In this photo on January 30, 2020, Carl Joe Williams and Sandy Rosenthal are pictured with youth artists from The NET Charter High School. Photo/Erin Barnard

The structure is designed by youth artists

The Arts Council of New Orleans, in partnership with the City of New Orleans, the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) and the residents of the Filmore Gardens neighborhood, will install a new sculpture at Levees.org’s Levee Exhibit Hall & Garden.

The art commission arose out of a much broader project––the Gentilly Resilience District made possible through a $141 million grant received by the City of New Orleans from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) National Disaster Resilience Competition. 

The goal is to reduce flood risk, slow land subsidence, improve energy reliability, and encourage neighborhood revitalization. 

The art commission of one of several public art works that the Arts Council is coordinating for the St. Anthony neighborhood in Gentilly which saw catastrophic flooding when levees and floodwalls breached during Hurricane Katrina. The purpose of public art is to illuminate, educate, and catalyze action about the environmental challenges facing the city. 

The commission at 5000 Warrington Drive near the London Avenue Canal breach site is designed by a group of fourteen youth artists from the Arts Council’s Young Artist Movement program at The NET Charter High School in Gentilly. They worked alongside Carl Joe Williams to create the substantial piece of art that speaks to neighborhood history, the community’s resilience, and its relationship with water.  

Levees.org is working with the lead artist and providing the engineering expertise for the structure’s foundation. Levees.org is also covering the cost of the materials and construction.