{"id":21369,"date":"2022-12-08T15:40:30","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T15:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/"},"modified":"2022-12-08T15:40:30","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T15:40:30","slug":"icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"ICYMI: New Orleans Creatives Get to the Heart of the Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Submitted by Jaime Sharp<\/a> on December 8, 2022<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

From Mellon Foundation: Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes was no stranger to the significance of Ash\u00e9 Cultural Arts Center when she joined the non-profit as chief equity officer in January 2020. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the first place that paid me to write a poem in my early 20s,\u201d says Ecclesiastes of the New Orleans non-profit organization that celebrates its 25th anniversary next year. \u201cThis is an organization that I have been around since its inception. I grew up alongside it.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nIndeed, Ecclesiastes grew up in the city\u2019s Seventh Ward before heading to Nashville to study English literature and education at Vanderbilt University. Later, she returned to the city and embarked on a career in the arts and community service. She programmed the legendary Congo Square Artist Marketplace at New Orleans\u2019 Jazz and Heritage Festival. She co-wrote Swimming Upstream, a play about life after Hurricane Katrina that was produced by V (formerly known as Eve Ensler). She oversaw neighborhood development in the Claiborne Corridor and she made her mark as an acclaimed poet and repeat contributor to TED Talks. And amidst her professional pursuits, Ecclesiastes raised five children.<\/p>\n

A bona fide polymath, Ecclesiastes is driven by her commitment to and love for the history, culture, and people of her hometown\u2014a city she justifiably calls \u201csingular in terms of how much art and culture exists.\u201d Her commitment is of a piece with Ash\u00e9\u2019s core philosophy: to support and celebrate people who make art and the BIPOC communities that inspire it while simultaneously addressing longstanding racial and socio-economic inequities that have plagued them. <\/p>\n

Sunni Patterson, a poet, performance artist, and community activist hired by I Deserve It! in 2021, is among them. <\/p>\n

\u201cCaring for the culture also means caring for the people that make it up,\u201d says Patterson. \u201cCaring for people that are blowing the horns, that are sewing feathers and plumes and beads, and knowing that he walked however many miles and he has asthma, second lining all these birthdays and still can’t pay the light bills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patterson is emphatic that her job is not to be prescriptive. She does not tell people what to do to improve their health.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe honor everyone\u2019s sovereign ability to make a decision for themselves,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen we go into a community with food, we don\u2019t demand you got to change your diet. We say, \u2018Here is another pot of red beans with no meat in them, and you can take some.\u2019 It\u2019s about going into communities and asking, \u2018What is the need? Is there something that I can help with? What can I do to help weave this thread of relationships to help us expand community, so you\u2019re not alone?\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the full article here.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 8, 2022 From Mellon Foundation: Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes was no stranger to the significance of Ash\u00e9 Cultural Arts Center when she joined the non-profit as chief equity officer in January 2020. \u201cThis was the first place that paid me to write a poem in my early 20s,\u201d says Ecclesiastes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nICYMI: New Orleans Creatives Get to the Heart of the Matter - United Arts Agency | UAA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ICYMI: New Orleans Creatives Get to the Heart of the Matter - United Arts Agency | UAA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 8, 2022 From Mellon Foundation: Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes was no stranger to the significance of Ash\u00e9 Cultural Arts Center when she joined the non-profit as chief equity officer in January 2020. \u201cThis was the first place that paid me to write a poem in my early 20s,\u201d says Ecclesiastes […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"United Arts Agency | UAA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unitedartsagency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-08T15:40:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"ICYMI: New Orleans Creatives Get to the Heart of the Matter\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-08T15:40:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-08T15:40:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/\"},\"wordCount\":470,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Call for Artists\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/\",\"name\":\"ICYMI: New Orleans Creatives Get to the Heart of the Matter - United Arts Agency | UAA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-08T15:40:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-08T15:40:30+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ICYMI: New Orleans Creatives Get to the Heart of the Matter\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/\",\"name\":\"United Arts Agency | UAA\",\"description\":\"Globally representing innovative artists, emerging arts, entertainers, and brands.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"United Arts Agency\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/UAA-2-e1542834753294.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/UAA-2-e1542834753294.png\",\"width\":100,\"height\":38,\"caption\":\"United Arts Agency\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unitedartsagency\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ICYMI: New Orleans Creatives Get to the Heart of the Matter - United Arts Agency | UAA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ICYMI: New Orleans Creatives Get to the Heart of the Matter - United Arts Agency | UAA","og_description":"Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 8, 2022 From Mellon Foundation: Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes was no stranger to the significance of Ash\u00e9 Cultural Arts Center when she joined the non-profit as chief equity officer in January 2020. \u201cThis was the first place that paid me to write a poem in my early 20s,\u201d says Ecclesiastes […]","og_url":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/","og_site_name":"United Arts Agency | UAA","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unitedartsagency","article_published_time":"2022-12-08T15:40:30+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"ICYMI: New Orleans Creatives Get to the Heart of the Matter","datePublished":"2022-12-08T15:40:30+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-08T15:40:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/"},"wordCount":470,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Call for Artists"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/","url":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/","name":"ICYMI: New Orleans Creatives Get to the Heart of the Matter - United Arts Agency | UAA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-12-08T15:40:30+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-08T15:40:30+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/icymi-new-orleans-creatives-get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ICYMI: New Orleans Creatives Get to the Heart of the Matter"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/","name":"United Arts Agency | UAA","description":"Globally representing innovative artists, emerging arts, entertainers, and brands.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/#organization","name":"United Arts Agency","url":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/UAA-2-e1542834753294.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/UAA-2-e1542834753294.png","width":100,"height":38,"caption":"United Arts Agency"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unitedartsagency"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21369"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21369\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uaaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}