Katrina Artists

Resurrection poster raising money for Habitat for Humanity

Phil Galatas is a native of Slidell, Louisiana. His work is included in many public collections including the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, home of the World Champions, the Phillips Petroleum Museum of Oklahoma, and the Louisiana Museum of Art. His art has been featured in exhibits at the National Geographic Headquarters in Washington, D.C.; various exhibitions in New York City; Easton Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland; and in several cities in Japan.

He created this piece, “Resurrection,” to signify the strength and solidarity of New Orleans after Katrina. The fleur de lis has long been associated with New Orleans, and in post-Katrina times it has become an icon symbolizing hope and restoration.

Phil is donating a percentage of the monies earned from sales of the Resurrection Poster to Habitat for Humanity with the hopes of building a new home for a needy family in East St. Tammany Parish. For more information or to purchase a poster, email Donna Penny at pennyiii@bellsouth.net.

Long Beach students turn found dishes into art

Mary Kippes, an art teacher from Long Beach Middle School, asked her students to decoupage dishes found in the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park campus dining hall after Hurricane Katrina. The plates and platters are decoupaged with pictures of the damage and loss incurred from Hurricane Katrina.

The plates, along with documents and artifacts salvaged from Hurricane Katrina, are on display at the Katrina Research Center, located on the third floor of the library at the Gulf Park campus.

Anyone who would like to donate materials and funds to the Katrina Research Center may call (228) 865-4573.

[ via The Clarion-Ledger ]

Avalon Sewing Co. seeking Katrina artists

Avalon Sewing Company, opening in Hattiesburg, will have a small retail area that will only sell artist-made items, items made from recycled materials, and items that support Fair Trade, humanitarian relief, etc.

They are looking for artists interested in exhibiting on Saturday, April 21. The Downtown Hattiesburg ArtWalk is that night, and it is also their Grand Opening night.

The company is looking for art related to South Mississippi, South Louisiana, and/or Hurricane Katrina.

For more information, contact Lhay Browning Thriffiley at lhaythri@comcast.net.

Guitar to be auctioned for Katrina relief

The Edge is donating his favorite instrument to an auction benefiting Music Rising, a charity the U2 guitarist co-founded to replace musical equipment lost or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. He's logged thousands of hours of stage and studio time on the 1975 Gibson Les Paul.

"I wanted to give something really significant that would really mean a lot for me to give. It deserved something that I would miss," The Edge said. The guitar is expected to fetch between $60,000 to $80,000.

Jimmy Buffett guitar auction to benefit New Orleans

You can bid on the guitar featured in the new Jimmy Buffett video and help out New Orleans' musicians at the same time. The Martin 000-JBS Jimmy Buffett Shellback signature edition guitar is autographed by the swimsuit models and Jimmy too.

The auction will be held on Ebay through February 23rd and proceeds will benefit the New Orleans Musician's Clinic and Habitat for Humanity's Musician Village. 

Click here to preview the video and see the guitar in action.

Children of the Storm

Spike Lee handed out video cameras to New Orleans area high school students and told them to capture their lives in the hurricane-scarred city for the world to see. "Let them know what's happening down here, that everything isn't okey-dokey," said Lee.

The teens' footage documenting Katrina's aftermath will air monthly as part of a special CNN series "Children of the Storm."

The series will run until the second anniversary of Katrina in August.

Let's Reclaim Katrina

Jimmy, of Jimmy and the Keyz, wrote a song recently about Hurricane Katrina response. It is a respectful call for help 16 months later. It's called "Let's Reclaim Katrina."

Listen to the song here. (And if you can figure out a way to raise money for the Gulf Coast with the song, just let him know.)

Un/Natural Disaster: Katrina-Kashmir

From the mountains of Kashmir to the broken levees of New Orleans, humanity struggled to survive amid unnatural disasters. Un/Natural Disaster: Katrina-Kashmir is a multimedia event focusing on Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) and the Kashmiri earthquake (October 2005) and features:

• Spoken word by Sunni Patterson, Kangsen Wakai and high school student Barbara LeBanks
• Audio and video images directly from Kashmir and New Orleans, presented by Renee Feltz
• Katrina/Kashmir theater work by Autumn Knight and Nicole Eugene, performed by Osunbunmi Gaidi, Autumn Knight, Gunjen Mittal, and Sehba Sarwar
• Audio dialogue between Kashmir and Kartina evacuees (Kashmiri coordination by Omar Asghar Khan Development Foundation)
• Drumming by New Orleans native Baba Ifaldade
• Screenings of documentaries: After the Storm by Autumn Leonard and Half a Year After the Earthquake by Yuli Yang
• An earthquake update by Aamer Ahmed Khan, Pakistan BBC correspondent
• Katrina and Kashmir updates from Siddharth Shah, Psychosocial Assistance Without Borders
• Tabling, food, drinks and much more!

VBB has taken the extra step to bring organizations with which you can help relief efforts, including Common Ground, Hope for Humanity, Indymedia, Surviving Katrina and Rita, and many more. All proceeds from the evening will go toward relief efforts.

The event will be held on Sunday, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m. at DiverseWorks at 1117 East Freeway in Houston, TX. Admission is $5.

Since Katrina...

Since Katrina... is collecting stories about how all of our lives have changed since Katrina.

Complete the sentence "Since Katrina . . ." and e-mail your sentence, paragraph, poem or ramblings to SinceKatrina@gmail.com. Everyone is invited to complete the sentence and submit it, although she doesn't promise that all will make it to the blog.

Also, be sure to include how you want to be identified and perhaps even a sentence about who you are.

Chet Lott's Katrina Benefit CD for the Red Cross

Musician, businessman and Pascagoula, Mississippi native Chet Lott has recorded a blues CD to benefit the Southeast Mississippi Chapter of the American Red Cross. The CD, Erased lt, contains 14 tracks, mixing a combination of originals written by Lott as well as classic hits by the likes of Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. Proceeds from the sale of the CD will go directly to the local Red Cross chapter, and its continuing efforts to support the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Lott was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where he spent his early years, with his parents and sister. After graduating from the University of Mississippi he moved to Washington, DC to pursue a business career. He currently resides in Kentucky with his wife and two children.

Lott says his initial return to the site of his family's Pascagoula home, which was completely destroyed during the storm, inspired him to record the CD. He began planning the track list in December of 2005. "I looked around the neighborhood that I had known all my life, and realized that Hurricane Katrina had erased it.. .our home, our neighborhood, our town,"said Lott. "The history told by the antebellum homes, small towns, and businesses for over 100 miles was gone but not the spirit of the people. Their never-quit attitude pushed me to make this CD a reality, and hopefully in turn bring some form of financial support to a very worthwhile organization."

For additional information, including sample tracks, or to order copies of Erased It online, visit www.chetlott.com. Copies are also available by sending a check or money order for $15 (plus $2 for shipping) to: The Southeast Mississippi Chapter of the Red Cross c/o Augustus Hill Records, 838 East High Street, Suite 150 Lexington, KY 40502