I look forward to joining in their efforts to recognize the value and importance of investing in the people who shape future lives and communities.”
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