Mythologies Louisianaises

The mission of Mythologies Louisianaises is to promote, in an unconventional way, French and Creole languages and cultures of Louisiana. Over the past three years, Jonathan Mayers has chosen artists and writers who have been distanced from these cultures as a result of Americanization, physical location, or birth as an outsider. Yet these individuals retain a compelling connection to their heritage either through ancestry, geographical proximity, or inclusion as an outsider.

The opportunity to (re)engage in the vibrant storytelling traditions that stem from Indigenous America, Africa, and Europe culminates in this homage to language, identity, and inclusivity in such a way that all collaborators of the exhibition reclaim the ways in which identity binds them. This substantial project for Louisiana culture broadens, therefore, the spectrum of what it means to be part of a Métis society, where the meshing and melding of traditions sparks dialogues on identity not based on race, but on the value of community and collaboration.