No “Blank Canvas”: Public Art and Gentrification in Houston’s Third Ward WILLIE JAMAAL WRIGHT Florida State University CAMERON “KHALFANI” HERMAN Michigan State University Abstract Public art and urban renewal have become integral to reconstructing urban landscapes. In this essay we assess how these two spatial practices converge and diverge in the historically and predominately Black community of the Third Ward in Houston, Texas. The essay examines the work of MF Problem and the Black Guys, two Black artist collectives based in the Third Ward. We argue that their public performances critically engage the spatial processes of gentrification and ghettoization in their neighborhood. Furthermore, these performances indicate a unique spatial imaginary held by Black artists that privileges the use value associated with long-term residents’ views of public and private space over the potential exchange value rooted in urban renewal projects. [New Genre Public Art; Gentrification; Black Geographies; Third Ward; Houston; Texas] Introduction P ublic art and urban renewal have become integral to reconstructing urban landscapes. In addition to the increasingly ubiquitous pres- ence of both, gentrification and public art share a number of impor- tant commonalities: 1) they occupy, and are thought to beautify, the urban core of cities (Hall 2007; Hein 2006); 2) they are hotly contested spatial projects (Ball 2014; B. Davis 2013a; Deutsche 1996; Hall 2007; Sussman 2013); 3) they are sponsored by public and private donors (Car- tiere and Willis 2008; Lees, Butler, and Bridge 2012; Davidson and Lees 2010; Knight 2008); and 4) they have become a global urban strategy of spatial change (Pallares-Barbera, Dot-Jutgla, and Casellas 2012; Kester 2004; N. Smith 1996, 2002). While public art is ubiquitous in the downtown core of Houston, Texas, and some of the surrounding neighborhoods, there are less than a handful of public art projects in the Greater Third Ward area (a.k.a da Tr  e 1 ). One of these pieces of public art is virtually impossible for pedes- trians, cyclists, and many drivers to miss. The 250 0 by 18 0 mural (Figure 1) on the northern exterior of Blackshear Elementary School is a collage of “selfies,” painted by Israeli-born artist Anat Ronen. The painting has drawn a significant amount of attention from local residents, some of whose faces have become part of the mural. When complete, the mural City & Society, Vol. 00, Issue 0, pp. 1–28, ISSN 0893-0465, eISSN 1548-744X. V C 2018 by the American Anthropological Association. All rights reserved. DOI:10.1111/ciso.12156.