Northwestern State University’s Creole Heritage Center and the Louisiana Architecture Foundation will host a screening of the award-winning documentary “Ancestral Artistry: The Influence of Africans & Creoles of Color on Louisiana Architecture” on Friday, July 18. “Ancestral Artistry”examines the contributions made by early enslaved West Africans and
free people of color to Louisiana’s 300-year building trade history.
The film produced by the non-profit LAF features members of the Natchitoches/Cane River Creole community, FJ and Nicol Delphin, and Dustin Fuqua with the Cane River Creole National Historical Park.
A film trailer can be viewed at https://www.louisianaarchitecture.org/ancestralartistryfilm
The screening will take place in Magale Recital Hall, 143 Central Avenue, beginning with a sponsor’s reception at 5:45 p.m. that will feature artifacts made by early Louisiana craftsmen of color. General admission doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the screening of the 58-minute film at 7 p.m. followed by a panel discussion.
Tickets can be purchased at https://nsu.la/AncestralArtistry or by accessing the QR code below. All proceeds benefit the Louisiana Architecture Foundation and the Creole Heritage Center.
The roots of Louisiana’s building trades reach back to West Africa and Europe. Construction trades such as carpentry, masonry, iron smithing and plaster work have played a surprisingly large part in the history and culture of Louisiana’s Creoles of Color. “Ancestral Artistry” looks at four contemporary master craftsmen, including New Orleans’ Jeff Poree and Darryl Reeves, who still practice those traditional trades today while training apprentices to succeed them.
“Ancestral Artistry” was named 2025 Humanities Documentary Film of the Year by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and has been screened across the state and elsewhere, including Colonial Williamsburg’s Kimball Theatre. The film is scheduled to be screened at the Oprah Winfrey Theatre at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
Sponsors of the screening are the Natchitoches Convention and Visitors Bureau, Alliance Compressors, Cane River National Heritage Area, NSU’s School of Social Sciences and Applied Programs and Louisiana Folklife Center, AIA Louisiana, the Louisiana State Office of Cultural Development / Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.
NSU’s Creole Heritage Center opened its doors in 1998. Based at Kyser Hall on the NSU campus, the CHC exists to preserve, educate and advocate for the value and significance of the vibrant Louisiana Creole people and their culture. Information is available at https://www.nsula.edu/creole/.
Information on the Louisiana Architecture Foundation, 521 America Street, Baton Rouge, is available at www.Louisianaarchitecture.organd by emailing [email protected]. Nicole Defour, executive director, can be reached at[email protected] and (504) 220-6945.