FOR MEDIA RELEASE 539 Caffin Street New Orleans, LA 70117 CONTACT Keith Calhoun and Chandra McCormick L9ARTS@gmail.com 832.368.1679
L9 Center for the Arts and the McKenna Museum Presents: “FACES OF TREMÉ” BY KEITH CALHOUN AND CHANDRA McCORMICK CURATED BY DEBORAH WILLIS | OPENING: NOVEMBER 30, 2012 6PM– 9PM
George and Leah McKenna Museum of African American Art 2003 Carondelet Street | New Orleans, LA 70130
Calhoun and McCormick’s photographs explore a cross-section of Tremé from cultural and aesthetic viewpoints. Their photographs are self-conscious as they construct and resurrect the past through stylized photographs that examines the social realities of this community through a narrative that is imbued with symbolism and collective memory. As collaborators and witnesses, these engaging photographers depict a life celebrated in the streets, on the steps and in the enshrined Armstrong Park. Love of community and interest in preservation motivated both photographers to interpret and reconnect Treme’s beauty through this installation. Given the historical impact of the photographs in this exhibition, which embraces ideas about religion, ritual, fashion, food ways, and architecture the viewer has new ways to reconsider a vibrant community that exemplify pride and determination through contemporary art. Chandra McCormick, Tremé 6th Ward High Rollers, 1987 Archival Pigment print 34 1/2h x 24w Courtesy of the Artist
-Deborah Willis, Ph.D. Curator, Photographer, Scholar, Professor
Preserving the cultural history of African American life in the south, Chandra McCormick and Keith Calhoun, native Lower 9th Ward photographers, have been documenting rural communities throughout Louisiana for more than 30 years. Following the beat of the Second Line into the heart of historic Tremé, the oldest African American communities in the United States, McCormick and Calhoun have their ears to the ground and their eyes on the soul of their subjects. Their photographs exist as an archival memory of a ritualistic, vibrant and celebratory Tremé – a place that has birthed artists such as Kermit Ruffins, Trombone Shorty, Lionel (Uncle Lionel) Batiste, and the Rebirth Brass Band. Beyond documentation, their photographs bare witness to a changing demographic. McCormick and Calhoun’s images shed new light and honor the Indigenous families who make up the fabric of a unique historic Tremé. This exhibition is being presented in conjunction with the 7th Annual PhotoNOLA festival with support in part from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation. For more information, please visit: http://photonola.org/2012/10/27/mckenna-museum/ ________________ Keith Calhoun, Trombone Archival Pigment print 56 1/2h x 43 1/2w Courtesy of the Artist
About L9 L9 Center for the Arts was founded in 2007, for the purpose of serving the Lower 9th Ward community and the larger Gulf Coast area. Our mission is to promote art and culture. We aim to provide the support needed to develop meaningful, measurable, and sustainable opportunities for under-recognized and emerging artists. L9 seeks to promote cultural exchange by offering studio residencies and exhibition space to national and international artists. We are committed to people engagement and audience participation. Our goal is to revive, rebuild and reclaim the Lower 9th Ward through the arts and with that to preserve the cultural fibers, and artistic heritage of New Orleans. About McKenna Museum The George & Leah McKenna Museum of African American Art is an institution that collects, interprets and preserves the visual aesthetic of people of African descent in North America and beyond. Through innovative programs and exhibits that engage versatile audiences, the McKenna Museum seeks to make African Diasporan fine art accessible to visitors of all ages. The institution also actively identifies and presents emerging artists alongside well-established fine arts masters. Featuring the private collection of Dr. Dwight McKenna, the Museum presents works by local and internationally-renowned artists such as Henry Ossawa Tanner, William Edouard Scott, Clementine Hunter, Ernie Barnes and Ulrich Jean Pierre. Located in New Orleans, the McKenna Museum is committed to the preservation of the distinct culture found within the African American community of Louisiana.