Fred Schmidt-Arenales served as Bayou City Waterkeeper’s Artist-in-Residence from September 2023 through March of this year, engaging with our work in the Surge Forward coalition to create IT IS A GOOD PROJECT AND SHOULD BE BUILT, a film that spotlights the opaque processes driving the proposed $57 billion Ike Dike. Fred staged a reenactment of Gulf Coast Protection District meetings at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and filmed several original scenes, including a children’s beach scene, art performances and spells on the waterfront and at the Galveston Opera House, and a coastal fly-over.
A three-screen version of the film premiered on March 14, 2024 at Storefront for Art & Architecture in New York City, which serves as a platform for emerging ideas that lie at the intersection of art and architecture, and for open dialogue and exchange beyond and across borders, backgrounds, and ideologies. Stills from the film, behind-the-scenes photos, and excerpts from the text accompanying the show are shared below.
