LEH receives NEH grant to open John Scott Center
4th September 2018 · 0 Comments
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH) won a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to build the John Scott Center, an interactive museum and community space in honor of the late New Orleans sculptor, artist and printmaker John T. Scott.
The NEH made the announcement on August 16 when it awarded $43.1 million in awards for 218 humanities projects across the United States. The grants included the first awards issued under the NEH’s new Infrastructure and Capacity-Building Challenge Grant Program, which supports infrastructure projects at 29 American cultural institutions in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
“From nationally broadcast documentaries to summer workshops for high school teachers, the projects receiving funding…strengthen and sustain the cultural life of our nation and its citizens,” said NEH Chairman Jon Parrish Peede.
The LEH received a $250,000 matching grant from the NEH as part of the Infrastructure and Capacity-Building Challenge Grant Program. The LEH also has a lead gift of $500,000 from the
Helis Foundation for the project.
The LEH was honored and excited to receive the grant.
“We are grateful to the NEH for their vote of confidence by choosing the LEH through this national competitive award process. Louisiana should be proud,” said LEH Board Chair Brad Adams.
The John Scott Center will reside in the first floor of Turner Hall, the LEH’s building at 938 Lafayette St. in downtown New Orleans. It will become a venue for public humanities programming. Construction is expected to begin in 2019 with a projected opening date of 2020.
Scott was an African-American artist who was born in Gentilly in 1940, where he lived as an adult as well. He taught at Xavier University of Louisiana for 40 years. While teaching, he remained a prolific artist who made both small pieces and large public installations. His works are showcased in local and national museums. In 1992, he received the MacArthur Grant, also known as the “Genius Grant,” a rare accomplishment for any artist. Scott died in 2007.
“He is a unique artist because he is so diverse,” said Miranda Restovic, president and executive director of LEH. “He created art in every medium possible. He worked with wood, metal, print, embroidery and cloth.”
One of Scott’s most famous works is “Spirit House,” a sculpture located at Desaix Circle in between St. Bernard Avenue and Gentilly Boulevard. Visitors to the New Orleans Riverfront will see Scott’s “Ocean Song” in Woldenberg Park. Another piece, which is part of the LEH’s collection and will be included in the Scott Center, is “Urban Crucifix,” made of gun parts that form a cross.
“He used art as a communication tool that expressed how he felt about the world around him,” Restovic said. “He was a genius…not enough people know about John Scott and the contributions he made to the arts and humanities.”
Restovic said the Scott Center will serve as a permanent exhibition and collection of Scott’s work, but may also host other artists and exhibitions from time to time. Scott’s art, his personal journals and his photo and video archives will be parts of the exhibition that tie into Scott’s primary themes of human and civil rights, human expression and human interaction. Visitors will also have access to the personal insights and recollections of dozens of former students and fellow artists.
While the initial funds received for the John Scott Center are crucial to the project, more money is needed.
“With the NEH grant and the lead gift from the Helis Foundation, we are at 60 percent of our fundraising target. We will be actively working to raise the remaining funds,” Restovic said.
This article originally published in the August 27, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
