Danette Vincent worked and prepared for a year, leading up to Friday; the 20th anniversary of the storm that forever changed New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Vincent, a New Orleans native, ended up in Dallas, where she still lives.

Her nonprofit, Youth Stop Inc. will mount a photo retrospective through the eyes of some of the city’s youngest survivors, commemorating two decades beyond the unprecedented disaster, hurricane Katrina.

The exhibit, at the Contemporary Arts Center on Friday, August 29, unveils a curated collection of 70 powerful black and white photos, captured by youths displaced by Katrina. While some have returned home to the city, others still are displaced, like their mentor.

The exhibit will open at 6 p.m. with a traditional second line led by Versatile Ladies of Style, Sporty Brass Band, and the Southern Belle Baby Dolls.

Then will come the panel. As the city looks back at the life-changing events of 20 years ago, 20 “Katrina Camera Kids,” now adults, will reunite to talk about how photography served as therapy in the wake of the disaster.  

“What we know and what we love was totally destroyed,” said Vincent, an alum of Xavier Prep and Loyola University. “I’m lost, so I know they have to be lost.”

Katrina Camera Kid Lorielle Curry, who carries a locket containing the photo of her with her great-grandmother, taken when she was a Katrina Camera Kid. | Photo courtesy of Youth Stop

One of the images in the exhibit is of Phillis B. Williams, who was in her late sixties at the time. Taken by her great-granddaughter, Lorielle Curry, then five years old. The photograph is precious to Curry, now 25, because it helps her remember her grandmother, who passed away five years after the storm. “Sometimes it feels like you just wake up and realize how much time has actually passed,” Curry said.

Capturing family history and emotions they could not understand

It all started with a Canon F1.  “My dad (Deacon Daniel Vincent) gave me my voice as a kid with my first camera,” Vincent said.  

Twenty years ago, displaced Katrina kid Roy Hatcher III took photos of emotions he couldn’t quite grasp in himself. “It was hard living in a shelter; with four of us- with little to no room to move around, basically sleeping on top of each other with so many other people,” he said. | Photo courtesy of Youth Stop.

“It was a birthday present, when I turned 13,” Vincent said, noting that it introduced her to photography and to her celebrated mentor, Larry Songy. “I started out with assignments like finding the alphabets in my everyday surroundings,” she said, recalling how her love for photography has taken her on a journey, culturally, capturing moments at second line processions and Jazz Fest, along with local jazz musicians and Black masking Indians. 

After most of New Orleans flooded, Vincent wanted to offer the same artistic voice to children who had been through Katrina. With the help of her father, she sent 150 disposable cameras to youngsters displaced in Little Rock, Arkansas, and in five other states.

Distracting the minds of young Katrina’s evacuees was the goal of Vincent; with the hopes that they could express their emotions through photography. 

The assignment? Taking shots of “everything.”

The result: thousands of negatives, documenting the current state of their post-Katrina life. 

Imani Dumas, one of the Katrina Camera Kids, in a post-Katrina image taken by her cousin, Roy Hatcher III. | Photo by Roy Hatcher III. courtesy of Youth Stop.

As his New Orleans family tried to start over in Little Rock, Roy Hatcher III took photos of himself, his cousin Imani Dumas, and his aunt Shannon Dumas. “I remember it was hard living in a shelter; with four of us- with little to no room to move around, basically sleeping on top of each other with so many other people,” he said. “As a kid, you’re not really understanding everything that’s going on around you but you see the emotions of others.” 

Hatcher captured that emotion through his photographs. 

Hatcher, like many of the other children, then ages 5 to 16, had never used a camera. They’d had no reason to be curious about the craft. 

“Photography wasn’t an interest for me until I had the opportunity to connect with Ms. Danette,” Hatcher said. “She was the first person to put a camera in my hands. 

The Katrina Camera Kids host an exhibit

For the one-year anniversary of Katrina, the Terry House Gallery in Little Rock hosted an exhibit for the camera recipients, whom Vincent dubbed the Katrina Camera Kids.

Shannon Dumas, in a post-Katrina photo taken by her nephew Roy Hatcher III as part of the Katrina Camera Kids project. Photos courtesy of Youth Stop.

“We’re going to do an exhibit,” she told the youngsters. “Somebody’s going to put it on in one of these old gallery mansions here. We’re all going to get together. Y’all can get dressed up.”

It was a celebration, but the young Katrina survivors’ photographs told stories of heartbreak, reflection and resilience. 

The event got the attention of notables such as former President Bill Clinton, an Arkansas native.  The 42nd President penned a letter of congratulations to Vincent and the young artists. 

Motivated by her love for the craft, Youth Stop was formed to help youth affected by Katrina, using photography as a source for not only coping, but thriving. 

Those taking part in the 20th-anniversary event will see the journey of some of Katrina’s youngest survivors, now adults. Vincent is proud to introduce her Katrina Camera Kids, who have grown up to become an electrician, deployed military members, educators, medical professionals, entrepreneurs and a professional athlete. 

On Friday, they will tell their own stories through the exhibition’s panel – and through their photos, exhibited on the walls of the Contemporary Arts Center.

The exhibit “Beyond the Storm” will be hosted by the Contemporary Arts Center on Friday, August 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. Its sponsors include Xavier University of New Orleans, the New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund, Entergy, and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation. To learn more about Youth Stop Inc. and the Beyond the Storm exhibit and commemorative events, visit https://www.youthstopinc.org/beyond-the-storm