Film Screening and Q&A with director Robert Adanto

City of Memory

Wednesday, August 31, 2016 6:00 PM

Free and open to the public

Suggested $10 donation to the Community Foundation of Acadiana - Acadiana Disaster Response Fund - to support the disaster relief efforts for those affected by recent floods

The Hilliard University Art Museum is pleased to announce a screening of the documentary City of Memory, directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Robert Adanto. The film will be presented Wednesday, August 31, at 6:00 PM and followed by a Q&A with the director.

City of Memory explores the ways in which the cataclysmic events in the wake of Hurricane Katrina became imprinted on the memory of visual artists who lived through them. Robert Adanto’s film documents the unique ability of New Orleans’ artists to react when faced with catastrophe. From what looked like the death of a great American city emerged a generation of artists whose energy might prove a source of renewal for the rest of the world.

The film features compelling artwork and interviews with Samuel Portera, Deborah Luster, Tameka Norris, Dawn DeDeaux, Miranda Lake, Gina Phillips, Hannah Chalew, John Woodin, Rondell Crier, Thomas Neff, Jennifer Shaw, Loren Schwerd, Lisette De Boisblanc, Kevin Kline, Zack Smith, E. Paul Julien, Elizabeth Kleinveld, Jan Gilbert, Sydney Byrd, Keith Calhoun, Jana Napoli, Rontherin Ratliff, and David Spielman.

Six of the artists featured in the film will be included in the group exhibition Face to Face: A Survey of Contemporary Portraiture by Louisiana Artists, which opens at the Hilliard University Art Museum that following week, on Friday September 9. Independent curator Jane Hart, who organized the exhibit, is an old friend of filmmaker Robert Adanto and cites his work on City of Memory as a direct influence on her selections for Face to Face. “When Robert first showed me this film, I was deeply moved by the compassion he demonstrated, as well as the artists’ display of raw human emotion,” says Hart. “He is a brilliant storyteller, and the movement of artists he has chronicled in post-Katrina New Orleans is part of an important legacy of activism that is developing in present- day American art history.”

The screening on August 31 in Lafayette is a fundraiser for those affected by recent floods in the region. It is suggested that those attending the film donate $10 to the Community Foundation of Acadiana (Memo: Acadiana Disaster Response Fund), to support ongoing disaster relief efforts.