Thursday, 15 April, 2010 11:47
by ahaney
If you’re looking for something new to see this weekend, consider learning about Louisiana’s Creole heritage! Several items from the Documenting the Cane River Creole Legacy series will be on exhibit from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., April 17 at the Soumas Heritage Creole Cottage at the Villaggio Shopping Center in Bossier City.
In 2004, the Creole Heritage Center at Northwestern State University commissioned New Orleans native and New York artist Gilbert Fletcher to do a series of paintings of people, places, and culture of the Cane River. Fletcher has exhibited in venues across the United States as well as internationally with exhibitions in Kumasi, Ghana and in Paris.
The initial exhibition of the Documenting the Cane River Creole Legacy series was housed at the George & Leah Mckenna Museum in New Orleans – just two weeks before Katrina devastated the city. It took almost two months, but staff at both the museum and the Center were finally able to rescue the exhibit materials and store them in Natchitoches.
The community outreach of this exhibition is the result of an ongoing cooperation between the NSU Creole Heritage Center and the Soumas Heritage Creole Cottage to help further knowledge and promotion of Louisiana’s Creole culture and history.
For this reason, it’s no surprise that the exhibit would be shown at Soumas Heritage Creole Cottage. Soumas strives to introduce the many hues and history of Creoles of Louisiana. Her shop sells unique and creative pre-packaged Creole and Caribbean food and gift items that share the legends of Creole culture within the Soumas Family. Soumas Heritage Creole Cottage pays historical respect with historical documents and generational heirloom photos displayed in the shop everyday. Her shop and the items she offers in it are enough to get you to go to the Villaggio this weekend.
Attendees may register for door prize tickets at Soumas Heritage Creole Cottage. A selected number of original paintings and matted prints of the collection will be available for purchase. For more information, contact the Creole Heritage Center at (318) 357-6685 or Soumas Heritage Creole Cottage at (318) 746-4905.