Performing New Orleans: Rethinking Resilience in Art and Everyday Life

Performing New Orleans examines the value of arts and culture in managing complex urban challenges, offering new perspectives on how artistic and everyday performances can be pivotal modes of practicing resilience. Through an exploration of understudied forms of performance in New Orleans, Stuart Andrews and Patrick Duggan highlight the centrality of the city's arts ecosystems as a vital aspect of its ability to "perform" resiliency. Performing New Orleans resists conventional definitions of arts practice; instead, it uses a diverse array of case studies to illustrate what arts practices are, what they do, and how they can enhance our understanding of people, place, and resilience. The case studies in this volume range from playing in the streets to painting murals; from tourist flourishes to the performative effect of infrastructure projects; from the design and leadership of arts centers to the unfolding of festivals, theater performances, art installations, and even public health messaging. The authors also review, critique, and rethink resilience theory and the often problematic idea of "being resilient." Andrews and Duggan bring together ideas from art and architecture, cultural geography, hazard mitigation, resilience theory, sustainability, theater, and water management to explore "performances" of the city to radically expand our understanding of urban adaptability. Performing New Orleans argues that a truly resilient city is one that recognizes arts and culture professionals as crucial, critical innovators.

About the Author :
Stuart Andrews is a senior lecturer in performance, place, and resilience at Brunel University of London. With Patrick Duggan, he is codirector of Performing City Resilience, an international, interdisciplinary research collaboration and consultancy. Patrick Duggan is associate professor of performance and culture at Northumbria University, Newcastle. With Stuart Andrews, he is codirector of Performing City Resilience. Joycelyn Reynolds is president and CEO of Arts New Orleans, the city's officially designated arts agency. ANO supports artists, culture bearers, arts practices, and culture in the city.

Review :
"Highlighting the importance of understanding climate adaptation as a cultural problem as much as a question of science or policy, Performing New Orleans offers an innovative look at emergency planning and hazard-mitigation practices in New Orleans. The book's findings suggest novel approaches to resilience that will be valuable to colleagues across the globe." - Austin Feldbaum, director, New Orleans Hazard Mitigation Office "Performing New Orleans is a significant contribution to the discourse on the civic role of the arts. Stuart Andrews and Patrick Duggan have done what is rarely achieved—they have approached New Orleans with the depth, care, and rigor necessary to understand its cultural ecosystems, artistic practices, and historical continuities. This work is an essential resource for artists, cultural practitioners, and arts leaders seeking to engage with the ways performance not only sculpts discourse but also co-designs civic spaces. It reveals how the arts guide citizen focus, influence collective responses to pressing issues, and serve as a dynamic force in shaping the shared vision of a place. More than a study of New Orleans, this book is a critical resource for anyone invested in the intersection of performance, public life, and community-driven design." - Lauren Turner Hines, founder and executive director, André Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice