artnet Magazine - Hurricane Katrina and the Arts

[Walter Henry <whenry@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hurricane Katrina and the Arts
by Walter Robinson
http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/robinson/robinson9-15-05.asp 

  "More than three weeks after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in
   New Orleans on Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, information is still
   fairly sketchy on the damage to the vibrant art scene in the
   city and neighboring areas along the Gulf coast.

  "It seems almost certain that many artists have lost their
   studios, and that wealthy art patrons with homes along Lake
   Pontchartrain have suffered damage to or loss of their
   collections.

  "On the other hand, the city’s museums and the gallery district
   in the French Quarter have been very lucky, making it through
   the disaster with limited injury from either the storm or the
   subsequent looting.

   ...

   "Like many in the city, New Orleans’ artists have hurricane tales
   that are dramatic and inspiring. Dawn Dedeaux, a digital artist
   who shows with Arthur Roger Gallery, said that she expects that
   her barnlike studio is 'completely blown out -- it’s under six
   feet of water. Much of my work is destroyed. I just hope the
   slides are okay -- they’re up high.'"

   ...

  "Though NOMA came through the hurricane with flying colors, other
   private collections weren’t so lucky. Assessments of art losses
   are only now beginning. Indeed, when NOMA curator William A.
   Fagaly was reached by cellphone last week, he was at the home of
   a museum patron, trying to check on the status of the artworks
   inside.

  "Other New Orleans dealers are relocating, at least temporarily.
   Arthur Roger Gallery, which has a gallery on Julia Street and a
   separate project space, escaped the storm with no damage to
   artworks. "We are profoundly fortunate," Roger writes on the
   gallery website. Roger is taking tenancy of a 4,000-square-foot
   space in Baton Rouge’s Warehouse District and plans "a
   spectacular group exhibition" in early October.

The article continues on describe similar circumstances