Faces of Katrina

“Faces of Katrina,” an exhibition featuring the stories and photographs of more than 100 Katrina evacuees and the volunteers who helped them, opens August 25, 2006 at Artspace in Shreveport, Louisiana. The compelling documentary tribute by award-winning author, illustrator and filmmaker, William Joyce, opens days short of the one-year anniversary of the category 4 hurricane’s historic landfall.

“Faces of Katrina,” produced by Shreveport Regional Arts Council includes the torrent of media coverage of the storm and its aftermath combined with works by area photographers, actual voices of survivors telling their stories, and sounds from the storm. The exhibit is part of an ongoing effort by Joyce to honor and share the personal stories of those whose lives were changed forever. “These people, in many cases have lost everything…homes, possessions, transportation…we want to evoke that feeling,” says Joyce, who is also donating the sale of his artworks, “Katrinagras”, to help raise money to support both the relief efforts in South Louisiana and to support the creation of this exhibition. “The goal and ambition of this exhibition is to, literally, give face to the scope of the disaster.”

The exhibit will focus not only on the tragedy, but also on the hope and restoration through temporary housing, hospitality, and support. Many of the volunteers who simply stopped what they were doing to respond were from the Shreveport-Bossier City area. Some rescuers heroically journeyed to South Louisiana taking boats, food, water and clothing, medical supplies and their expertise. Others stayed to help more than 30,000 evacuees who spent days escaping to the northwest corner of the state with little more than the clothes on their backs.

Part of the exhibit will show the many ways in which people respond to disaster, including how people use art such as drawing and photography to capture their feelings or those of others. An area will be set up by artists to show young people how to create their own journals and photographs. Two murals, a wall of children’s drawings from the area shelters, and photos from the Katrina Kids with Cameras project will be part of the Kidspace area.

William Joyce and area photographers have worked throughout the year meeting the survivors of the hurricane and subsequent flood, hearing and recording their stories, and photographing them in a way that brings dignity to the evacuees and their experiences. The idea, according to Joyce, is to “create clean, simple, black and white portraits of individuals and groups, whether by family, friend, or relation of any kind (pets, loved ones, or objects that are dear) of people that are affected by Hurricane Katrina. We believe that including backgrounds such as the shelters or current circumstances will detract from the image of these people: the pain, joy, and suffering that we can see on their faces. We feel this is necessary to give a sense of uniformity to the experience: The displacing …Disheartening…Discouraging…but sometimes haunting and heroic emotions that are etched on these faces of Katrina.”

“Faces of Katrina” will be exhibited August 25 through October 21 at Artspace, 710 Texas Street, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and by appointment. The exhibit is free to the public. There is a $5 activity fee for Kidspace. Tickets for the opening party on August 25 are on sale now for $25 per person. For more information contact the Shreveport Regional Arts Council at 318-673-6500.

Courtesy Leisure Group Travel