NEW ORLEANS – Beginning on Saturday, October 1, 2016, “FLAG,” a sculptural installation on the Jefferson Davis Parkway median at Canal Street in Mid-City New Orleans, will turn its focus to the fight against all types of cancers during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “FLAG” – a project of Sculpture for New Orleans – consists of 26 dramatic, eight-foot wooden crosses draped with 52 original works of art in the form of banners created by professional artists, students and a variety of community members.
The brainchild of Sculpture for New Orleans founder Michael Manjarris along with Barataria Communications founder and author Morgan Molthrop, “FLAG” was originally conceived as a collaborative commemoration of Hurricane Katrina's 10th anniversary. Colorful flags – many reflecting emotions stirred by the storm – were created by local artists along with students from Ashé Cultural Arts Center, L-9 Studio, YAYA, CANO and Educare New Orleans, and raised for a one-year exhibit.
A number of the original Katrina banners have been sold to collectors to benefit the local cultural charities that participated in the founding “FLAG” exhibit. In cooperation with the City of New Orleans and its Parks and Parkways Department, Manjarris is pleased to be able to keep “FLAG” in place and feature an ongoing rotation of new banner exhibits.
“The response to 'FLAG' has been very positive, throughout the community and among visitors to the city,” said Manjarris. “I imagined 'FLAG' as a channel for collaborative, artist-led community conversation. With the launch of its next exhibit examining cancer's prevalence and impact, 'FLAG' continues to be an inspired venue to explore community feelings, ideas and issues through public art.”
At the start of October's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 52 new banners created by local cancer patients past and present, their families, friends, medical staff and caregivers, will be raised to honor all those impacted by the disease.
Participants in the Tulane Arts In Medicine (AIM) program are creating a number of flags for the exhibit, as are patients and staff of Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. Recognizing the integral role of the arts in healing the spirit and transforming the treatment experience, AIM provides arts-related workshops, activities and performances for patients, their caregivers and staff. Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center delivers comprehensive cancer care that strives to positively impact the lives of cancer patients and their families.
Pieces by students of Ashé Cultural Arts Center's Kuumba Institute youth program will again be part of “FLAG,” as will pieces by Molthrop that relate common symbols to the experience of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Other contributing artists include: Jillian Gibson, Erin Doherty, Melissa Henry, Linda Friedlander, Maria Lavitsky, Tracy Cundiff, Catalina Kidd and Jeanne Louque; Ninth Ward Holy Cross neighborhood students Savannah Ellsworth, Skylar Hairston, Shayne Hamilton, Anthony Martin and Camille Morgan; as well as cancer survivors Molly Jahncke, Sheri Simpson, Stacey Lowentritt, Jim Marchand and Connie Blue.
Jahncke, an artist and five-year survivor of an advanced and aggressive form of breast, lymph and brain cancer, created a banner for the Katrina anniversary exhibit of “FLAG.” When Manjarris and Molthrop imagined a 2016 “FLAG” installation in line with breast cancer awareness month, Jahncke was invited to both contribute her artwork and help organize an exhibit examining the fight against all cancers.
“Start talking about your personal journey, and you realize that almost anyone and everyone has been touched by cancer in some way,” said Jahncke. “Offering 'FLAG' as a creative outlet for communicating cancer experiences, especially here at the foot of the industrial corridor deemed 'Cancer Alley,' is important, inspiring and all too relevant.”
According to the American Cancer Society, Louisiana has the third highest cancer incidence and fourth highest cancer mortality rates in the nation, with about 160 people in the state dying from some form of invasive cancer every week.
“The collection of works going up next as part of 'FLAG' tells many different stories – some of questions and fear, some of joy and triumph, some of sorrow and loss, but most of determination and hope,” added Manjarris. “'FLAG' and all the Sculpture for New Orleans projects are meant to bring together diverse individuals, give voice to evolving thoughts and ideals, and reinforce our common resilience. They also catalyze positive change by engaging the community and supporting one of the most important components of New Orleans' culture and economy: its visual arts and artists.”
Through Sculpture for New Orleans, Manjarris has been the driving force in obtaining and placing in New Orleans more than 65 major sculptures by local, national and international artists. He is responsible for collections down Poydras Street and in the Central Business District that create opportunities for emerging local artists by highlighting their work alongside that of globally prominent artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Mark DiSuvero, Chakaia Booker, Carole Feuerman and James Surls. Installed on Aug. 29, 2015, “FLAG” has extended Sculpture for New Orleans' mission to the Mid-City area, adding another venue for sculptural expression to the cityscape.
As new “FLAG” banners rotate into display after October, some works from the exhibit will be returned to the artists, while others will be put on exhibition at cancer clinics and hospitals. Some pieces, including those of co-organizers and sponsors Molthrop and Jahncke, will be sold to benefit local arts and cancer charities. Molthrop is also donating a portion of proceeds from his latest Barataria Communications book, “Jean Lafitte's Pirate Code: 17 Strategies for Acquiring Untold Fortune from America's First Laissez-Faire Capitalist,” to support this “FLAG” exhibit.
