The Healing Power of Art in Community Recovery
Today, Jan Gilbert of the VESTIGES Project and DeWayne Barton of Hood Huggers International share strategies for community building and recovery efforts.
What do New Orleans and Western North Carolina have in common? Both regions were rocked by historic hurricanes, which left lasting impacts on their communities and environments. Today, host Louise Glickman explores the transformative role of art and creativity in community recovery, comparing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans to the recovery efforts following recent storms in Western North Carolina.
Louise is joined by Jan Gilbert, an artist and activist who co-founded The VESTIGES Project, and DeWayne Barton, founder of Hood Huggers International in Asheville. The VESTIGES Project, established in 1984, is a collective of artists and writers inspired by New Orleans. For its members, the city represents more than just a location; it embodies a rich tapestry of culture composed of remnants, rituals, memories, and myths, blurring the lines between fiction and reality, past and present. Hood Huggers develops sustainable strategies to support historically African-American neighborhoods in Asheville, NC, focusing on community capacity building and creating spaces that mitigate trauma while enhancing existing services.
Key Points From This Episode
- Louise Glickman facilitates a dialogue about the shared journeys of New Orleans and Asheville, encouraging listeners to consider how they can use the arts to foster connection and community spirit.
- Discover how grassroots initiatives drive change as Jan Gilbert and DeWayne Barton share their firsthand experiences in using art to connect and heal their communities.
- Learn about Jan Gilbert's Vestiges project and the groundbreaking work of DeWayne Barton's Hood Huggers International, both of which have successfully engaged community members and fostered resilience.
- DeWayne Barton discusses his innovative approach in Asheville that promotes environmental sustainability while empowering local youth to take ownership of their neighborhoods.
Links From Today’s Episode
Quotes From This Episode
“I was lucky enough in graduate school to meet two kindred spirits who were equally impacted and adored the literature of New Orleans and Southern literature in general. And we sought advice from some writers, some poets. They pointed us to what we shared in common, which was beyond memory, relics, rituals, and tangible things of the past. But they pointed us to New Orleans as a place, as what we shared. — Jan Gilbert [7:05]
“The big important thing is not to be timid, to really recognize, in many cases, people have burning ideas that they just think, this is not the time and place to do it.” — Jan Gilbert [22:26]
“Art was therapy for me. I was a mean guy, and I was a real tough, real rough guy that really was more on destroying things than making things. And then I clicked into it.” — DeWayne Barton [29:46]
“In the CAP model, it's neighborhood-based. How do you grab the resources that are right next to you? A lot of times, we look for resources outside our community, and we don't tap into the people who are right next door.” — DeWayne Barton [34:42]
About DeWayne Barton
DeWayne Barton, founder and CEO of Hood Huggers International, is a sculptor, poet, and social entrepreneur who combines his creative practice with community activism. A native of Asheville, NC, he grew up in Washington, D.C., and is a Gulf War Veteran. Barton is the author of two books of poetry and has been involved in community improvement and youth development for over 20 years. Through his organization, Hood Huggers International, and the CAP Framework, Barton and his team are creating sustainable strategies to support historically African-American neighborhoods in and around Asheville, NC, providing a framework for community capacity building while helping to create spaces that absorb trauma and increase the effectiveness of existing service programs. These strategies incorporate the arts, social enterprise, and environmental justice.
About Jan Gilbert
Interdisciplinary artist, curator, and educator Jan Gilbert mines memory, loss, and transition. Her works are simultaneously personal and collective, public and private, local and global, and explore these intersections and boundaries by forging objects, installations, rituals, and networks. Her public art addresses issues of AIDS, breast cancer, war, and death. Early in her career, when the 1984 World’s Fair came to New Orleans, Gilbert began to step outside of the gallery walls and engage more directly with a public who might otherwise avoid such traditional art spaces. A native New Orleanian, Gilbert co-founded the artist and writer collective The VESTIGES Project in 1984. Throughout her decades-long career, she has directed, produced, and participated as a core artist in a variety of exhibitions and collaborative public art projects that include video, performance, and site-specific interactions.
All images published with permission of the artist(s); featured photo: Tiffany Womack, Hood Huggers.