Sustainability through the arts: Introducing NOLA Artist Incubator, a local 501(c)3 nonprofit. Our organization created and maintains the Galvez Garden, a community garden and social practice project located in St. Roch, in 2021. The aim of the nonprofit is working with culture bearers and youth to grow gardens, green spaces, and environmentally focused public art that gives back to the community. We believe in the power of art to transform spaces. Discussion to include our unique approaches and initiatives; specifically, we are currently navigating adding new infrastructure at the garden. We are in the implementation stage with plans to build a greenhouse and in the design stage to add a shipping container multipurpose center to the site. Using social media to communicate and solicit feedback from community members, and collaborative art to drive our projects, the organization is excited to be expanding our arts and cultural programming at our site, while continuing to practice sustainable urban agriculture as a model for food sovereignty within New Orleans.
NOLA Artist Incubator: Creating a Network of Makers for a More Equitable & Sustainable New Orleans
Presentation Description
Presenter Bio
Lissie Stewart, M.Ed.
Lissie Stewart is the Founder & Executive Director of NOLA Artist Incubator, a nonprofit focused on arts, education, equality, and sustainability. Lissie’s background is in art education, where she worked for ten years as a teaching artist in NOLA public schools. She is a TeachNOLA Master Teacher and oversaw the Talented Visual Arts Department and Advanced Placement Studio Art program, while working in room 208 at Edna Karr. After leaving the classroom to raise her daughter, she obtained her Masters Degree in Educational Leadership and continues to work with students as a State Certified Evaluator of Talented Art and through facilitating the nonprofit’s educational programs. She advocates for sustainable urban agriculture and the environment through running the Galvez Garden, an award winning USDA People’s Garden that she established located in St. Roch. Lissie serves as the Vice President of the NOLA Nature School Board, in addition to being a committee member for Sprout NOLA. She is a 4.0 Schools Tiny Fellow alumni, certified Louisiana Master Gardener, and certified Permaculture Designer (Oregon State University). After completing her most recent Artist-in-Residency at the Louisiana Children’s Museum, Lissie’s newest installation, as a featured artist in the Committee for a Better New Orleans Civic Art Challenge, demonstrates her continued exploration of themes in nature through her artwork. She’s currently excited about focusing on her upcoming artist invitationals, growing more gardens, and facilitating more accessible youth art programming throughout New Orleans.
