New Orleans: You Are Beautiful

Well, I've been hopelessly absent lately and I miss my little corner of the intornet and all you lovely people. I've had a few valid reasons for my truancy, one of which is this:


I'm very excited to announce an exhibition of my New Orleans photographs at The Lens Factory a wonderful spot in Toronto's Gallery District on Queen Street West. There will be a few shots from my first visit to New Orleans, six months after Hurricane Katrina, but the bulk of the work is from a visit in April of 2009. It's a thrill for me to share my photos from what has to be one of my favourite places on earth and to give people a chance to see what I see when I'm there - not just the destruction, but the beauty and the resilience of its people.

This is Liese Dettmer, one of the first residents of The Habitat for Humanity Musicians' Village.


When I met her in April of 2009 she had just finished giving a show on her front porch (she's a great singer / songwriter).

While giving me a tour of her new home, she told me about the free drumming lessons she had been giving, on her front lawn, every Saturday morning, to the kids and teenagers living in the Musician's Village. Some of those kids had been getting up to no good, she said, and they needed something positive to focus on.

When I spoke with Leise today, less than a year later, she said there is no more "kid crime" in the Village. The program is working.

This is strictly a volunteer, community building mission for Leise, and she has plans to expand the program. She is hoping to add more teachers, move indoors to the Ellis Marsalis Performance Centre (once construction is complete) and even march her kids in the 2011 Mardi Gras parade.

All proceeds from the sale of prints from my exhibit at The Lens Factory will go towards purchasing much needed supplies for Leise's students - drum pads, drum sticks and drum straps. Any help you can offer would be much appreciated!

Exhibit Details:

New Orleans
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL
A Photo Exhibit by Tracey Nolan

February 2010
The Lens Factory
1040 Queen Street West
416-988-0929
lensfactory.net

Opening Reception
Friday, February 5th
7pm - 10pm