The NOLA Artist Incubator is pleased to be partnering with Notre Dame’s Institute for Social Concern this spring. The Institute for Social Concerns is an interdisciplinary institute responding to the complex demands of justice through a combination of justice education and research for the common good. The intent of the institute is to bring people together to think carefully about the world’s most pressing social concerns in order to develop creative and effective approaches to addressing them.

The Incubator will be sharing our work with students as part of their course examining: the structure of environmental racism and the impact on people and their communities, how faith leaders and organizations address the risks of climate change, community resilience, and strategies for adaptation and mitigation. Students will engage with these concerns in New Orleans, LA, and nearby “Cancer Alley” during Spring Break, visiting communities in Cancer Alley, and observing the impact of policy on addressing environmental injustice.

In addition to this outing, students will have the opportunity to listen to stories about our justice work, environmental activism, and efforts towards creating a more equitable and sustainable New Orleans through the NOLA Artist Incubator. Students will visit our garden and help in the preparation work for a new mural aimed at inspiring inclusivity. While at the garden, students will be asked to reflect on ways they can take what they have learned from their visit to New Orleans to make an impact on their community to address environmental injustice on a manageable scale. We are delighted to have been selected as environmental activists to guide important discussions with these motivated students next month.