What We Fund
"Lessons" by Ayo Scott
Located at 620 O'Keefe Ave.
Son of the late artist, Xavier professor, and MacArthur Genius, John T. Scott, Ayo Scott originally painted as a means of letting go of life’s curveballs, such as the death of his father, grad school, and post-Katrina New Orleans. Those curveballs brought grief, but also a purpose, to Scott’s art. After seeing the face of a city change so quickly, he began creating to preserve and magnify pieces that make the city special. While much of his work is abstract, his subject is now focused on ways to celebrate the defenders of the spirit of New Orleans.
Scott's mural is an ode to generations of New Orleanians, with depictions of his father’s well-known public sculptures Spirit House and Ocean Song, and his young daughter dressed as Wonder Woman, holding a daisy as tribute to his mother.
About the Artist
Born and raised in New Orleans, Ayo Scott is a graduate of Ben Franklin High School and Xavier University. He entered grad school at The Institute of Design in Chicago before taking a year off to create a series of paintings inspired by the tsunami of 2004. Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans the year after, prompting Scott to immediately return to New Orleans. While living in his parents gutted home in the Gentilly neighborhood, he started a clothing and design company which continued for several years until he began to drift from commercial work toward his own artistic projects.