Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
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Volume XXIV, Number 1 Winter 2007 FROM THE DIRECTOR: A YEAR IN REVIEW The Historic New Orleans Collection Survives the Storm and Looks to the Future ore than a year has elapsed colleagues at the Alexandria Museum of Art October–January: Reopening, reassessing, since Hurricane Katrina’s fate- agreed to provide temporary storage space, and reaching out Mful landfall. As we rebuild our as circumstances recommended transport- By early October, the majority of the staff devastated community, our unique cultural ing priceless collections to a facility outside had returned permanently to New Orleans. heritage remains a rallying point. The His- the city. Staff members traveled from far- Many grappled with damage to, or complete toric New Orleans Collection has spent de- flung evacuation spots to join the convoy loss of, their homes and possessions. Their cades preserving the legacy of the men and from New Orleans to Alexandria in early jobs, however, were safe. The Collection was women whose cultural contributions make September. the first museum in the city to reopen—on the city what it is today. Now more than ever, The Collection recognizes its duty to preserve the past while recording history in the making. With the publication of our first print Quarterly after Katrina, we pause and look back on the experiences of the past year. August 2005: Preparing for the storm Whenever a hurricane approaches the Gulf Coast, The Collection turns to an Emergency Preparedness Plan to protect its buildings and collections. The plan calls for progressive stages of preparation keyed to the strength of the storm and its proximity to New Orleans. Collections are moved away from exterior walls, down In the spring of 2006, The Collection mounted a major international loan exhibition—Common Routes: from top floors, and up from ground floors. St. Domingue • Louisiana. The exhibition’s opening on March 14 was marked with a press conference and ribbon cutting. Pictured here are Spanish Consul General Ramon Saenz de Heredia, Ernest Collins Windows are shuttered or boarded, and, of the New Orleans Mayor’s office, Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson, Monsignor Crosby Kern, and Priscilla depending on the storm strength, sandbags Lawrence. are secured as a defense against rising water. Such were the preparations made on Satur- day, August 7, 005. August–September: Safeguarding collections in the storm’s aftermath In the days after Katrina passed, our ini- tial relief quickly dissipated with news of breached levees and extensive flooding. Al- though we were optimistic about the con- dition of The Collection’s buildings and contents—after all, the French Quarter had proved a safe haven in times past—we had to see for ourselves. State officials, recogniz- ing the importance of the patrimony held by The Collection, granted us permission On May 31, 2006, First Lady Laura Bush visited The Collection and viewed Common Routes. Pictured to reenter the city under Louisiana State Po- with Mrs. Bush are, left to right, Bettie Pendley, Mary Lou Christovich, Martha and John E. Walker, and lice escort. And, on very short notice, our Priscilla Lawrence. Caribbean Festivities On the morning of March 14, Rudy & the Caribbean Funk Band performed while students from O. Perry Walker High School danced in celebration of the opening of Common Routes. Following the press conference, the high school students received the first exhibition tour. Festivities continued into the night with a street party that drew more than 700 people. Tuesday, October , 005. At a welcome back party on November , hundreds of locals gathered in the Royal Street complex to toast the rebirth of New Orleans. Staff and visitors alike could take solace in the fact that The Collection had weathered the storm without serious dam- age. But with an altered local landscape, we recognized the need to reassess museum operations. For more than a year before the storm, curators had been develop- ing plans for an exhibition celebrating the ties between Louisiana and St. Domingue (Haiti). Without hesitation, the board of directors affirmed its commitment to Common Routes: St. Domingue • Louisiana. Perhaps no group contributed more to the cultural development of Louisiana in the decades following the Louisiana Purchase than émigrés from St. Domingue. In tell- Celebrating Haitian Culture ing the émigré story, The Collection sought The Haitian folk dance and drum troupe to illuminate Louisiana’s complex cultural Neg Diaspora performed in the courtyard landscape. Furthermore, in mounting a on May 17 in honor of Haitian Flag Day. major international loan exhibition so soon The group also conducted school and dance after Katrina, we hoped to serve as a model workshops and performed at Ashé Cultural Arts Center during its weeklong residency for the revitalization of our beloved region. in New Orleans, which was sponsored in The months of October and November saw partnership with Ashé. curators confirming symposium arrange- At Family Day on June 18, children ments, registrars conferring with domestic learned the art of tying tignons (authentic and international lenders, and photogra- Caribbean head wraps). phers and editors preparing an illustrated exhibition catalogue. Meanwhile, with so many of our neighbors still struggling to recover, The Collection reached out to the community with a number of initiatives, some short- term, others long-ranging. A series of Res- toration Road Shows featuring area con- servators provided expert advice to flood victims dealing with damaged photographs, furniture, and art. A comprehensive oral history project, spearheaded by manuscripts curator Mark Cave, documented the ex- periences of first responders—fire fighters, police officers, and other rescue workers who helped save lives and property in the storm’s aftermath (see pages 6–7). And a February–June 2006: Common Routes: the five-month run of Common Routes pro- visuals archive took shape throughout the St. Domingue • Louisiana gramming offered something for everyone. fall and winter as the photography depart- From a symposium to a groundbreaking ex- Kicking off the celebration on February , ment—Jan White Brantley (head), Keely hibition; from a string quartet performance 006, the th annual Williams Research Merritt, and Teresa Kirkland—systemati- to Haitian folk dancing and drumming; Center Symposium brought together seven cally photographed the city, neighborhood from scholarly lectures at the research center distinguished scholars who traced the his- by neighborhood, to record Katrina’s effects. to family day in the Royal Street courtyard: torical and cultural ties between Louisiana and Haiti for nearly 00 captive audience members. On March , Caribbean rhythms and steel drums, school children dancing in the street, and accolades from government of- ficials marked the opening of the Common Routes exhibition. Although the city’s di- minished population and tourism market challenged attendance, the exhibition was heralded by those who viewed it, including First Lady Laura Bush. Highlights included Taino Indian artifacts; diplomatic treaties marking the division of Hispañola between Spain (Santo Domingo) and France (St. Domingue); relics of the slave trade and the plantation economy it fed; historical and contemporary portraits of revolution- ary leaders such as Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines; and memoirs, musical compositions, architectural plans, and other evidences of the émigré pres- ence in Louisiana. An accompanying show, The Toussaint Louverture Series, on view in the Williams Gallery, presented Jacob Lawrence’s remarkable commemoration, in tempera, of the Haitian Revolution. The Lawrence series was on loan from the Amis- tad Research Center—one of many partner- ships forged between The Collection and community groups to enrich the Common COMMON ROUTES VOLUNTEERS Routes experience. The Collection extends special thanks to the Common Routes: St. Domingue • Louisiana exhibition volunteers. They were honored at a reception and private viewing of City of Hope: New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina on Tuesday, July 8. Greta Acomb Alice Dantro Shirley Moseley Louis Smith Marthell Adams Duffy Dufour Marie O’Neal Donna Sorenson Patti and David Marion Ecuyer Angel Parham Jamie Temple Averbuck Dr. Ina Fandrich Blanc Parker Carolyn Thalheim Suzanne Bagwill Julie Forsythe Mert Parker Carol Thornton Gwen Bordenave Rosemarie Fowler Kathleen Pilie Diane Walmsley Lori Boyer Mary Gehman Margot Pleasants Merlyn Weilbaecher Jim Bryant Lisa Gourgues Marta Rivera Audrey Westphal Lolita Cherrie Steve Kress Townsley St. Paul Jeanne Williams Carol Chiocchio Joyce LaNasa Norma Sandoval Lois Willoz Loretta Clark Juliane Lansing Pat Schexnayder Adrian Zeno Marjorie Colomb Helene Lopez Roland Schexnayder Rita Zeno Shirley Colomb Doris Menezes Linda Schoenfeld Local Haitian artist Ulrick Jean-Pierre contributed Carole Daley Margit Merey-Kadar Laura Sitges his portraits of revolutionaries Toussaint Louverture, Henri Christophe, and Alexandre Pétion to the Common Routes exhibition. Mr. Jean-Pierre is pictured here with the portrait of Louverture. City of Hope The exhibition City of Hope: New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina paired historic photographs, prints, maps, and books with contemporary photo- graphs, oral histories, video footage, and ephemera to trace New Orleans’s perseverance through 300 years of periodic flooding and natural disasters. Left, Dupre and Baudin Streets in Mid-City during the 1927 flood (1989.116.2); below, 3633–35 Franklin