Labat Project on Display at MGCCC Jackson County Campus Library

The Katrina Research Center at The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast, along with the Mississippi Humanities Council and Gulf Coast artist Lori K. Gordon, announce the latest exhibition of The Labat Project at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College's Jackson County Campus Library. It is currently on display at the library through July 31.

The Labat Project is the second phase of an undertaking begun by Gordon in 2000 when she conducted an oral history interview with Celestine Labat of Bay St. Louis. Labat, who lived until the age of 102, gave Gordon access to her family photographs and, using Labat family materials, created an art quilt. The quilt was subsequently acquired by the Smithsonian Institution and Gordon began work on the second phase of the project.

In 2011, Gordon partnered with the university's Katrina Research Center to create a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary traveling exhibit which encompasses portions of Labat's oral history and images from her family archives. The exhibit is comprised of 36 images and 29 pages of text on wood panels. Gordon will discuss her work during a reception Thursday, June 21 at 12 p.m. in the library.

For more information on The Labat Project, contact the Katrina Research Center at 228.214.3423 or e-mail krcFREEMississippi. Additional information is available at http://thelabatproject.blogspot.com or contact Lori K. Gordon at 228.671.6146 or email lorikgordon@gmail.com.