Turning Waste Into Welcome: Walls Supports Scotland Saturdays' 2026 Levitt AMP Baton Rouge Concert Series

From June through October 2026, The Walls Project is proud to support Scotland Saturdays and the Levitt AMP Baton Rouge Concert Series through a series of temporary placemaking installations in Scotlandville Plaza. The student-led installations make the plaza, which will undergo a full redesign this fall, into a more vibrant and welcoming community gathering space.

This work was made possible through a Louisiana Division of the Arts 2025 Louisiana Project Grant, which funded student creative workforce development, reclaimed material reuse, and creative placemaking.

When Scotland Saturdays approached The Walls Project, the request was clear: create colorful, modular installations that would enhance the concert experience while remaining flexible enough to be relocated and reused once the City of Baton Rouge completes its planned renovation of Scotlandville Plaza.

Rather than purchasing new materials, we looked to our own community.

Through our Little Art Library initiative, The Walls Project has spent the past three years collecting discarded event and campaign yard signs, retired vinyl banners, scrap lumber, paints, fabric, and even the odd horse sculpture, among other materials that would otherwise have entered the waste stream. These reclaimed materials became the foundation of our installations.

Working alongside Culture Club afterschool and summer interns, our team designed and fabricated:

• Large-scale recycled sculptures that added playful visual interest throughout the plaza.

• Colorful branded signage constructed from reclaimed materials.

• Modular placemaking elements designed for repeated installation throughout the concert season.

The installations are assembled, managed, and removed twice a month by The Walls

Project team, with setup occurring before performances and breakdown following each event. Their modular design allows every piece to be stored, transported, repaired, and reused for future community events.

Come check out public installations during the 2026 Levitt AMP Baton Rouge concert series in Scotlandville Plaza from 3-8p any of these upcoming days:

• August 22

• August 29

• September 19

• September 26

• October 17

Beyond improving the appearance of the plaza, the project served as a hands-on educational opportunity for emerging student artists interested in creating art that forms the backgrounds of civic life. Student apprentices gained experience in design thinking, fabrication, event production, installation logistics, material management, and sustainable construction practices while contributing to a highly visible public event series.

For The Walls Project, placemaking is our method of demonstrating that neighborhoods already possess the raw materials needed to build beautiful public spaces. It is also our way of activating underused spaces, often due to historic divestment, at tipping points that bring new life and opportunities for the communities that live their lives in them. Every reclaimed sign, every retired banner, and every discarded board represents an opportunity to reduce waste while investing in community development via the arts. 

Projects like this also illustrate how public art can be designed for adaptability. Temporary infrastructure often has a short lifespan, but modular systems can evolve alongside neighborhoods, moving with festivals, markets, parks, and community events rather than being discarded after a single season.

We are grateful to Scotland Saturdays for entrusting us with this work again and to the LDOA and Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge for supporting creative projects that connect environmental stewardship, workforce development, and public art.