Wayne Perry
DispLAced, 2017
Serigraph, Ed. 60
11 x 15”

The anti-gentrification push in Boyle Heights is strong due in large part to the community being able to recognize the warning signs of gentrification as seen in neighborhoods such as Highland Park and Echo Park. “In the early 2000s up to the housing boom, I watched Echo Park change. It was like a tidal wave. They started opening up cafes and flower shops and galleries and at first it was like ‘Oh, that’s kind of interesting.’ And then it just flipped quickly and no one anticipated it. As this happened in Highland Park and then coming here into Boyle Heights and the Eastside, people knew what to anticipate. I think that’s why there’s been this push back like there wasn’t before”, says artist Wayne Perry. The push is also one that has divided the community and made gentrification synonymous with coffee and art. What this push often forgets about and fails to acknowledge is that artists are a part of the community too. They’re subject to the same rent burden, population density, and poverty level that play a factor in the “eligibility” to gentrify a neighborhood. They’re trying to make a living with their art and often times artists of color are some of lowest paid work force.