Inspired by the floodwaters after Katrina and the birth of his son, photographer Gus Bennett created a new photography series, Organic Watermarks. Some images include 18 different layers of post-storm textures.
Category: In the N.O.
Orleans culture
Posted inKatrina20
Hoping to distract displaced Katrina children with cameras, she ended up launching a nonprofit
On Friday evening, The Contemporary Arts Center will kick off an exhibit for Danette Vincent’s Katrina Camera Kids, who picked up cameras for the first time after the storm and ended up capturing important moments in their lives.
Posted inKatrina20
New Orleans was not disposable after Katrina; its children are not disposable now
“We knew that our city was worth investment and protection,” writes Cierra Chenier. “The same must be true for our children.”
Posted inKatrina20
Threatening the bridge that defines the Lower 9
For more than a century, the St. Claude Avenue lift bridge over the Industrial Canal has withstood life-altering floods and record-breaking hurricanes. Last November, it became a national historic landmark. But it faces an uncertain future because of expansion plans proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a 14-year construction process that will destroy […]
Posted inKatrina20
We Ain’t Dead Yet
“We knew it was the breath of this city | And it was the confirmation that we were looking for,” writes Chuck Perkins. We chose this poem to kick off The Lens’ week of Katrina20 stories, essays, photography, and poetry.
Posted inIn the N.O.
The gospel of Chuck
Blessed are the ones who live with vigor | Despite life’s tragic comedy.
Posted inIn the N.O.
Police
Regardless of how nervous this might make a kid, everything intensifies when your family is Black and big, white, tobacco-spitting cops approach your car in the middle of nowhere.
Posted inCriminal Justice
From jailhouse lawyer to clerk of court candidate
Calvin Duncan’s unfinished mission for justice moves to his political candidacy
Posted inOpinion
Essence isn’t just facing organizational problems—it’s having an identity crisis
When Essence Communications rebranded its flagship event as the Essence Festival of Culture, it may have seemed like a harmless update. But in a city like New Orleans, where culture is lived—not marketed—that change said more than they likely intended. It marked a shift—away from something rooted and spiritual, toward something packaged, curated, and increasingly […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
‘We helped each other. We taught each other the law.’
Calvin Duncan, one of the finest inmate counsels to ever file a writ from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, releases his autobiography today, July 8. The Lens is honored to publish an excerpt from this highly anticipated book, The Jailhouse Lawyer.