“Arts, education, social services, housing...they’re interconnected.” Rick Lowe, artist and community organizer, takes us to his home in the 3rd ward of Houston, Texas. Lowe moved there in the 1980s and spent 30 years combining art and activism in his community platform, Project Row Houses. Now, as he moves into a new phase of his career, creating paintings inspired by maps, dominoes, and a quest for aesthetic beauty, Rick and his community partners work together to “map the unknown” future. Rick’s artistic career highlights how art, community, and activism can inform and elevate each other. West to East is the National Gallery of Art’s cross-country series about contemporary artists and the connections between their work, their communities, and the nation.