- Herreast Harrison
- Visiting Community Leader, Fall 2009 TOPIC: Education and the cultural economy of the bead, the beat, and the book
- Posted October 4, 2009
Herreast (Mrs. Donald Sr) Harrison @Sophielab October 2009
HERREAST J. HARRISON and her family have deep roots in the Ninth Ward, and have long been involved in work to document, preserve, and foster Mardi Gras Indian culture, along with other aspects of local African-American culture. In 2005, she completed her M.A. in Museum Studies at SUNO.
Mrs. Harrison was a
successful childcare business owner for over thirty-two years, while working at the same
time as a mother of four, a music producer, and an artist. A fifth-generation quilter, she is
widely known for incorporating intricate beaded motifs and symbols into her
works. She presents quilting workshops to schoolchildren throughout the state
of Louisiana, and has traveled to Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean to
share her knowledge of the African-American cultural traditions of New Orleans. Before Hurricane Katrina, she served New Orleans as an artist-in-residence among
students at Oretha Castle Haley Elementary School, Helen S. Edwards Elementary
School, and Rabouin High School.
The Guardians Institute’s prime directives are to uphold the distinct cultural traditions of New Orleans, promote literacy and encourage physical well-being. These goals are met through conducting educational programs for K-12 students in New Orleans to teach them the traditional arts of beading and crafting Mardi Gras Indian suits; offering lessons in drumming, song construction and traditional dance, and conducting book club meetings. The Institute was founded by Herreast Harrison and her children in memory of their father, Donald Harrison, Sr., the celebrated chief of the Mardi Gras Indian group, Guardians of the Flame. For the past 20 years the family has been actively involved in keeping Mardi Gras Indian culture alive and exposing neighborhood children to all facets of this tradition through education and demonstration.
In November 2009, The Guardians will celebrate publication of Big Chief Harrison and the Mardi Gras Indians by Al Kennedy with a forward by Herreast Harrison.
During her term as a Visiting Community Leader at Newcomb College Center for Research on Women, Mrs. Harrison will continue her multimedia educational and artistic work on the topic of "the cultural economy of the bead," as well as collaborating with Sophielab and students in the Fall 2009 Feminist Documentation and New Media class to create educational and informational content in support of the mission to construct the planned physical facility for The Guardians Institute.
LISTEN AND WATCH
Herreast Harrison: "Address on the Matter of New Orleans" at International Women's Day New Orleans, March 2006 (MP3)
Herreast Harrison: Comments at Feminist Majority Foundation meeting at Tulane via Newcomb College Center for Research on Women, New Orleans, October 2007 (MP3)
Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame blog featuring images from Guardians Institute arts and cultural programs and book distribution events in New Orleans schools
Herreast Harrison on panel at 2008 State of the Black Union meeting in New Orleans (streaming C-SPAN archive; Jonathan Demme introduces her at 33:30")
Video snapshot: Herreast Harrison: "How's the work of The Guardians Institute going?" (October 6, 2009 conversation @Sophielab)
Video snapshot: Herreast Harrison talks about founding The Guardians Institute and The Big Chief Donald Harrison, Sr Book Club (October 24, 2009 at the Upper 9th Ward Market)
Herreast Harrison breaks ground for The Guardians Institute, Feburary 2007, North Johnson and Independence Streets, Upper 9th Ward, New Orleans. The groundbreaking took place during the Newcomb College Institute Summit on Educating Women for a World in Crisis.
