THE PROJECT

Finding La Yarda is an immersive multimedia art experience recreating a room from La Yarda, the housing unit built for Mexican American railroad workers in Lawrence, Kansas from 1920-51. This project started with a short documentary, Searching for La Yarda, directed by Lourdes Kalusha-Aguirre and Marlo Angell.

In 2024, the Lawrence Arts Center hosted Finding La Yarda, an immersive art experience recreating a room from La Yarda through video, sound, visual art, photography, ceramics, lighting and set design.

ARTISTS:

Jonathan Christensen Caballero - Ceramics

Ann Dean - Photography

Brenna Buchanan Young - Architectural Design

Jeremy Rockwell - Set Construction

Justin Favela - Visual Artist

Marlo Angell and Peter Jasso - Video Projections

Ann Sitzman - Lighting

The Finding La Yarda art installation was produced by the Lawrence Arts Center through a sub-award from Stories for All: A Digital Storytelling Project for the Twenty-First Century, an initiative hosted by the Hall Center for the Humanities in partnership with the Institute for Digital Research in the Humanities at the University of Kansas and supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Justin Favela’s participation is made possible by a grant from the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission.

The next phase of this project will be a public art installation on the Lawrence Loop at the 8th and Delaware in 2025 featuring work by Lawrence artist Javy Ortiz. The public art project is made possible through support from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas Pathways to a Healthy Kansas grant program and the Douglas County Cultural Heritage Grant program in partnerships with LiveWell Douglas County; the City of Lawrence Department of Parks, Recreation, Arts and Culture; the Watkins Museum of History; and the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association.

LA YARDA CONSULTANTS:
Pedro Romero, Teresa Martinez, Joe Ramirez, Teresa Schwartz, Bob Garcia, Sabina Vasquez, Clara Bucia, Lazara Romero, Jacinta Langford, Justin Langford, Buddy Langford, Frank Lemus Jr., Elena Stephens, Mike Ramirez Jr., Michael & Anita Ramirez, Vincent Romero, Ruth Romero, Sharon Villegas, Lourdes Kalusha-Aguirre, Brenna Buchanan Young, Nora Murphy, KT Walsh, Adrianne Nunez, Max Nunez, Judy Romero, MIke Hodl, Rose Hodl, Watkins Museum of History (research by Helen Krische), Forrest Rodriquez, Brooklyn Rodriquez, Phillip Rodriquez, Barry Shalinsky, Lane Eisenbart, East Lawrence Neighborhood Association