The footage of Hurricane Katrina is particularly disturbing because it comes with a sense of powerlessness. Natural disasters cannot be prevented by brokering or negotiation, not by treaties or conventions. This type of helplessness leads to a particular kind of despair in the aftermath. A lot of the stories made people outside of New Orleans fear the people who had lost everything. The people of New Orleans were told that no one would help them if they braved the hurricane. This, however, did not mean that everyone was able to leave. Some stayed out of stubbornness, but most residents stayed out of necessity. For many poor folk in New Orleans, there was nowhere to go and no way to get there.
Out of some of the worst human tragedies, comes art. Hurricane Katrina was no different. The loss of an arts scene after the disaster was not only a hit to morale but took a huge chunk out of the economy. That is not to undersell the way Hurricane Katrina gutted the culture for a time. In another city, maybe losing the vibrancy of an arts scene would not be such a deep wound, but not in New Orleans. The identity of New Orleans is the arts. Without them, there is nothing left. The land was just a washed-out gulf coast city. But the art returned and it helped the city to heal.
Article: “How the Arts Helped Save New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina”
Jonathan Hodge, “Katrina,” 2019, Oil on Panel, 48”x72”