Overview
The Ashé Cultural Arts Center is the first institution of its kind founded by and for people of African descent in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Center is located on 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard in the Central City district. Following a brief introduction, D. Caleb Smith interviews Ashé’s co-founder, Carol Bebelle, and current executive director, Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes, as they discuss the trajectory of the Center from its establishment in 1998.
Introduction
I learned the lesson that often our dreams are not as big as they could be.–Carol Bebelle (Akua Wambui)
Founded in December 1998, the Ashé Cultural Arts Center grew out of a need to reclaim New Orleans’ Central City neighborhood as a hub and haven for African and African American art, culture, and activism. In Yoruba, Ashé references the ability to make change or come into existence. Carol Bebelle and Douglas Redd (1947-2007) co-founded Ashé with the mission to use culture and art to foster community, cultural, and economic development. Bebelle, a native of New Orleans’ Seventh Ward, is a published poet and writer. For nearly two decades, she worked in the public sector as an administrator in educational, social, cultural, and health programing before starting her own consulting firm offering services to non-profit organizations and churches.1
Born in New Orleans and raised in Baton Rouge, Douglas Redd obtained a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Dillard University. In 1993, members of the Black Social Workers of New Orleans urged him and Bebelle to create an exhibit that presented a positive and inspiring view of African Americans. Redd created Efforts of Grace, five exhibits that celebrated Black self-determination and excellence. Three years later, on display at the Atlanta Olympic Games, Efforts of Grace received a Cultural Olympiad Recognition Award…