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.

Don't miss this episode, and be sure to check out the links referenced in the conversation listed below for more information:

jan gilbertart.com

thebestigesproject.org

bluenotejunction.com

hoodhuggers.com

ArtsvilleUSA

NOT REAL ART

For more information, visit https://www.artsvilleusa.com/vestiges-project-hood-huggers

Welcome all you artists and art lovers out there today.

You're listening to the Artsville USA podcast coming to you from Asheville, North Carolina.

I'm your host, Louise Glickman and I'm inviting you to enjoy Tales of Two Cities.

We're gonna talk about New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Asheville and its surrounding counties at just a little over three months post.

Helene Today we're going to answer a burning question.

Beyond bricks and mortar, how will North Carolina recover its unique character and vibe?

The feelings derived from simply being here, living, working and visiting in the Blue Ridge Mountains?

We're going to focus on art and craft as an engine for recovery.

Jan Gilbert, an extraordinary New Orleans artist, visionary and activist, and Duane Barton, arts advocate, entrepreneur and motivator in Asheville.

Here we go, a Tales of Two Cities.

We'll be right back after our music intro from our friend Dan Ubik at Blue Danube Productions and the Conduit Music podcast.

Hartsville, Hartsville, the happening town where Art of bounds.

Hartsville, Hartsville From Asheville, town where art abound.

Hartsville, Hartsville Feeling mountain high and inspired in North Carolina Line up.

That's where you'll find us amazing artists and designers.

Oh yeah.

Artsville from Asheville.

Okay, I'm back here.

Louise Glickman welcoming you to Artsville usa where we celebrate American contemporary arts and crafts from Asheville, North Carolina and beyond.

Our monthly podcasts introduce you to world class movers and makers, their art and their craft and their very unique careers.

And you can find this all@artsvilleusa.com and most major podcast channels.

The idea of today's show is to give voice to the impact that makers make in building and in this case, rebuilding our communities.

First, we're going to hear from Jan Gilbert, whose outstanding vision for New Orleans brought together a community of committed creatives, committed to change and to the furtherance of the very aura of this already spirited and culturally complex historic city to become today more relevant than ever in the world of art.

Many spirited and disparate communities came together with a singular purpose to keep the art alive and help it to build back New Orleans better than ever.

After that, we hope you'll stay tuned for Dwayne Barton, who has turned West Asheville's Burton street community into the center of a universe of educational, entrepreneurial and creative programs through Hood Huggers International.

When you add its aligned cultural programs, it has become a hive of buzzing activism.

Today we will use this as a catalyst and driving force by utilizing their vision to cohesively impact all of Asheville and beyond.

In other words, we think this could be a model for the recovery of Asheville in the region.

Finally, we will then come together for a spirited conversation, the three of us, before signing off.

So now on with the show.

Jan, welcome to Artsville, usa.

Let's begin with a question that I am repeatedly getting, which is why have we chosen to compare Asheville to New Orleans as we seek a path for recovery?

I have been a longtime resident of both cities and have worked in the tourism and cultural sectors in each for 20 years.

So this isn't a question of geography, size, density, the amount of damage, or even hurricane preparedness, which Lord knows we were not prepared for, but it's about the people who help in the recovery, and it's also about the people who visit these cities and why they are drawn to our cities.

So I think it's because of the history, the.

The culture, the food and music, adventure, exploration, appreciation of unique and fertile geographies that is what binds these two cities together.

It is our character and our spirit, our stories told with authenticity and humor.

It's the manner in which we express ourselves with artistic fervor, both visual and performing arts and craft that draws folks to us like magnets.

So this is foundational to both of our economies, and that's why Artsville is doing this series, bringing personalities and successes like yours, Jane, to folks like Dwayne, who we'll hear from next.

So let's start with how you visualize and actualized New Orleans rebirth.

How did you restore your community using arts as a driver for the city's recovery?

Well, Louise, thanks for having me.

And we wish we had Artsville USA there for us after Katrina.

Let me tell you so y'all are one step ahead.

Honestly, New Orleans, I'm a native, and 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, tangible things of the past.

But they pointed us to New Orleans as a place, as what we shared.

And frankly, at that time, we didn't love the idea of that because we wanted to be beyond, you know, provincial area of place.

But we listened, we called, they responded, and we discovered.

So before Katrina, for 25 years, we explored New Orleans sensibility, this eclectic culture that is so passionate and just.

It became our chief collaborator.

Jan, let me ask you a question here.

First of all, I Don't know where you're in school, I suspect.

Was it New York?

No, no, I've lived here my whole life.

It was Tulane in graduate school.

Okay, so you went to Tulane Art School.

Yes.

Or Newcomb.

I guess it still is.

Is it.

Is it still new?

No, it's Tulane.

That's Tulane.

Shows you.

But.

But I'd like to get to some of the very unique community strategies that you envisioned.

And the one that I guess I want to start with is the Vestiges project.

Yes.

Can you tell us about that?

So these artists and writers, we became a collaborative, a fluid collaborator of collaboration, where we took on projects.

We took on serious subjects, such as loss, contemporary memorials.

And as I say, for 25 years, we explored war.

We explored how to represent this place.

So after doing many exhibitions and various exchanges and learning the art of collaboration with people from different places of different disciplines, when Katrina came, we had these years of experience, and I approached the Contemporary Art center, which, frankly, was hobbled, as most of us were at this time, and had to ask if we could do a residency that dealt with recovery.

And so I called it Vestiges Think Tank, and invited many people who had been previous Arlenians who understood the nature of New Orleans and to come back and see, number one, understand the vastness of this devastation.

Do I understand that people left and people who had left earlier to live in other places, then came back as volunteers, or were these people coming together from all over the country?

These were people as far as Switzerland, people who had lived in New Orleans and moved away over the years and maintained, you know, a loose network of communications.

In one instance with Richard Schechner, who had been a Tulane student years ago and went on to New York to become kind of the founder of performance studies at nyu.

He.

I had read his books on ritual and knew that he had a deep appreciation for what New Orleans was about.

And I cold called him in an email and invited him back.

And he became one of the strongest presences that we had.

Okay, so let's get down to some of the specifics about community strategies.

Could you tell us a little bit, for example, about the projects that you engaged in with the idea of bringing back the commitment, the spirit, the hard work?

Because we know what's happening here.

We're already tired, and we're only three months in.

So how did you enliven the community to work together?

We had many meetings and meetings and meetings.

We invited people in had large meetings from people from all over, including Richard Schechner as far and nevertheless we agreed on.

We were going to do four different neighborhood extreme intensive networks that we built.

We found a locus in each neighborhood that didn't have to be art related, but was generally a nonprofit in some way.

And we had a steering committee of which I was one of the directors, Ron Bechet was another.

And we worked with universities joining with us, Tulane, Xavier and Dillard.

And we planned programs.

It became a five year initiative.

And that's one thing I want to emphasize is it does take time and patience is definitely needed.

But small steps along the way, many approaches to foundations, people approached us, we approached them.

Neighborhood groups, we all agreed on different projects for each of our groups.

Could you name the four neighborhoods and could you talk about a specific project to that neighborhood that really made an impact?

I would like to speak to my neighborhood, which was Lake Views.

It was called Lakeviews.

A sunset bus tour.

And this went on for a year with students, high school students as well as college students meeting and planning.

And we.

We made school buses route.

We met at the lakefront.

We drove and there were installations and performances starting at a Pottersfield cemetery, going to a Baptist church that was destroyed.

And there were performances.

There were interactions with neighbors, heroes we call them, from 1 year old to 93 years old.

They were interviewed.

Their portraits were done by the interviewers who were students.

And I took over my own family home where my mother, 85 had been still living after 50 years.

And another artist, Kathy Randalls, who was very involved in directing it, she happened to live and grow up a block and a half away from me.

So we had a doy do of the two buses where the busloads went to her house for a performance.

And then I wrapped my family home with 300ft, a ribbon of embalmed family photographs with wafting sound coming from the windows.

And these were recordings that my father had made this very.

Just little.

Every day my mother chatting on the telephone or kids laughing or crying.

And this is what people walked around.

And then there was a dinner.

We ended up at the lakefront where we started.

And there was a community meal, of course, gumbo and salad.

And there was another performance on the scarred slab of Gruning's restaurant.

And that's where.

So you didn't have any.

You.

You didn't have certain of those swims?

Swims, no.

Nor did we have.

I'll tell you, I miss those swims.

Yes, yes.

They might have been in the gumbo Though.

Yeah, right, right.

But I'll tell you, it was really a profound experience.

And I have.

There were so many commentaries of how people weren't able to go home to their neighborhood, because it was really almost two years after when we finally had this performance happen, after building up to it for quite a while.

And people had.

My mother, for example, had not been to her house, she came for that performance, and you would have thought she was Rose Kennedy arriving with all the video and cameras.

And it was.

It was.

She could do it this way.

And many people did.

And they built a community on the bus as well.

Well, I want to thank you at this point for showing people or telling people in our audience how people play off each other by telling their stories.

And particularly, we are interested in oral histories that we maintain an archive because major cities throughout Southeast America have experienced these storms, and we all need a playbook.

So I think that what you've said today is very, very important.

And of course, we will write a feature with more information that will also go up on our website.

But one of the issues we have is how do you fund all this?

Because we don't have major corporations here to fund it, and we do have publications, and we do have institutions that.

And they are in.

And they are also struggling right now.

The federal government is not coming around quickly to the funds that we need because our area of devastation is the size of the state of Maryland.

People think of it as a city.

We are 23 counties that have been impacted, and we are bound by the mountains, the Blue Ridge, our history, our Cherokee Nation.

This is what binds us together.

And we need funds and people outside of Asheville to understand that while we have a lot of things that are alike, we are very different in the size and scope of this in the mountains.

So funding is not coming easily.

What did you do?

Well, in one way, I hope that I can share with you and somehow it can be hooked up online.

We did an evaluation after this four years which describes each neighborhood's efforts and funders, of course.

And really, we reached out.

That is one of the key things, is call people, ask people, you know, it was so much funded, so much from outside.

We may have gone to a hotel here or there and said, will you be a team player with us?

So that if we had someone coming in, they would give us a discount or something.

But that was helping them as well, you know.

And however we had, you know, the Warhol foundation stepped up and the American center, artists from outside.

And there are books that are written that are amazing.

Paul Chan did Waiting for Godot and there's a book that is.

And frankly there's even a link to the.

One of the performances on YouTube and they and Transforma projects.

And these are all things I'm more than happy to share different links online or books that are written.

They were smart enough to along the way include the process of their projects.

Well, that's going to really help us, Jan.

I believe it will.

That will help us and we can put that out to our audience.

So you know that our shared audience is 11,000 subscribers from around the world.

So we have.

And I learned just today that we are people listening to us in this podcast from 12 countries.

So we do have a far reach.

And they are very interested in understanding this recovery process which we also would like to record and archive and place in a credible institution or library.

And one of the things we need to focus there on is some do's and don'ts, some tips and tricks.

Because I feel that we need to embrace what we should avoid, not just what we should do.

We need to save time, we need to save energy, we need to save money.

Can you think of one or two things that we might not do in our recovery?

You know, I did a talk in South Carolina about the ethics of collaboration in a post situation like this.

And of course it's more for what people coming in have to avoid doing.

You know, stepping on people's toes and not and certainly, you know, being brazen about things or just helicoptering in.

These, these efforts need to be for the long haul.

And I think it needs to be understood by the residents of the area and as well as the people, you know, quote, helicoptering in.

I think that the idea, 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.

Well, it probably is the time to, you know, it may need to be revisioned, but that, you know, if you're thinking of an opportunity or you have some long standing, you know, desire.

But, but once again, this idea of hooking up with people and building a network, you cannot do this on your own.

I mean, I think that's one of the biggest cautions, you know, that you have to step outside and I mean literally with neighbors.

Now, post, post Covid, we at least have this opportunity to do so much online now.

I'm hoping that that availability is working for you all because I know many people lost their computers, lost everything and that was a problem At a time.

Well, let me do this.

I'd like to stop at this point and we're going to interview Dwayne next.

I can really see a lot of overlap and convergence of interest and spirit between the two of you.

So I'm going to turn to Dwayne and then we're going to come back together so you can talk to each other and I'll pop in for a statement or two.

Let's go now to you, Dwayne.

You have really created something so special.

And the engine is art, craft, culture, and entrepreneurship.

But it all builds on the history of your area, which is very historic, and the creativity that is bubbling up now.

I turn to you and you have really created something very special in West Asheville.

And what I love about it is foundational to the whole concept is art, creativity, poetry, music, that all comes together in entrepreneurship and it's enlivened your neighbors.

It's brought you a lot of incredible attention from not just all of the region, but far beyond this region, because you're building a renewed community spirit.

And I know for a fact from all of our partners throughout western North Carolina that keeping that community spirit alive is what is going to get this recovery done.

So can you start by telling a little bit about Hood Huggers?

Because I see that as a pebble in a pond.

It's sparking concentric waves towards a stronger, healthier, happier community.

And I'm thinking this could be a model for Asheville and even towns throughout the region as we look to rebuild post hella.

Tell me how that all began.

There was this thing started by Dr.

Mullins at UNCA called the State of Black Asheville.

And what it did was it was inspired by Hurricane Katrina.

And what he said, he said his students came to him and they said, what if that was to happen here in Asheville, what would happen to the African American community?

And they started doing all these studies, but they did all this research and then they had this thing called the State of Black Asheville conference over at unca.

And I went to it at that time.

I was working in the Burton street community all that time, and I was very excited to meet other people talking about how we're going to rebuild these historically marginalized communities.

So when I went there all excited, I was sort of disappointed in a way because I said, wow, I didn't know that this was happening across the City.

And it was like people wasn't really working together to try to address these systemic issues.

So it really motivated me to start just thing called Green Opportunities.

It was a nonprofit designed to train and educate young adults around the environment and how they can restore their neighborhoods and be conscious about the environment.

After doing that, it was for 18 and 24 year olds.

I said, man, it's almost too late.

We gotta start even earlier.

So I left Green Opportunities and started Hood Huggers that would focus on neighborhoods and young people.

And during that process, we created this thing called the CAP model, the community accountability plan.

And it talks about how you do a time tile and treasure mapping of the community, and then you involve the young people in the neighborhood on how to rebuild it.

So here's a question.

You're an artist and you're a poet.

And a lot of people like me have always been in art, so to speak, but with different motivations and different goals.

And sometimes, particularly if you're struggling as an artist, you wonder, what am I doing this for?

So the fact that art was part of your process from the very beginning, how did you come to that Therapy.

Artist 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.

I forgave a very important person in my life.

And it just opened up this door of creativity on a positive, I want to say positive side.

That was once, if this was Star wars, the dark side.

So I did that and I just never looked back.

But what happened?

Because I'm a sculptor and I use stuff out of trash.

When I first started doing this, people thought I was crazy.

I said, why he jumping in the trash can, pulling stuff out and making stuff.

They thought I was, you know, but it just kept calling me and I couldn't turn it off.

But it was a point of forgiveness that opened up my creative lens.

And after that, I never stopped.

Well, here's the thing that I think is really fascinating about capps.

So you started with sort of rebuilding your own self, inner self, focusing on your creativity, but then somehow you got it.

As I understand it, CAP is a framework.

It's a systematic approach to community development using arts, environment and social enterprise.

And you're focusing on teaching this to young people.

All right, who helped you create this framework?

Was it institutional?

I mean, community development and economic development is my gig.

Okay, I came up through that.

So you had a vision, but where did it come from?

I mean, practicing and I grew up in D.C.

i was born here in Asheville, but I grew up in D.C.

and my stepfather at the time was very active in the community, and he used to take me with him when I was small.

And I hated it.

I didn't want to go save the neighborhood.

I wanted to go play with my friends.

So I've been around it most of my life, but I was always under instruction.

I didn't ever take a leadership role.

It's not until I came to Asheville, where I had to take a more leadership role.

And I used the arts because I knew the power of art to be one of the key pillars we would use to implement the different projects.

Especially when I moved back to Burton street area, it was cracked out.

So you couldn't go in there with.

With a cape and a badge.

You had to be creative.

Okay.

How can we restore the community and maintain our own safety?

So that's another reason we use art.

In fact, we used the trash we picked up in the neighborhood to create the Peace Gardens, which was like our bat cave.

Well, is that.

I love that analogy.

So you've expanded.

I mean, what is this, 10 years you've been doing this now?

When I came in, we hit the ground running.

So now you're talking the tour that you could take with hood huggers, which I think relates to some of what Jan said.

And perhaps we could talk about that as the foundational basis for all of this, or sort of the umbrella.

And now you've got Peace Gardens, and we could all use a dose of peace right now.

A market and a creative arts program.

Right.

And all of this as the neighborhood braces itself for another highway expansion, which enters into more death denial, Things that we have to get over.

You know, we've all had to deal with COVID and the election and all of this.

So how does this all come together to rebuild, to truly make a difference?

You know, I would love to get a story about a young person who has found art, craft happiness through the work of hood huggers.

Wow, that's a great one.

That's a lot of stories, a lot of different people.

But I can say that recently, a young man who grew up in a neighborhood.

See, in the cap model, it's neighborhood based.

It's like, how do you grab the resources that's 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.

So this young man was working with us and he was pretty stubborn.

He was like a little.

He didn't want to follow instructions well.

So since that time, he.

We.

We ran the race with him, we practiced with him, and he came back and knocked on my door the other night.

9:00pm at night.

Say, Mrs.

Duane, I want to thank you.

I'm doing this trade now.

I'm doing this electricity.

I'm going to be an electrician.

I'm going through this process.

I invest and save my money.

I know I gave you a hard time, Mrs.

Duane.

I know I wasn't a listener, but, man, I can say you really helped me get to the point where I am today.

And, man, you need that because we have a youth program, and the cats right now, they can really test you in a way.

And sometimes you need that injection.

It don't come that often, but that injection say, yo, you are on a good track.

Stay focused, stay grounded in the neighborhood.

Because we consider the neighborhood the headwater.

If we can't get it straight within these neighborhoods, anything downstream from that won't be as effective and efficient.

So we base it in a neighborhood.

We build the capacity or connect the capacity, what we have in the neighborhood, and then we run the young people through it.

I hear some grants language in there.

I hear that code word capacity, capacity building.

And you have gotten tremendous funding support.

Have you done that with your marketing, your exposure through the tours?

How have you grabbed people's attention in such a passionate way?

I think practicing, delivering, like our tagline for the book is making restoring the planet a universal sport.

So we have been practicing a long time and have been delivering.

And we use what we had, like the.

The funding that we're getting now.

We put maybe 15 years in the game just doing it ourselves before that started to open up for us.

And with that putting in that energy and connecting the dots with different organizations and individuals, it allowed us the capacity for people to see.

We got good stats and statistics about our work and what we've been able to deliver.

Who is doing all this?

I mean, I know you're a dynamo, but who else is involved?

Yeah, we have a wife.

You know, there's always a wife in the background calling shots.

And then we have a team of people.

We have a team of young people.

And you know what's so amazing?

The Peace Gardens we did, it was a community.

All these people came from everywhere to help and deliver and to do these things for years.

And even at that MLK march, there'd be hundreds of people who come to our celebration for mlk, and it'd be three degrees outside and bring their kids and everything.

So I think just being consistent with the hustle and keeping it going, and people know that you there resources come around.

Can you talk a little bit about, I mean, the word peace?

I think what you mean is health, right?

Like, is it spiritual?

Is the fact that it's a breathing space, which is why parks, for example, are so important.

What does the Peace Garden look like?

What are you emoting through this landscape?

Well, really, that war in Iraq that we was fighting, we used to drive all the way to D.C.

and say, don't go to war in Iraq and go play drums, don't go to war march, come back to the neighborhood.

And they pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, shooting right in the neighborhood.

We said, hey, man, we just drove all the way to D.C.

talking about peace.

It's war right here in our neighborhood.

So let's create a space in our neighborhood for peace and let it begin in our own backyard.

So that's how it started, because of war.

But then now it's partially a business or entrepreneurial project.

Right.

Aren't you using that to teach business skills?

And there's a market, I think, and music and all that.

But in the beginning, it was like a Hail Mary attempt to save the hood.

It was no market.

It was like, yo, let's grow some food and find a place where people can come and chill.

Because the neighborhood wasn't a safe space.

So we say, okay, what can we do about it?

A lot of times how we got the hustle going is like, okay, we hear what the problem is, but what can we do?

And that's what the Peace Garden was.

And then it grew into these other things.

But when we first started it, it was desperation.

And now, as I understand it, some of this is actually skills trainings under instruction.

I heard that.

I heard you say that about yourself.

You were under instruction, and now you've got a whole group under instruction.

What are they learning and how?

The arts, the environment, and social enterprise.

We got an art show down in the River Arts district right now called the Pink Dog.

We got a young guy over there working on a construction on a house in the neighborhood.

We got a couple guys that over at another construction site.

It's like, we gotta grow the next crop of people like me.

We can't assume they're just gonna appear and develop.

So how do we create Grow the next crop.

And we treat this like sports.

In sports, we don't wait until they 18 and give them the soccer ball and the football.

We give it to them as early as we can.

So how do we create the same framework we have for sports for doing the arts, environment and social enterprise?

Well, I tell you, this has been so enlightening and I have on my calendar actually to go to Pink Dog tomorrow for second Saturday.

So I will be there then and maybe I'll even see you and some of your kids and volunteers.

And I think that this is a good idea for Jan to jump back in so that we can share some of these ideas because there are differences and there are things that are very much alike, particularly in embracing arts and things that are visible, things that are viable and things you can touch and feel.

Jan.

Oh, I bet you have some questions you'd like to share with Duane.

Well, I have a couple of comments, particularly Duane.

When I knew that we were going to be speaking, speaking together, I went to your website and I encourage viewers, listeners to join me.

It gives you a wonderful taste and feel.

The video.

We share similar aesthetics.

We share appreciation for trash that we honor and the books.

The idea of an outdoor library, it just was riveting.

And so I do feel a kindred spirit here.

What I fail to mention is in our efforts with our project Home New Orleans, we had a course that continues to date with a collaboration between Xavier University and Tulane University that's called building, let's see, community building for the arts, I believe.

And that is one of your efforts to sustain these, this young crop of people, you know, we value.

It's imperative, you know, this is not a problem.

Hopefully the world will be around for a while so that we need new people to take over this for us.

Yes, yes, definitely that.

Dwayne.

I used to live around the corner from Savior.

I mean, I think having partners who have experienced a lot of the same thing makes a difference.

And I do have to say I think we're going to change the word trash to debris.

I think that's the new upscale word.

But anyway.

Well, we like vestiges.

Vestiges is what we call.

I think vestiges is really good.

So anyway, I want to know.

Dwayne, I'd like to talk a little bit to both of you about this idea of actually getting people on buses with somebody to tell the stories you've been telling because we have a large region here.

I tried to get on a hood huggers tour and there wasn't a Seat on the bus for me.

Okay, so.

But we have been bringing people to studios.

Burtonsville, Bakersville, Barnardsville, Marshall, all these areas that.

Most of which are in about an hour plus drive time because of just the scheduling aspects of a tour.

And then we have a docent on these tours.

You all have done this somewhat the same, but I'd like to know from each of you what was alike and what was different.

For me, like I say, I started this green jobs training program, and we used to have to take people to work, and we had a van.

And when I left, they didn't want the van anymore because it crashed out.

And it crashed into the cemetery out in Burnsville.

And they said, it's haunted or whatever.

So I said, okay, cool, I'll take it.

And I used that to start a tour company.

Now, the reason I got in the tour business is because they was tearing down a lot of the historical African American landmarks in the city and neighborhoods.

And I said, man, if I could get into this business and tell these stories to try to protect these places and educate people about the rich history here in the mountains and take a portion of what we make on the tours to invest back into those communities as a way to try to protect them.

And then it's like, how do you get the young people in the neighborhood to maintain these green spaces and know the history, and then get the elder in the neighborhood to tell the history, and then get an artist in the neighborhood to perform and also support a business?

So we really looked at it in the very beginning, how can create this collaborative flow to support all these entities and at the same time restore the neighborhood?

This is really about being the center of your neighborhood, the center of your universe, and owning it by bringing others in.

You know, no man is an island.

And I would like to find out from both of you, have you connected or do you partner with schools?

And what age do you kind of jump into this?

Because, Jan, I'm under the impression that most of what you did was aimed at adults, right?

Well, you know, we had noca, which is the arts conservatory, which I know you would know, Louise.

New Orleans center for Creative Arts.

And that was high school.

And Country Day also was high school.

That was in our Lakeview project.

I'm not sure how much the high school were targeted in the other neighborhoods, which were the Lower Ninth Ward, Central City, and the Seventh Ward.

And we also had a documentation group, which, again, Duane, your video, you know, shows a mastery of this technique.

So you must have some collaborator who does this with You.

I think it's really important to be able to, again, put it online, get people to see what's going on, even if it's a bus tour, you know, afar.

So Lakeview was.

I mean, it was right there on the water, and it was totally, totally underwater.

Sort of like our river arts district.

Yes.

Three weeks for 10ft of water.

Yeah.

Well, no.

Our water rose 27ft.

No, I do know that that's unbelievable.

And that's what happens when the water comes down off the mountains and it comes down with such force.

Yes.

So that was a little bit different.

But basically, I saw some of the photographs that you did, and I'm not sure where they were shown or where they're still being shown.

But then I learned about this bus trip.

So who was on that bus trip, and what did you gain from it?

I have one quote that I would like to read.

Lakeviews brought me into lost areas of my own neighborhood that I had not even wanted to face.

And it allowed me to make that step toward recovery in an environment that was celebratory.

The aesthetic view lake views gave me of my former neighborhood gave me a break from the overwhelming emotional depression that I was suffering.

It allowed me a glimpse of a vision of personal recovery that up to that point, I felt was completely out of my grasp.

I was simply home again.

I love that.

And I still have a T shirt that says New Orleans Proud to call it Home.

And I feel the same way about Asheville.

So I really thank both of you for this inspiring discussion that we've had today.

I've taken away a lot of ideas for Artsville.

One of them is that I need to live another 20 years, but I'm working with our.

We have many partners as well, and I'd like to continue these discussions with both of you, but I think our audience would as well.

So, Dwayne, you start.

How do people get in touch with you?

Hoodhuggers.com hoodhuggers.com My social media person is in there.

That's a trick question.

And then also you can go to bluenotejunction.com you can learn about the Blue Note Junction and Peace Gardens and Market.

We got this over umbrella thing called the Network of Good.

And it's three social enterprises that's designed to restore community and restore people in place.

Okay, I'm going to check that one out.

And, Jan, I know people are going to want to talk to you about some of the exciting visual and performing arts that you've embraced.

So we are going to continue this Tales of Two Cities.

It's a kind of a mother and child relationship.

So It's Katrina at 20 and baby Helene at year one with an event yet to be made public that will take place place in New Orleans next September and we're going to continue with more podcasts.

How did they get in touch with you, Jan?

So my website is jan gilbertart.com and we al and there I would refer you to the Collaborations page.

My husband and I did a series of articles for the drama review called New Orleans after the Flood which interview several people about the process and it's attainable online.

Thebestigesproject.org also has a series of our history as well as our all the post Katrina projects that you can click on and gives you a lot of ideas about the funders.

The booklet that I referenced is a link on my website.

It is under oh my goodness, Home New Orleans and it says booklet and you click on it.

But I'll try to get that to you.

I was going to say please do because every part of what's been discussed today will also be put together into a feature story for those who prefer reading to listening and that can be found@artsvilleusa.com so I thank all of you, both the folks that are listening and the incredible stories that have come from Jan Gilbert and Duane Barton.

We'll close it off there.

Thank you so much for coming.

Artsville USA uniquely markets creativity to the world.

It's a platform for the talents of Western North Carolina artists who want to show, sell, tell and learn the business practices that will help them sell their work.

Our distinctive blend of Artsville's news and stories, podcasts and exhibits are refreshed with new features weekly and new podcasts each month.

I'd also like to thank our committed and creative team of talent that make all this possible on a very limited budget.

Elise Wilson, who steers the Artsville ship with creativity and organizational genius.

Our editor, Morgan Lawrence, who brings a superb level of professional writing and editing skills to everything we produce.

And with special appreciation to my partner and our mentor, mover, maker and shaker, Scott Power, and you can find him at Crew West Studio and Not Real Art out of Los Angeles.

We keep all of this going with a special passion for building the careers of artists and bringing their stories to our community subscribers.

So with that, please help us to continue to grow by donating to Artsville USA online and subscribing to our website you keep us on our toes at all times so that we may bring eyes, ears and feet, I.e.

visitors to Asheville and beyond for the very best in American contemporary crafts and art.

Thanks for listening and enjoy a feature about today's podcast on the third week of January at artsvilleusa.com until next month, this is your host, Louise Glickman, signing off.

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