S.O.S. (Saving Our Soul): Contemporary Art in Post-Katrina New Orleans
SOS: Magic, Revelry and Resistance in Post-Katrina New Orleans Art
Presented by: Caribbean Cultural Center African Diasporan Art (CCCADI)
On View: October 7 – December 23, 2010
This exhibition gives voice to five artists of African descent who call New Orleans home. Three of them are children of NOLA; two are adopted sons. Some have roots dating back to the influx of Haitians post the revolution of St. Domingue, others relocated there before the storm that created a new chronological demarcation point for the people of that city – BK and AK (Before and After Katrina). This show includes a variety of media including reverse glass collage, photography, video, and mixed-media installations. S.O.S.: Magic, Revelry and Resistance in Post-Katrina New Orleans Art, examines the complex cultural, political, socio-economic and spiritual lines that boil down into a gumbo that makes New Orleans more Caribbean than Southern, more African than French, and more raw than the grittiest streets of New York City. Each artist’s tale of New Orleans is personal – dodging shootouts in the courtyards of the Lafitte Projects to contemplating the existence of Creole identity in Faubourg Treme to working roots in St. Louis Cememetry in the shadows of Marie Laveau. S.O.S. is an exhibition that articulates the spirit of a people who no matter what circumstance or crisis hits them, who embrace the chants of the majestic Mardi Gras Indian chiefs, “won’t bend, won’t bow…don’t know how.”
Featuring the work of: Abdul Aziz Bruce Davenport J’Renee Terrence Sanders Ayo Y. Scott
Curated by: Shantrelle P. Lewis