David Landry

Do you dip your toe to test if the water’s cool? The unknown can be startling. If you dive in head first — the chill may shock you. But, at least you get the hard part out the way… There is an art to taking calculated risks. Our world thrives on the everyman assuming the safe bet. Those who stretch out of “the box” carry the burden of pioneering movements, trends, schools of thought. David Landry found a way out of his box. And, from the outside looking in, he decided his box wasn’t all bad. So, he refashioned the box to his liking and invited folks to stand on it, dance on it, pose on it, and even perform on it. He is an artist who specializes in the creation of stages, furniture, and other structures which literally uplift his community of collaborators.

Entering Prairie View A&M University in 2009, David began college with his sights on a career as an architect. This path had been trodden by many before him. Go to college. Get a degree. You’ll be alright. Right? He soon found himself going through the motions. He was turning in assignments which lacked evidence of passion. He maintained his grades but was really buying time until something clicked for him emotionally, creatively. He watched as his classmates and friends got picked up for semester-long internships and job opportunities. He knew something had to change. He pushed through and graduated in 2015 with his Bachelor of Science in Architecture.

Following stints as an architectural drafter and visual manager, David began work at Aldine ISD as a visual arts teacher in 2017. Still in search of something more, he began studying the arts of fabrication and manufacturing. Once he figured out how to fit these crafts into his creative outlook, a flame ignited from within. This study began to consume his free time and soon he applied what he was learning to the freelance projects he had begun taking on as side hustles.

Then, he got the call. In early 2022, his friend from PV – rapper Teezo Touchdown (born Aaron Thomas) – was scheduled as an opening act for rapper Tyler, the Creator’s Call Me IF You Get Lost tour. The tour was in urgent need of a quality set designer. David saw the perfect opportunity to put those good ol’ Prairie View networking skills to use and took his leap of faith…

When asked about the ways in which his time on the Hill contributed to his growth, David stated:

“Prairie View gave me the tools that have made me the man and creative I am today. It was there that I learned to discover individuality and embrace community.”

Today, David is a full-time artist, focusing on designing and building and looks forward to expanding his practice to furniture making and architecture in the near future.