Qualified Opportunity
Various locations
About the Project
Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND) presents Harrison Kinnane Smith: Qualified Opportunity. The project, comprised of a new publication and three public programs, examines how the federal Opportunity Zone program shapes real estate use and ownership in the West Adams neighborhood of South Los Angeles.
West Adams has been a contested site for housing rights throughout recent history. In 1945, the California Supreme Court struck down racially restrictive covenants in West Adams’ wealthy Black enclave of Sugar Hill, two years ahead of the national ban. However, in 1954, that same Black community was demolished by the state to make way for the I-10 freeway. Today, West Adams falls under several Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZs), a federal program that has offered tax incentives for private real estate investment in designated tracts through 2027. Roughly nine out of the city’s 194 QOZ tracts are situated within or intersect West Adams, including two near the Jefferson Boulevard corridor a mile from LAND's offices.
Smith's project focuses on Fundrise, one of the world's largest real estate private equity investors and platforms, and its instrumentalization of Qualified Opportunity Zones. The artist’s book, titled Qualified Opportunity: Fundrise Commercial Investments in West Adams, Los Angeles (2017-2026), features photographs and real estate data detailing every commercial property purchased by Fundrise in the Jefferson Boulevard corridor of central Los Angeles since the Opportunity Zone program began in 2017.
Alongside the publication, Harrison Kinnane Smith: Qualified Opportunity presents three public programs: a book launch conversation with artist Cauleen Smith, a walking tour of historic West Adams sites with artist Hunter Baoengstrum, and a lecture from researcher and architect Masha Hupalo, whose work explores how financial technology has impacted urban planning and reshaped systems of real estate ownership in the 21st century. Additional details can be found in the related programs section below.
About the Artist
Harrison Kinnane Smith is an artist based in Los Angeles. His collaborative work and site-specific interventions critique public institutions and financial systems. He has been published by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and included in exhibitions at François Ghebaly, Meier St/ and Frankfurt Ordorica galleries in LA; Romance Gallery and the Mattress Factory Museum in Pittsburgh; and Emmelines and SculptureCenter, NYC. Smith is a Co-Founder of PlaceHolder Gallery, LA and Affiliated Faculty and Co-Director of the Morning Star Research Center for the Afterlife of Slavery. He holds a BA from Yale University and an MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Credits & Support
Qualified Opportunity is commissioned by Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND) and organized by Christopher Mangum-James, LAND deputy director, and Astrid Kayembe, LAND operations coordinator.
This project is funded through the Mohn LAND Grants established by Pamela and Jarl Mohn. The initiative provides Los Angeles-based artists resources and support to present site-responsive, transdisciplinary work across Los Angeles County.
LAND’s 2026 projects are supported by the LAND Artist Fund with lead support from Perenchio Foundation, Offield Family Foundation, and Karyn Kohl. Generous support is provided by the Fran and Ray Stark Foundation, Ruth Arts, Ben Weyerhaeuser, and the Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation. Additional support is provided by Berry Stein, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture, Pamela and Jarl Mohn, Brenda Potter, The Goodman Family Foundation, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, and LAND’s Nomadic Council.
LAND is a member of and supported by the Los Angeles Visual Arts (LAVA) Coalition.
LAND is a member-supported organization. Keep LAND programs free for all by becoming a member today at nomadicdivision.org.
Feature image by Harrison Kinnane Smith.