Photo Credit: Lauri Dorrance
Tell us a little about yourself.
"I grew up in Omaha, NE. At the age of 25, I decided to go to college and study history, attending the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). I graduated Cum Laude in 2001 and visited New Orleans as part of my graduation celebration, where I fell in love with the city. I moved to New Orleans in September 2004 with the intention of going to grad school by 2006. Less than a week after I arrived in the city, I had to evacute due to Hurricane Ivan. When I was telling friends back home that I had to leave town, one of them asked me, 'My God, what did you do???' So I had the pleasure of explaining what 'evacuation' means in the Gulf Coast region. I finally entered the University of New Orleans MA program in History (with a concentration in Public History) in the fall of 2009. My favorite project in grad school was an assignment for Knowla.org, where I wrote an entry about Morgus the Magnificent. As part of the process, Morgus kindly invited me to his lab, where I was able to speak with the good Doctor himself. It was a wonderful experience and one I'll never forget. I graduated with my MA in May of 2011. I currently attend East Tennessee State University's online archival certificate program and should be done with school by early July of next year."
How did you come to be ArtEgg's historian and what are your responsibilities?
"I knew Esther [Dyer] socially for the past few years and Esther offered the print intern position in the Art Eggstravaganza 10th Anniversary bash in the spring of 2011. As we got to talking during the course of the project, we started to discuss the history of the building and neighborhood. Esther invited me aboard to prepare a history of the property. We decided that the best approach in making this history available to the larger ArtEgg community would be to install a visual exhibit, which we are going to open next summer. The starting point for any historian is to collect as much primary information that's available, which process I'm currently working through. In order to better understand what the primary documentation is telling me, I do a lot of reading of secondary sources, which allows me to put the primary documents into its proper context. My secondary readings have ranged from the Jesuit expulsion from Louisiana in 1763 to biographical information about the previous owners. As I collect information, I begin putting things into order and start writing up my results. So right now, I have all that going on. Once I have a complete-as-possible history, it will act as the basis of the visual exhibit, which is structured as a timeline. I'm hoping to incorporate mixed media into the exhibit as I like creating a textured effect, but we'll see what the history is first!"
What specifically interests you about ArtEgg as an establishment?
"I really like the creative reuse of the building. There are so many wonderful industrial structures that sit abandoned when they can be put to new uses. I also enjoy the sense of community that has developed over time within the establishment. Traditional office space can be kind of isolating in a sense and sort of characterless, which, for me, has always left me feeling kind of institutionalized. While ArtEgg's structure, being non-traditional, kind of breaks down that "corporate" vibe and allows for a sense of community to occur."
Can you give us a brief history of the structure?
"Well, the current structure was erected sometime between 1925 to 1940. Surprisingly, I discovered that during the 1800s, Broad St. had a tradition of hosting food processing sites, so an egg factory seems entirely appropriate to the street. I've managed to trace back the property's history to 1837, which is wonderful. I have a rough idea of how the property developed up to 1837, but its gonna take some more research to get a better idea of how the property developed. All I want for Christmas is more primary documentation!"
Just for fun: Given that it's the post-Halloween season, has there been any "paranormal activity?" at ArtEgg, or historically speaking are there any interesting stories/lore of the structure before ArtEgg occupied it?
"LOL Well, I have heard that a statue, a piece of African religious art used to cast a protection spell, tends to move about. I haven't see it move but this is what I've heard. It would be a good building for hauntings--its a huge space and sound can echo in odd ways. And with the automatic lighting system, you walk along and lights pop on to light your way and are going dark behind you as you pass--you know its a man-made phenomena but it does lend itself well to a spooky atmosphere! Myself, I love the old-school service elevator--I always get a shiver down my spine when I crank that thing up to go to the second floor. I'll go out of my way to use the elevator!"
