801 Crockett St
Shreveport
LA 71101
Be one of the first to walk through the trail of 20 nationally renowned Nick Cave “Bead-A-Thon” created blankets that will be framed and permanently displayed throughout the creative community of Shreveport Common on Saturday, January 20, 2018, from noon to 6:00 p.m. during UNSCENE!
Participate in a “final” Bead-a-Thon at the Central ARTSTATION.
Enjoy performances in the ArtStation Engine Room from the productions of “AS IS” and “UNTIL” by Nick Cave performed by musician Michael Futreal, soloist Brenda Wimberly, accompanist Sereca Henderson, spoken word artist Poetic X and choreographer Luther Cox, Jr. of Inter City Row Modern Dance Company.
Don’t miss a day of fun with food trucks, hot cider and tours of the opening of the newest artspace exhibit, “ON THE WALL”. Walk or hop on a golf cart and meet the Artists who have created the “Beaded Blanket Trail” through Shreveport Common.
BACKGROUND on the beaded blankets—
For one full year, Northwest Louisiana resident artists Heather Beauvais, Jerry Davenport, Karen La Beau, Sherry Tamburo, and Kathryn Usher worked alongside nationally renowned Soundsuit Artist Nick Cave and residents of five social service agencies in the Shreveport Common neighborhood to create beaded blankets with a message of hope and of accepting each other “AS IS.”
20 of the blankets have been framed by local NWLA artists and placed in permanent locations that form a “Beaded Blanket Trail” of art and creativity through this culturally rich neighborhood.
The stories of the history and creation of the blankets have been written and recorded and are available on the Shreveport Common App for anyone passing a framed beaded blanket to hear on a smartphone.
Frame Artists include Megan Taylor, Bruce Allen, Martha Bills, Julie Glass, Jim Hayes, James Marks, Tama Nathan, Maria Schmelz, Sherry Tamburo, James Thomas, and Kathryn Usher. Story writers include Tama Nathan, Maria Schmelz, Robert Streeter, Sherry Tamburo, and Kathryn Usher. Story Performers include Angelique Feaster-Evans, Sherry Tamburo and Kathryn Usher.
The four social service agencies whose residents both inspired and helped to create the blankets include Providence House, a homeless to home resident program for families; Mercy Center, Philadelphia Center’s residences for those with AIDS or who are HIV+; the McAdoo, a Volunteers of America staffed-apartment complex for those with moderate disabilities; and VOA Lighthouse, an after-school program that provides tutoring for children from Northwest Louisiana’s most disenfranchised neighborhoods.
The blankets chosen for framing and permanent display include designs by Susan Duke and family members Patrick Posey, Chelsea Grissom, Chandler Jefferson and Olivia Grissom, Karen La Beau, Melissa Wilkerson, Sherry Tamburo and Heather Beauvais, Kathryn Usher and Nadine Charity with Beverly Paige and Christine Cox-Hayes, Mark Pugh, friends from the Shreveport Chapter of the Links, and Jerry Davenport.
All activities welcome the public and are free of charge!
Shreveport Common is a nine-block area that encompasses western downtown Shreveport and east Ledbetter Heights that was once the region’s most significant hot-bed for culture. This is where Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter wrote songs like, “Goodnight Irene” and where Architect Edward Neild (Harry S. Truman’s architect) designed the Scottish Rite Cathedral, B’Nai Zion Temple and the Calanthean Temple; developed by a group of African American women for their professional husbands’ business offices. This is where Jelly Roll Morton and Count Bassie played at the Calanthean’s rooftop soirees, and where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams got their start with the KWKH Louisiana Hayride at the Municipal Auditorium. Shreveport Common has a deep cultural history.