How the economy surrounding the culture of New Orleans can lead to gentrification — possibly threatening the authenticity of the culture for the future — will be debated by jazz musicians Ellis Marsalis and Shamarr Allen, as well as professor Richard Campanella, journalist Katy Reckdahl and business owner Mike Valentino in a forum Thursday at Tulane University’s Hillel Center.
Admission is free and the doors will open at 7 p.m. For details, see the news release below:
Panelists to Discuss Major Issues Facing the Arts and Gentrification in New Orleans
Tulane Hillel Hosts Third Installment of “The Big Issue” Debate, A New Series Designed to Give All Sides an Equal Voice
New Orleans, the birthplace of Jazz and home to a thriving arts scene, has recently become a hotbed of entrepreneurship, industry and development. The current economic boom raises serious questions about the continued viability of New Orleans as an authentic cultural epicenter. To join this conversation, Hillel at Tulane University is hosting the third installment of The Big Issue debate series. The Big Issue: Does Progress Destroy Culture? will tackle questions regarding how gentrification and urban and economic development impacts New Orleans culture.
According to Rabbi Yonah Schiller, Executive Director of Tulane Hillel, “The Big Issue is continuing with another compelling question for the city of New Orleans: Does progress destroy culture? With a diverse panel of experts, we expect this will be a lively, provocative, and fun discussion. Our goal with The Big Issue series, and this event in particular, is to give voice to and to express various perspectives. I’m very much looking forward to it.”
EVENT INFORMATION
Date: June 6, 2014, Doors at 7:00 PM, event at 7:30 PM
Where: The Mintz Center, 912 Broadway, New Orleans 70118
Topic: Does Progress Destroy Culture?
Twitter: @the_big_issueModerator: NICK SPITZER the producer and host of American Routes, is a folklorist and a professor of anthropology and American studies at Tulane University.
Speaker: SHAMARR ALLEN a New Orleans born trumpet player and local music prodigy. Mr. Allen’s countless career accomplishments are highlighted by performances with artists Patti LaBelle, Lenny Kravitz, Harry Connick Jr., Branford Marsalis, and a multi-city tour and studio recordings with country legend Willie Nelson, Ray Price, Leon Russell, and R.E.M.
Speaker: RICHARD CAMPANELLA a geographer with the Tulane University School of Architecture, is the author of six critically acclaimed books on the geography of New Orleans. His research has been praised in regional and national publications, he is cited regularly in the New Orleans Times-Picayune and New York Times; and has been featured on NPR All Things Considered, CBS Evening News, PBS NewsHour, CNN, and BBC.
Speaker: ELLIS MARSALIS regarded by many as the premier modern jazz pianist in New Orleans. He was the first occupant and Director of the Coca Cola endowed Chair of Jazz Studies at the University of New Orleans. During his tenure at UNO he helped fellow colleague Charles Blancq develop a campus performance center called the Sand Bar. Marsalis continues to be active as a performing pianist leading, and occasionally touring, his own quartet. He has several recordings on the CBS-SONY label and currently releases recordings on his own recording label, ELM RECORDS, developed with his wife Dolores and son Jason.
Speaker: KATY RECKDAHL a journalist who has written insightfully about Mardi Gras Indians, second lines, school bands and attempts to regulate culture for many years, for Gambit, the Times-Picayune and other publications.
Speaker: MIKE VALENTINO a New Orleans native who has been involved in the Travel & Hospitality business for 40 years. He is the Chief Operating Officer of Hotel Management of New Orleans and past president of the New Orleans Hotel & Lodging Association. Over his career he has developed and expanded his family’s holdings to include hotels, restaurants, parking facilities, apartment buildings, and Basin St. Station, the renovation of the old Southern Railway Building on the edge of the French Quarter and Treme, into a Visitor Information & Cultural Center. Michael recently launched City Sightseeing New Orleans, the hop-on hop-off double-decker open-top bus tour of the city. He’s the designer and developer of several web sites, LAsameday and the soon to launch New Orleans & Me.
Refreshments: There will be a cash bar serving beer and wine
