A Power House grand opening takes root in community’s culture

16th March 2015   ·   0 Comments

By Charmaine Jackson and Kelly Parker
Contributing Writers

In the beginning, original founders of the Ashé Cultural Arts Center, Douglas Redd and Carol Bebelle, simply wanted a building to provide a gathering place in the community for African Americans to connect to their cultural roots.

As a community artist and public servant of education and public health respectively, Redd and Bebelle’s vision was influenced by the Black Consciousness Movement, a period where many Black Americans overtly countered negative stereotypes, mainly constructed by white supremacists, while paying homage to their African heritage. “What­ever you did with your life was about the business of being a contribution to that movement,” Bebelle, executive director of the Ashé Cultural Center, stated.

Due to the movement, the awareness was there, but the vehicle needed to be established, she mentioned. “Things happening didn’t have the anchoring it needed as far as the culture from an anthropological perspective,” she continued. The duo’s contribution was the creation of Efforts of Grace, Inc., a 501 © (3) non-profit corporation whose mission is to use art and culture to support community development. Years after, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley became their home, which comprised of two buildings including a multiple purpose space on the ground level, and a space that houses 30-apartments on the second level.

Sixteen years later, the Ashé Cultural Arts Center continues to make history, as well as preserve it. On February 28, grand opening festivities took place to celebrate the campus’ new addition, the Ashé Power House, located at 1731 Baronne Street in Central City’s Historic District. Guests were met at the door with the fragrant smell of incense. Contrary to the original building, guests had the option of taking the stairs, or elevator to get to the art gallery. Roomy and airy, the area boasts high ceilings and walls of exposed brick adorned with colorful photographs of past events on display, reminiscent of an actual art exhibition.

Guests mingled and helped themselves to coffee and an assortment of refreshments, until there was a call to form a circle for the blessing of the building. With everyone holding hands, Akan priestess Sula Janet, who specializes in channeling ancestors, sprinkled coffee on the floor as she blessed the building, in honor of late co-founder, Douglas Redd, a coffee lover. “Without Doug, he and Carol may not have manifested this dream,” she acknowledged.

Afterwards, Reverend Dr. Dwi­ght Webster said a prayer and requested everyone present to touch something in the building and declare blessings and hope for the building’s future. Once the last word was spoken, everyone returned to the circle to a solo sang by a member of the community. At the ceremony’s closing, Carol Bebelle and Kathy Laborde of Gulf Coast Housing Partnership shared remarks of gratitude. Free from formalities, all performances planned for the day panned out casually, with bouts of fellowship in-between. On the invitation, all were welcome to attend for an hour or stay the whole day since entertainment was scheduled until 5 o’clock.

The Ashé community was not pursued first to acquire the building, as the developer approached the ballet, according to Bebelle and “things didn’t work out,” so they began looking for another partner.

Bebelle mentioned the vision was to have a place in the community where people could assemble and enjoy a concert or attend live theater “not in the Arts District, not in the Downtown Development District, but up the street, around the corner, across the street from your house, which is a whole different kind of construct. What it means is this thing was done for me. That’s a way of having the community say: we value you,” Bebelle said.

“Our worlds came together and in our worlds coming together, we stepped into a possibility that we could not have imagined because we were the answer to her needs to have someone who would understand what she wanted to have happen physically in the community and wanted to do that kind of work in the inside,” Bebelle added.

Bebelle was open to growth and accepted Laborde’s vision and appreciated her respect for neighbors in the community. “The community belongs to who it belongs to at the time you decide to enter it and so it’s totally disrespectful to plan a future to get rid of the people who opened their arms and welcomed you,” she said.

Once a NOPSI streetcar switching station in the 1920s, the structure underwent a $7.4 million dollar historic renovation and conversion.

“It was a power house, let’s call it a power house,” Bebelle said. “It really is in a certain kind of way, like Ashé to the third power.”

Calling on a combination of federal and state historical property tax credits, live performance tax credits, new market tax credits, bank loans and some funds raised by Ashé, GCHP was able to renovate the switching station into the (new) Power House.

In compliance with tax-credit stipulations, the building will be occupied by Ashé or another community service organization for seven years before it could be put on the market for sale. By then, Ashé would be the natural buyer.

“When you read about tax credit programs in the newspaper, you do see this – you don’t see the NORA building, you don’t see Café Reconcile,” said Ashton Ryan, CEO of First NBC, one of the funding partners for the redevelopment. “You don’t see the jobs that are created; the communities it revives and rebuilds, and that’s a shame.”

According to developer blueprints, the main floor of the 12,000 square footage of space is divided into two bays. The small bay is reserved for a visual arts gallery and has the capacity to accommodate large-scale installments, with track lighting. Adjacent to the gallery is the larger bay, which is the performance space. It can support seating for up to 200 and features mezzanine-level open control booth for sound and theatrical light controls; a stage area with curtains and portable stage system for all types of performances; fully equipped dressing rooms and service elevator for equipment transport.

Also on hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony were the Ashé staff and board members, along with District B Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell and Scott Hutcheson, Advisor to the Mayor for Cultural Economy.

“Your soul is just real, and we appreciate you, Carol,” Cantrell said to the Cultural Arts Center anchor. “Talking about Powerhouse, I think Kathy (Laborde) and Carol are the real powerhouses. We’ve just been able to benefit from the work that you all have been able to do in the heart of the Central City community.” You all just don’t stop!”

In the Yoruba tradition, Ashé is a word meaning ‘the ability to make things happen’. More things will be happening along the corridor, thanks to the addition of the Power House, which will allow Ashé to host and produce shows that last late into the night.

“We’re 16 years old; on the human plane at that age, you can stay up a little later.. get a car, get a job,” Bebelle joked. “The Ashé Power House allows us to be up later and hang out with big girls and big boys.”

According to Bebelle, The Southern Rep Theatre is their first tenant and will rent out space for the rest of their production season.

To commemorate the building’s transformation, The Louisiana Landmarks Society recently selected the property to receive the 2015 Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation.

This article originally published in the March 16, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.