Kappa Journal Spring Issue (Spring 2017)

KAPPAS IN THE ARTS

L . Kasimu Harris (Eta Gamma 1998) is considered by many to be an artistic Renais- sance man. And, Louisiana Life Magazine believes he is one who is “changing lives, making a difference in his profession, contributing to the state culture in big ways and making Louisiana proud.” As a result, he is a “Louisianan of the Year.” Harris, assistant director of Com- munications at Dillard University, is a storyteller whose work modulates between photojournalism, document- ing culture and constructed realities through writing and video, all to tell stories of underrepresented communi- ties in New Orleans and beyond. “Sometimes you need different means of communicating or creating,” said Harris. “It’s almost like being flu- ent in various languages.” He’s a New Orleans native who has participated in 20 group exhibi- tions across America, two abroad and three solo photography exhibitions. In 2016, his most recent show, “L. Kasimu,” at Warehouse Gallery in Red Hook, marked Harris’ New York exhibi- tion debut. In 2015, he was in both The Rising and Louisiana Contemporary at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and garnered coverage in The New York Times, NPR and other publications. He also an artist in Dandy Lion (Re) Ar- ticulating Black Masculinity, curated by Shantrelle P. Lewis, a traveling exhibi- tion with the Museum of Contempo- rary Photography in Chicago that has had stops in San Francisco, Miami and London. Now the Aperture Foundation has published Dandy Lion: The Black Dandy and Street Style, by Lewis and Harris’ work is included and he’s also featured as a subject. Harris used still photography in “War on the Benighted” to tell a story

about a group of students who are frustrated with the state of education. They stage a non-violent coup d’etat at their school. Harris himself worked as a teacher for six years and was frustrated at the lack of arts funding in public schools. In a video piece called “A Blackness Continuum,” Harris examines how the deaths of Black men have been a spec- tacle throughout American history. When the lynching of African Americans was a common occurrence, it was done without judge or jury and it was meant to be a public display. Bringing the issue through today, he notes the public is now exposed to the killings of Black men by police of- ficers through smart phones and social media. Harris has screened “A Blackness Continuum” in New Orleans and as far away as Brighton in England. The feedback has been positive. These projects have been instruc- tive for Harris. “…[W]hatever your wildest dreams are creatively, just try it." Harris’ talents aren’t directed solely at social justice issues. He has also worked as a journalist. He wrote a feature on yaka mein for Edible New Orleans that has been selected for the collection Best Food Writing of 2016. He created Parish Chic, a style column for the Oxford American and has been published in Yahoo Food, Southern Living, The FADER and The Bitter Southerner. Most recently, a fea- ture he wrote for Edible New Orleans was selected for the book “Best Food Writing 2016.” Harris graduated with a B.B.A. in Entrepreneurship from Middle Tennes- see State University and earned a M.A. in Journalism from the University of Mississippi. He furthered his studies at

the Fellowship for Young Journalists at the Poynter Institute and the Oxford American Summit for Ambitious Writ- ers.

78 |  SPRING 2017  THE JOURNAL

Publishing achievement for more than 100 years

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