Searching for Ghosts of the Gulf brings artist, biologist and educator Brandon Ballengée to A Studio in the Woods for a community-based residency with at risk Plaquemines Parish coastal communities. Through participatory art and science, this project will explore missing Gulf of Mexico fish species with youth, fishermen, and community members that are themselves under threat.

The project culminated on March 25, 2023, with FishSTOCK, a festival dedicated to species not seen since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Watch the full documentary here.

Read the 2024 final evaluation report by Aron Chang here.

Read our February 2022 project update here.

Read our September 2022 project update here.

Brandon Ballengée is a visual artist, biologist, and environmental activist based in Arnaudville, Louisiana, who creates artwork inspired from his ecological field and laboratory research. Through research, he focuses on the impact of the Anthropocene on human and non-human communities, and his artistic practice combines participatory science programs with poetic interpretations of extinct or deformed animals due to human impact. https://brandonballengee.com/

The mission of the Plaquemines Parish Government is to provide high quality, efficient services to sustain and enhance the quality of life for all residents of Plaquemines Parish. https://www.plaqueminesparish.com/

*See pictures of the project by Fernando Lopez here.

This project is supported by an Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.