After the Storm
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(Photo © Lynda Koolish)
KALAMU YA SALAAM: THE LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE PROJECT
Kalamu ya Salaam is skeptical about the rebuilding of the “new” New Orleans. As the poet, performer, radio show host, and local activist recently wrote in the literary journal ChickenBones, “I am certain there will be no invitation to the hundreds of thousands of poor black people — the very people who created and sustained the culture of New Orleans as it was known and celebrated worldwide.” To make sure that their history is not erased, Salaam is tracking down evacuees of the Big Easy, recording their testimonies on digital video, and distributing them over the Internet through the Listen to the People project. The project’s website launches this Sunday, October 9.
Salaam calls this form of testimonial Neo-Griot (pronounced grEE-Oh), a new-media update of the West African form of theater that combines storytelling, music, and oral tradition. He has not sought any government sponsorship for the project; rather, he has raised the money for all of the equipment needed to produce and disseminate the footage through speaking engagements and tours. Over the next two weeks alone, he’ll be traveling to Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Illinois.
Recently, Salaam appeared in New York with Toni Morrison, Amiri Baraka, Eric Bogosian, and Dael Orlandersmith at a benefit for his project at the Bowery Poetry Club and St. Mark’s Church. Despite getting these theatrical and literary luminaries to perform on behalf of his organization, he says, “I’m not leading a grandiose political movement.” On principle, the Neo-Griot project has no centralized operations headquarters; its goal is to be mobile, find spaces from which to work, and develop a broad network of friends.
Before Katrina hit, Salaam lived in the Algiers section of New Orleans. Although his house only sustained light wind damage from the hurricane, he was forced to leave the city because of a lack of employment. His family has since moved to Brentwood, Tennessee because his wife — an X-Ray technician — found a job at the Nashville Veteran’s Hospital. But Salaam won’t be there much in the short term. Why is he keeping such an exhausting schedule with such a mammoth project? “So that, 50 or 100 years from now, the emotions are out there — not just the official record.”
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GLENN GRUBER: CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER
All things considered, the 100-year-old building that houses the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans got off easy. Yes, it sustained considerable damage from Hurricane Katrina; half of its windows were destroyed, and the basement was flooded. But, as associate director Glenn Gruber remarks, “Any basement that you have in New Orleans is going to get flooded. We’ll probably be up and running before the city’s ready for us to be up-and-running.”
That news should prompt a collective sigh of relief from local artists who are planning to return home in the wake of the city’s devastation. After all, the Center has housed and nurtured experiments in painting, theater, photography, performance art, dance, music, video, education, and sculpture for almost 30 years. It regularly hosts ArtSpeak, a monthly series of dialogues with Louisiana-based artists; ArtSpot Productions, a multidisciplinary theater troupe; NEA JazzMasters, a tour of legendary musicians; and numerous other programs.
Meanwhile, the Center is trying to get in touch with all of its employees through its weblog. As for Gruber himself, who is now living with his brother in Tennessee, “I’ve been in contact with just about everybody — or, at least, everybody I know who’s from there.”
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ERV RAIBLE: HEARTSONG PEFORMING ARTS FUND
Many New Yorkers are familiar with the HeartSong Performing Arts Fund, which was established following the September 11 attacks. Now, Heartsong has establishing a fund for performers who were Katrina victims and is raising money for it via a benefit concert at Symphony Space on Sunday, October 16. A slew of top performers, including Tony Award-winners Boyd Gaines and Judy Kaye, are slated to take the stage.
Erv Raible, administrator of the fund, is coordinating a panel of club owners, theaters, and producers to make sure that the most deserving performing artists are selected to receive money. “The awardees will all be professionals, not debutants,” he says. Although HeartSong does not make a specific effort to reach out to minority artists, Raible notes that “many of the recipients will probably be people of color, since many of the performers are.” Only individual artists from New Orleans are eligible to apply for HeartSong funds.
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In addition to the efforts noted above, several of the country’s theatrical and professional unions are doing their share on behalf of artists directly affected by Katrina. The Actors’ Fund of America and The Directors Guild Foundation both provide emergency assistance to entertainers in need. Arts Unite for Hurricane Relief offer a variety of services, including housing pledges, job postings, and, fund-raising benefits. There’s even a community of legal professionals, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, providing pro-bono representation for artists in the areas of contracts, bankruptcy, copyright, insurance, and real estate.
Also note that a benefit for the New Orleans-based theater company Southern Rep (Ryan Rilette, artistic director) will take place on Monday, October 24th at the Perry Street Theatre in Manhattan. The event will be highlighted by two readings of this year’s Fringe Festival hit The Importance of Marrying Wells, by Dana Slamp, at 6pm and 9pm. The readings will bookend a cocktail hour with live music by Jann Klose, hors d’oeuvres, and a silent auction. All tickets are priced at $25; to purchase, click here.
