Ms. Kerry Adams Hapner

Taking Notes: USUAF Convenes in NOLA

Posted by Ms. Kerry Adams Hapner, Apr 10, 2015 0 comments


Ms. Kerry Adams Hapner

In January, the United States Urban Arts Federation (USUAF) held its winter meeting in New Orleans (NOLA). A program of Americans for the Arts, USUAF is comprised of executive leaders of the local art agencies (LAA) in the 60 largest cities in the United States. USUAF serves as a forum to have a peer-to-peer knowledge exchange around best practices and contemporary issues facing LAAs in their respective communities. We learn from each other, and meeting locations serve as case studies that demonstrate the unique role that the arts and LAAs serve in urban life.

USUAF meets twice a year, once during the AFTA Annual Convention in the summer and at various U.S. locations in the winter. The winter sites are vetted and selected to provide an opportunity for in-depth discussion on current topics of interest and to enhance our practices that are influenced by social, economic, political, demographic, and cultural factors.

Exhibit BE group shotMany USUAF cities are often defined by unique cultural and artistic experiences that may include art fairs, festivals, or other cultural tourism products that are often organized by local agencies or by outside providers. In NOLA, we opted to explore the successes of and lessons from these products, and their relationship to the local “indigenous” art community. NOLA offered a perfect stage to convene in conjunction with the Prospect.3 contemporary art biennial. Arts Council of New Orleans President and CEO, Kim Cook, hosted us along with Brooke Davis Anderson, Executive Director of Prospect, who gave us on a fabulous tour of Prospect.3.

Exhibit BE Shoulder of GiantsCurated by Artistic Director Franklin Sirmans, Prospect.3: Notes for Now was a three month-long fair that included over 16 venues, including site-specific installations by artists from around the globe. The fair also partners with local artists and organizations, including their sites as part of their P.3+ program. A key element of the historic, environmental, and cultural context of NOLA is the devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

Among the highlights was the exhibit in Tulane University’s Newcomb Art Gallery, led by Director Monica Ramirez-Montagut and curated by Franklin Sirmans. The exhibit explored concepts of “totems and taboos” and featured works by Andrea Fraser, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Hew Locke, and Ebony G. Patterson. Pictured here is Andrea Fraser’s installation comprised of discarded carnival costumes from Rio de Janeiro.

Roberto Bedoya, Executive Director of the Tuscon Pima Arts Council, moderated a great panel of artists that dove deep into the relationship between local artists, local art community, and cultural tourism products. Among the artists was Brandan Odums who shared his project, Exhibit BE, which we later visited.

Newcomb Art by Andrea FrasenSited on an abandoned housing project called the DeGaulle Manor Community Apartments, Exhibit BE is a collaborative graffiti installation comprised of murals that span five floors of the exterior of vacant buildings and within vacant rooms.Themes of abandonment, racial and economic disparity, and hope permeate the work.

Brandan is a trained artist who is inspired by the catalytic power of urban art. He had been illegally painting at the site when the property owner “caught” him. Instead of reporting him, the owner invited him to coordinate additional work by other artists. The result is a project of magnificent scope that speaks to the role of the arts in rehabilitating injuries of place.

Exhibit BE has also sparked Brandan’s imagination to take his work to other communities, organizing community-based art projects with like-minded artists. During our visit, Brandan met Felix Padron, San Antonio’s Executive Director for the Department for Culture and Creative Development. As a result, Brandan is going to San Antonio, TX to collaborate with that community – a great example of the value that USUAF convenings offer.

Backstreet Cultural MuseumNOLA, like many other cities, teaches us that the value proposition of arts is unique to each destination and informed by specific circumstances. USUAF members leave inspired after each visit and take away valuable lessons that inform our practice of nurturing art experiences that enable people to connect with themselves, family, friends and community.

Oh! I almost forgot, on my way out of town, I visited the Backstreet Cultural Museum dedicated to the culture of Mardi Gras Indian costumes and an array of cultural artifacts. What a feast of exquisitely hand-stitched costumes and memorabilia.

Thank you, NOLA, for sharing your culture and generosity of human spirit. Thank you, LAA colleagues, for advancing the arts in America through your work in your cities.

Photos: Newcomb Gallery installation, group shot, Exhibit BE, Backstreet Cultural Museum

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