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The Lafitte Greenway gets an interactive art installation depicting the Mississippi River

Raising awareness of environmental and social concerns around the River

On Saturday, November 18, Friends of Lafitte Greenway, City of New Orleans, and the Arts Council of New Orleans will unveil a new art installation at the Lafitte Greenway’s roundabout at Jefferson Davis Parkway. The unveiling will run from 2:30 p.m to 4:30 p.m. While free to attend, the Friends have set up an RSVP page for guest on its official website.

Created by artist Michel Varisco, the new installation will have three 9-foot “prayer wheels” made out of stainless steel. Standing on mosaic bases, each wheel will have a distinct depiction of the Mississippi River based on different time periods—the wild era, colonial plantation era, and petrochemical era.

via Friends of Lafitte Greenway

Varisco created the interactive installation to raise awareness of social and environmental activism, especially as it pertains to the Mississippi River.

“At night, the prayer wheels will emit pulses of dim blue light via solar power, and visitors may spin each wheel to intensify the emanations,” The Friends of Lafitte Greenway wrote in an official release. “The path that weaves through the installation echoes the riverʼs serpentine curvature, while the indigenous gardens surrounding the site were planted by Varisco and a team of devoted community volunteers.”

To keep up with other developments along the Lafitte Greenway, check out this Curbed NOLA map.