P.O. Box 24378 New Orleans, LA 70184 504.324.2270
· Tell your story and hopes for rebuilding Lakeview
· Record your voice for yourself, family and community
· Receive a CD archive of your interview
· Post your story to an online community archive (www.i10witness.org)
In
cooperation with the Lakeview Civic Improvement Association, St. Dominic’s
School, and Xavier University, the I-10 Witness Project will be coming to
Lakeview to conduct free interviews with residents about their hurricane
experiences and hopes for the future of their community. Our goal is to allow
residents to record their experiences and to create an online archive of
Lakeview stories that lets the public know what your community has experienced.
To schedule an interview, please contact Bruce France of the I-10 Witness
Project (504-304-7855 or
mondobizarropresents@hotmail.com) or Lakeview resident Ross Louis at Xavier
University (520-5103 or
rmlouis@xula.edu). Interviews will be conducted by Xavier students and are
free and open to all.
If you would like to share your story but are unable to attend the June 7th
and 10th sessions, please contact us to arrange an alternate
interview date and site. For more information about the I-10 Witness Project,
visit the website:
www.i10witness.org.
Background on the I-10 Witness Project
The I-10 Witness Project is a community based story collective formed to
document the myriad stories emerging from the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita. Founded by New Orleans performing arts organization Mondo Bizarro,
I-10 Witness seeks to give voice to affected Louisiana citizens by documenting
their stories through recorded sound and images. We are not associated with any
local or national newspapers, television programs or radio stations. Our goal is
not to generate a few sound bytes to be replayed on the nightly news. In order
to strengthen our community, we believe that now is the time to listen and
provide a safe space for people to express how this storm has impacted their
lives. In addition we want to cultivate a forum where citizens can voice their
concerns about the reconstruction, redevelopment and rejuvenation of south
Louisiana and New Orleans.
Since the storm, we have been traveling throughout Louisiana and the surrounding
areas to record stories from a diverse cross-section of the public, including
neighborhood groups, schools, displaced citizens in shelters, relief workers,
community organizers, neighborhood leaders, artists, medical staff, city
planners, and government officials. All participants receive a copy of their
recorded interview once completed. These interviews can be accessed by the
community through this website and will be housed at the project headquarters.
In the future, interviews will be made available through partnerships with
public broadcast networks and credible local, state and national oral history
archives.
All interview participants receive a CD containing their interview and digital
photograph taken during the interview. With participants’ permission, a
five-minute portion of the interview is placed in an audio archive on the I-10
Witness website for public listening (www.i10witness.org).
Participants who are uninterested or uncomfortable with having their stories
published may still be interviewed and receive a CD for their personal and
familial history.