work riso
Neighborhood Story Project, 2008—2011
2008

Neighborhood Story Project is a collaborative publishing organization that fosters storytelling and knowledge-sharing of the many voices in New Orleans. Below are two projects that we had to honor to work alongside.

Series of screen-printed posters for the 10th year anniversary of the Nine Times Social Aid & Pleasure Club, 2008. Photo by Akasha Rabut / Aubrey Edwards

Client: Neighborhood Story Project

Nine Times Social Aid & Pleasure Club
Anniversary Poster Series

2008

These were a set of three 18 x 24 posters that celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the Nine Times Social Aid & Pleasure Club. Each told a particular story of the group: their first line-up and dedication to a lost member, youth in the Desire Projects, and their colors, green and orange, as a tribute to their school Carver High.

These were screen-printed and hung along the second line route for passersby to take along with them, as a memento of the occasion.

Day of second line, starting line-up. 2008. Postcard courtesy of Neighborhood Story Project
Day of second line, 2008. Photo courtesy of Neighborhood Story Project
Day of second line, 2008. Photo courtesy of Neighborhood Story Project

Client: Neighborhood Story Project
Letters from the Backside Series


Photography: Aubrey Edwards
Framing & Woodwork: Matthew Holdren


2011

These sets of framed photographs, featuring a letter to a loved one were a part of the Letters from the Backside series, a letter-writing workshop for the workers behind the scenes of the horse-racing fairgrounds. Each wooden box was designed specifically to house a poster containing a portrait of a worker, their role, their handwritten letter and a box that included the end results of the letter-writing workshop and their correspondence about the joys and struggles of the horse-racing world.

The design of the exhibition needed to be simple, clear and for a wide ranging audience of viewers that included the workers, their families, the fairgrounds staff, as well as people living in the neighborhood. While the graphic design itself isn’t strong from my side, the humanity that was celebrated was more of the thing that I appreciated the most working on the project.

James Graham. Letters from the Backside, 2011.
Handwritten close-up of letter. Letters from the Backside, 2011.
Sam Ishaq. Letters from the Backside, 2011.
Martin Leon. Letters from the Backside, 2011.