Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The New Orleans Project 2009

a view of the destruction from the levees three years later...

The Juilliard New Orleans Project 2009 is a team of Juilliard students who will spend their spring break volunteering to help the hurricane devastated community of New Orleans. The team will empower local youth by running arts immersion projects and providing free and accessible arts education, as well as rebuilding homes.  We will simultaneously provide free public performances.

         As students at The Juilliard School, we are dedicated to the mission of utilizing artistic expression in community outreach efforts to demonstrate the vitality of the arts as a teaching tool for initiating and establishing a greater sense of social understanding and acceptance. By empowering individuals through the arts, our Juilliard team strives to build strong communities in New Orleans that mirrors the beauty of the city’s spirit. We will combine music, theater and dance to reflect the necessity of community and to exemplify the act of working together for a better world.

         This project was originally conceived in fall of 2006 by the Juilliard student group ARTreach. Realizing the need for help in the Gulf Coast region, our team decided to volunteer for a week of community service and outreach in New Orleans in March 2007. The project continued to grow in 2008 with a return trip, this time shedding even more light on the desperate situation within the city and, more importantly, the effects left upon its children.

We are proud to say our team plans to return for a third trip with the hopes of creating an even greater impact.  In the wake of one of the worst natural disasters in United States history, there is a great deal of work to be done; both in the physical reconstruction of buildings demolished and in the revival of communities ripped apart by Hurricane Katrina.  Your help and support would be greatly appreciated, and help us illustrate the power of the arts as a universal tool for initiating change, and offering hope for a brighter future for the children of New Orleans.

 

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