In partnership with the Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC), Sweet Home has an ongoing project to help identify thousands of pictures from the Michael P. Smith and Jules Cahn Collections. These photographs feature street life in New Orleans from the 1960s onward and primarily feature Mardi Gras Indians and Social Aid & Pleasure Club members. Through this project, we not only give names and histories to the images, but we also create a space for the community to collectively remember, tell stories and celebrate. Through the generosity of the HNOC, we are also helping to replace a photographic record of people’s lives. Each participant in our open sessions can receive free prints of themselves, their family members, and their Big Chiefs, helping to replace the photographs so many lost when the levees broke.
