NOLA RISING: September 2008

25 September 2008

Prospect Park Paint Party!

PROSPECT PARK PAINT PARTY : October 4th

SLIGHTLYaskew presents NoLA Rising!

NoLA Rising is a post-Katrina arts campaign that focuses on public art, community building and arts therapy in New Orleans. In preparation for the arrival of NoLA Rising in November, SLIGHTLYaskew will be hosting paint parties across New York City.

The next paint party will be Saturday October 4th in Prospect Park. At each paint party, there will be free wood, paint and brushes. We will invite New Yorkers and passersby to paint these pieces of wood with messages of hope for the people of New Orleans.

The signs will be displayed at the NoLA Rising Exhibit which will be open November 21st through the 26th at the infrared theater (IRT) in the West Village.

Many of the signs will also be displayed around the city of New York for public enjoyment, and the rest will be given as a gift to the city of New Orleans and its people who are struggling with post traumatic stress disorder and who are returning to and rebuilding their homes but cannot afford artwork.

Join us on Saturday, and be on the look out for paint parties coming to your neighborhood!

Donate to NoLA Rising

What People Say...

CHRIS ROSE (nola): "It's all got a very Don Quixote feel to it, a lone wolf braying into the wilderness... It's art for art's sake. And for sanity's sake as well." & "NoLA Rising, a ragtag band of insurgent art missionaries who post artwork in public places as far and wide across the region as possible."

ANGELA PATE (nola): "New Orleans still needs so much help, but the people of NOLA are bringing back the bohemian, artistic atmosphere that makes me love it so much. Rex has become almost a cult leader, bringing NOLA back beyond just the infrastructure, but, more importantly, maybe, to it’s heart and soul."

Idiot the Wise a.k.a. INSPIRE (Tel Aviv): "If NOLA rises again, then its from the organized efforts of this guy...a true public art hero..."

A.J. (nola): "One day while traversing the muck of damage, alone in my car, I looked over and suddenly glimpsed a ray of color. A perfectly small square of color that simply stated Joy and then a short block away, another that read simply Hope. My car grinded to a slow halt in the street and I wept those post Katrina tears we've all shed following this time by a smile. Not a tiny grin but, a large and powerful giant size smile. "

Killian Doherty (Ireland): "Much to the disbelief of the destitute citizens of New Orleans, it became wholly apparent that the loss of the public realm was not due to the flooding, but to the governments' re-appropriation of it, when backs were turned.

Within this specter of a military dictatorship imposed to 'control' people' , ReX a local artist read the chasm between people’s physical disenfranchisement from their city and the unbridled appropriation of it by state as intolerable. ReX attempted to stitch this chasm closed with a humanist and practical intervention back into public space. 3,000 street signs were arduously hand- drawn, painted and affixed, to intersections throughout the city. ReX tried to weaved a sense of order back into the neglected fabric of New Orleans; his humanistic treatment gave people hope, allowing them to re orientate themselves again, empowering them to reclaim New Orleans, their home, amidst the neglect and oppression. It became a cultural movement for social justice."

KELLEY (detroit-ish): "This is great work!!!"

SINA (tucson): "Sunshine and art and happiness, the city, the soul will win...look how much more contagious NoLA Rising's efforts have become..."

MAGS (nola native): "Projects like NOLA Rising are only trying to spread a little love and joy via art to a depressed, beat-down population..."

VIRTUAL SHOCK (nola): "...it’s always heartwarming to see one of these signs."

DR. D. LEE (mobile): "...a rare and unique commodity."