Prof. Cook and Students Bridge the Classroom and Visual Artists in Post-Katrina New Orleans
A dispatch from Prof. Nancy Cook, discussing her innovative course that was featured at a national meeting of progressive law professors:
For a six-week Perspectives class, a group of students read the book After the Storm: Black Intellectuals Explore the Meaning of Katrina. In addition to weekly readings, students were assigned to test the accuracy of certain assertions made by the authors, using such sources as law journals, news articles, Lexis and Westlaw, and personal interviews. The class also took on as a project the challenge of finding ways to support and provide legal assistance to a group of artists affected by the hurricanes.
Throughout the project, the class took cues from the artists about what they deemed most important and how they wanted to proceed. An initial meeting with the artists and several phone calls in January helped set the parameters of the students’ work. At the conclusion of the class period, approximately half the class traveled to New Orleans to meet with the artists. By the time we left for New Orleans, the students had prepared a document outlining some basic principles of contracts, intellectual property, and non-profit incorporation and identifying resources for information and legal assistance. They were also prepared to discuss future strategies and make plans to create a visual and written presentation that would tell the story and promote outsiders’ engagement with gulf coast communities still struggling in the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane.
Our primary contact in New Orleans was through the Neighborhood Gallery. The gallery itself was quite a story, as it was founded initially to be a French Quarter showcase for the work of local black artists. When Katrina struck, the gallery was operating out of large warehouse, which was seriously damaged by the storm. Subsequently, roofers, hired to repair the damage, instead doomed the building; a heavy rain caused the roof to collapse, and the Neighborhood Gallery, like many New Orleans residents, was left homeless. Since then it has operated as a “gallery without walls.”
Among the artists who met with us to share their stories, describe their needs, and ask for assistance were : Ronald, a professionally trained multi-media artist, who twice has been selected to create the annual Jazz and Heritage Festival official poster; E.E., whose signature style is to “paint with flowers”; Mouthy, who uses cabinet doors as his canvas; Raymond, who is known for his paintings and miniature reproductions of New Orleans cable cars; and Robin, who creates popular Christian art.
Everyone had a story, some harrowing, and all reflecting loss. In addition to art work lost --by water and wind damage, when galleries were abandoned, because agents and gallery owners disappeared-- people were left without homes and studios, waited weeks or months to learn the fate of loved ones, went without essential medical care, and struggled to produce an income. One memorable story came from Mouthy, whose life has never been easy and has taken many turns. He teared up as he talked about being left homeless by the storm. With no supplies and no money to purchase them, he began drawing – and eventually painting—on discarded cardboard. He graduated to pieces of wood and now paints on cabinet doors that are meant to be hung in kitchens. Although Mouthy could find plenty of discarded materials to be recycled into art works, he uses only new doors; the remains from Katrina are so chemically tainted, he says, he would not take the risk of endangering anyone’s health.
While our hosts all experienced heartache in the wake of the devastation, many insisted that Katrina was a disguised blessing. Most of our host artists recalled acts of kindness and generosity in the days and months after the storms. To a person, they expressed hope for the future.
We shared with the group the results of our research and discussed how together law students and artists might further their needs for legal resources and marketing opportunities. Discussion also focused on how the arts community could be part of national efforts to focus on the ongoing recovery in the gulf coast, as well as on how the artists themselves might participate as partners in service learning programs. We shared with the group various models of law school/gulf coast community collaborations. To help promote these efforts around the country, the Roger Williams students documented their conversations with the artists and discussed how the “product” could be used.
The students in the course recently reported on their work to the RWU community in a joint presentation with others who spent their Spring Break helping lawyers in Biloxi, Mississippi.
To read an article Professor Cook published in the RI Bar Journal about Post-Katrina New Orleans, please click here.
And here are some pictures from the New Orleans trip:
