A $75,000 Our Town Grant Goes to A Studio in the Woods
A program of Tulane University’s ByWater Institute called A Studio in the Woods, is receiving a $75,000 Our Town Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The grant will be used towards Searching for the Ghosts of the Gulf, a collaborative project with artist and biologist Brandon Ballengée and the Plaquemines Parish Government.
A Studio in the Woods is a retreat for artists, scholars, and the public. It is a place in Lousiana’s protected forest along the Mississippi River where patrons can go to relax and focus on their creativity. The organization has built a network of artists interested in works based on southern Louisiana’s environment.
Searching for the Ghosts of the Gulf is a project that artist and biologist Brandon Ballengée and the Plaquemines Parish Government are coming together to create. Brandon Ballengée will be a community-based residency at A Studio in the Woods where he will study and explore endangered fish species from the Gulf of Mexico.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Brandon Ballengée and the Plaquemines Parish Government to bring dynamic, accessible, and fun programming about environmental change to our neighbors in Plaquemines Parish,” A Studio in the Woods Managing Director Ama Rogan remarked, “We hope this project sparks new understandings, conversations, and bonds in our communities.”
Ballengée states, “Together we will build resilience for coastal populations using citizen driven art/science research while taking collaborative actions towards a collective future survival.”
Our Town funding is the National Endowment for the Arts grant that will help fund projects such as this at A Studio in the Woods. There are 63 grants like this nationwide which supports projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities by advancing local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes; ultimately laying the groundwork for sustainable systems change.
“It is always exciting when Plaquemines Parish can partner with outside organizations to bring grant money into our parish. This project in particular will help us to expand our coastal resilience, which as we know is one of the most important and pressing issues we face,” said Plaquemines Parish President Kirk M. Lepine.