art/vision/voice - Maryland Institute College of Art

case authors & interviewers
Ron Bechet, Karen Celestan,
and Gina Charbonnet
xavier university’s long history of
engaging community through art
(clockwise from top): students ted jones,
van chambers, john scott, and others
with sr. lurana neely around 1959;
faculty member scott and sr. lurana
in 1967; elizabeth catlett and francisco
mora conduct a workshop for the
community.
Passing on the Legacy
Views from Two Generations
of New Orleans Community Arts Leaders
Community Arts Partnerships Program, Department of Art,
Xavier University of Louisiana
i. cap overview
case study: xavier university of louisiana 47
The vision and motivation of the New Orleans Community Arts
Partnerships program is rooted in the belief that the richness of
New Orleans’ unique culture and heritage is one of the greatest assets
available to enhance and enrich the lives of our youth. A primary goal is
to pass on the value and relevance of culture, particularly as reflected
through the visual arts, to current and future generations of youth. The
tradition of “passing it on” is central to the cap program of Xavier
University of Louisiana’s Department of Art.
Founded in 1925 by Saint Katherine Drexel to empower the African
American community through education, Xavier University is a private
liberal arts institution whose mission is the promotion of a more
just and humane society. Its students are prepared to assume roles of
leadership and service in society. Xavier’s pluralistic teaching and
learning environment incorporates all relevant educational means,
including research and community service.
The university’s Department of Art is an active participant in
community service and community-based projects. The department’s
partnerships with community art groups are a method of “passing on”
the value and relevance of a pluralistic and rich environment, where the
arts can be shared to help build tolerance and heal societal differences.
Xavier cap partners in New Orleans include Kid smArt, Pieces of
Power, Faces of Culture, and Youth Inspirational Connection, Inc. These
community-based art organizations work with youth from communities
in the greater New Orleans area. Two supporting partners also provide
additional resources and services: the New Orleans Museum of Art and
the Arts Council of Greater New Orleans. In addition, cap programming
has been offered beyond the lines of the municipality through
partnership collaborations between Xavier’s art department and the
Jefferson Parish Weed & Seed program and with District 1 in the City
of Gretna, which allow cap to serve youth from Jefferson Parish, the
majority of whom have never taken art classes.