L’Rai Arthur-Mensah is a project director with Local Projects. She has been with Local Projects, an exhibition and media design firm for museums and public spaces, for more than six years. During her 12-year career, she has discovered ways to promote the arts in her daily work. Currently, she is managing physical and media-related exhibition design projects. She has teamed up with the creative director of her project to push forward the overarching vision and goal for a cultural institution.
Arthur-Mensah has produced various exhibitions as the chief curator, producer, installer and art dealer. Much of her work in the past has focused on the emerging artist, with Arthur-Mensah cultivating their talents. “At my core, I believe in the platform of artistic expression and the way in which art continues to start relevant and meaningful conversations,” she says.
Her credits with Local Project include award-winning and transformative experiences such as the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, the Greenwood Rising museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the Fashion For Good Experience in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Greenwood Rising is a museum and history center dedicated to Tulsa’s historic Black district. Arthur-Mensah has transformed various historical events into profound, moving and respectful experiences.
Before joining Local Projects, she worked as a lead on developments such as implementing mixed reality experiences at the Super Bowl and creating an online digital version of Kara Walker’s ‘Sugar Baby’ with Creative Time. Additionally, Arthur-Mensah is working to bring more BIPOC designers into the field through her leadership in SEGD’s Racial Justice Commission.