DecadesOut News

The teaser is up!! Go to the New Land, New Life Project Page to watch it.

DecadesOut will be filming their documentary entitled New Land, New Life in Houston, Galveston, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Jackson from July 27-August 9, 2009. A film about the mass migration of New Orleans residents displaced during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, New Land, New Life will share stories of the new lives created in these new cities and the impact that the largest migration since the Civil War has had on the surrounding towns and cities.

We will be meeting and interviewing evacuees from New Orleans to learn about their unfiltered accounts of what really happened to them and their families during and since Katrina forced them to flee. Interviews will also be conducted with residents of Houston, Galveston, Baton Rouge and Jackson to fully comprehend both the social and economic ripple effects this migration has created in their personal lives and their communities. We will interview residents ranging from political and community leaders, influencers, media, business owners, artists, and residents who have been involved directly with organizations that have assisted with the ”clean up” of Katrina.

We will be updating the blog while on the road during production, so stay tuned for the latest on who we’ve met, and what we’ve learned!

The following quote says it so much better than I ever could.

“Science and art are not separate from each other. They assist us in observing nature. With the help of science we can discover the routines of nature. Through art we can describe the emotions of nature.” —Cheng-Dau Lee, Nobel Laureate in Physics

I have always loved both these things, and have always felt the parallels between them. These words, and there are thousands of examples of words like these as well as deeds throughout history. Think of the artists and scientists of the Renaissance. The great ‘A-ha!’ to create a company whose mission is to explore the cultural significance of science through the arts came a few years ago at nothing other than a conference on nanotechnology. An engineer was reveling, (and I mean waving hands, high-pitched voice, bugged out eyes) about the beauty of nanoscale fiber that is the width of a human hair that will change the way buildings are constructed, bridges are built, etc, etc. He was definitely passionate in a way that I’ve seen poets holler.

It is this kind of marriage among the arts and sciences that led to the creation of DecadesOut which takes its name from the John F. Kennedy speech announcing the goal of putting a man on the moon before ‘this decade is out.’

Thanks for checking us out, and we’ll keep you posted as to what going on. In the meantime, if you are an artist (writer, filmmaker, painter, photographer…) or know an artist, we’d love to hear from you and about what you’re working on. Join our mailing list, drop us a comment. Frank