The public is invited free of charge for a special Palm Sunday celebration of the Plein Air Art Show presented since December 18th, in the River House art center adjacent to the Crevasse 22 Sculpture garden. The landscapes, painted outdoors in nature, include the ubiquitous palms of south Louisiana.
Palms were strewn on his path when Jesus was entering Jerusalem for the Jewish Passover feast depicted in the famed Leonardo Painting of "The Last Supper" which preceded by days the prophet's death by crucifixion. The palms were meant to recognize and celebrate him as the King of the Jews who used palms, as did the Greeks and others, to celebrate religious and political victories in ancient times. The palm branch, further, is a symbol of victory, triumph, peace, and eternal life, originating in the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean world
Today in Louisiana, we observe a wide variety of palms whose branches waving and bending during major storms express the fury of the winds we are increasingly experiencing as climate change claims the peace of our otherwise mellow climate. This Palm Sunday we offer palm branches as both a reminder of Jesus's last week on earth, and the beginning of Earth Month.
"We hope our guests will take palms home as a reminder of the treasures of our planet, and our sacred duty to protect its future. We hope they also purchase a plein air painting by a regional artist to help support the cultural life of our region", said Jeanne Nathan, Executive Director of the Creative Alliance of New Orleans, and co- founder and Director of the Crevasse 22 sculpture garden and River House art center.
Sidney Torres III, owner and founder with his recently deceased wife Roberta Burns, also see the palms "as a harbinger of our plans for expanding an arts complex growing next to the levee of the Mississippi River where a crevasse, or natural break in the levee once flooded the adjacent Bayou Terre aux Beoufs, and much of St. Bernard Parish".
"We are working on a plan to add an artists' retreat and expanded exhibition opportunities, in and out of the woods adjacent to the sculpture garden and art center, extending all the way to a nearby state park. Those interested in culture, environment, community and just the peacefulness and beauty of the Crevasse 22 site will enjoy the palms, painting and the pastries gathered from our many new and older bakeries around the parish and beyond".
Sabrina Schmidt, organizer of the months-long plein air painting forays into the natural areas of the state's most natural parish, will be on hand with other artists to demonstrate plein air painting.
Just 25 minutes from the French Quarter, Crevasse 22 is proving to be an iconic beginning to a promising trend in St. Bernard Parish to realize the full potential of the creative industries as a way to build on the long, ever vibrant, and diverse cultural legacy and continuing originality of the region and increase the odds the region will realize its full economic potential based on the multi-disciplinary talents of our citizens.
The Ranch Studio for film and video, developed by Sidney Torres III and partners, has grown to be one of the leading studios in the nation. The creative hub envisioned by Torres and development partners for the former Ford motors plant in Arabi by the riverwill also contribute to the region's creative prowess. Students attending classes in STEAM, (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Architecture, and Mathematics) will soon fill the needed ranks of new generations of creatives and professionals needed to advance the full potential of the creative center our region has always been.