West Palm Beach has added a striking new landmark to its cultural landscape in the form of Genius Loci, a large public sculpture by artist Nekisha Durrett. The piece, which resembles an oversized RCA gramophone, serves not only as a tribute to the area's rich black history but also as a call to remember the voices that have been relegated to the margins over time. Placed prominently in Heart & Soul Park, the artwork signifies the importance of black contributions to the cultural milieu of the city, particularly those linked to the historic Sunset Lounge. See Great Art details the sculpture's December 1 unveiling, a celebratory moment that coincided with West Palm Beach’s New Wave Art Weekend.
"There is history within the very earth of this location; our goal with this artwork is to figuratively amplify the voices from the past," Nekisha Durrett told See Great Art. The Sunset Lounge, an iconic jazz club often compared to the Cotton Club in the South, is undergoing restoration in the adjacent area. Together with the sculpture, the renovated club is poised to symbolically boost the visibility and remembrance of the black community's past vibrancy and its influence on the soul of the region.
Genius Loci stands as a physical reminder of the Sunset Lounge and The Styx, a black community in Palm Beach that faced destruction in 1910. The sculpture's copper sheeting and concrete base representing charred wood demand a moment of reflection from passersby, urging them to contemplate the historical context and narratives that the space embeds within itself. Durrett's work was commissioned by the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) as a significant contribution to the city's cultural reawakening.
Commenting on the spirit imbued within the artwork and the Sunset Lounge's enduring legacy as a safe haven, Durrett explained to Surface Magazine, "Black spaces for living, leisure, and entertainment have often offered respite and safety from a hostile world, and that’s what the Sunset Lounge was for the Northwest community." The sculpture not only honors this history but also beckons visitors to deep dive into the sounds, stories, and soul that have always resonated from the locale into a broader consciousness.
