Replenish Residencies
Replenish Residencies have provided restorative visioning retreats to South Louisiana artists and culture bearers since 2020.
Since 2020, these residencies have provided restorative visioning retreats to South Louisiana artists and culture bearers who have not received a residency before. Historically one to two week residencies, this year artists can choose to be in residence up to three weeks. For 2026-2027, former residents of the program will nominate applicants who will be selected by an external jury.
We offer these residencies to artists to provide time to rest and restore, vision and create. Originally conceptualized at the start of the pandemic, these residencies have evolved from Relief Residencies into Replenish Residencies, shifting from crisis response to ongoing community care. The call is open to artists and culture bearers from the South Louisiana Parishes including Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Allen, Jefferson Davis, Evangeline, Acadia, Vermillion, St. Landry, Lafayette, St. Martin, St. Mary, Iberia, Pointe Coupee, Iberville, Assumption, Terrebonne, West Feliciana, East Feliciana, West Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge, Ascension, St. James, St. John, St. Charles, Lafourche, St. Helena, Livingston, Tangipahoa, Washington, St. Tammany, Jefferson, Orleans, St. Bernard and Plaquemines who have not attended a residency before.
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Replenish Residents
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Rin Ramirez Visual Artist, 2025, Louisiana Rin Ramirez is a queer, nonbinary, multidisciplinary artist from Puerto Rico. They have lived in New Orleans for ten years now and originally moved here to study Film at Loyola University. They work with mediums such as: photography, film, writing… -
Erika BoBaby Gaddies Culture Bearer, 2025, Louisiana Erika is a Secondline Leader and Community Activist. She hosts a group of kids all year round about the importance of her culture. “We get to showcase our skills with Dance and Design. We get to express ourselves through rhythm… -
Tiana Nobile 문영신 Literary Arts, 2025, Louisiana In her debut collection, Cleave, (Hub City Press, 2021), Tiana Nobile grapples with the history of transnational adoption, both her own from South Korea and the broader, collective experience. While in residency at Studio in the Woods, she will be… -
Artist Journey Allen Visual Arts, 2025, Louisiana Artist Journey Allen is a New Orleans-born visual artist, muralist, and arts educator whose vibrant work is distinguished by her signature use of layered color and rhythmic abstraction. Whether on canvas, city walls, or in the classroom, her art serves… -
John James the Poet Literary Arts, 2025, Louisiana John James is a New Orleans-born and raised poet, storyteller, and cultural curator with over 16 years of experience performing, organizing, and nurturing spaces for creative expression. He began writing as a way to survive—transforming the traumas of his upbringing,… -
Gregory Swafford Culture Bearer, 2025, Louisiana Gregory N. Swafford is a culture bearer environmentalist from New Orleans. His work intersects organizing, content creation, storytelling, and advocacy. He began organizing in 2020 after the untimely death of George Floyd. He quotes, “Before Floyd’s death, I considered myself… -
Big Chief Victor Harris Culture Bearer, 2026, Louisiana Big Chief Victor Harris is the founder of Fi Yi Yi Spirit of the Mandingo Warriors and has masked Black Indian for 59 years. He is a visual artist, performer, musician, historian, curator and cultural icon. He will be working… -
Sheleen Jones Visual Arts, 2026, Louisiana Sheleen Jones is a visual artist from New Orleans. Her journey as an artist began at Xavier University, where Sheleen found immense gratification in her pursuits. Encouraged by this experience, she chose to further her education with graduate studies at… -
Jeremy Lil Pie Stevenson Culture Bearer, 2025, Louisiana Jeremy Stevenson is the Second Chief of the Monogram Hunters Black Masking Indian Tribe. He became actively involved in this illustrious culture in 1990, when he was eleven years old. Some of his duties included sewing, drawings and creating the… -
Big Chief David Peters Montana Culture Bearer, 2025, Louisiana David Peters Montana comes from the Montana Black Masking Bloodline of New Orleans and is currently Big Chief of the Washitaw Nation. -
Sweetie Magee Performing and Literary Artist, 2025, Louisiana Sweetie Magee is an artist on a poetic journey to inspire through rhyme. Spending years behind the scenes as a background vocalist and songwriter, Sweetie began sharing the raw, unfiltered narrative of her experiences through spoken word at local open… -
Tinice Williams Culture Bearer and Organizer, 2025, Louisiana Tinice Williams is a dedicated advocate for preserving and promoting New Orleans’ unique cultural traditions as the Executive Director of Feed the Second Line. She supports and uplifts the city’s cultural bearers, including the Mardi Gras Indian tribes and second… -
Seven Milton Visual Artist, 2025, Louisiana Seven Milton is a photographer, videographer, and designer. He is currently working towards building a brand that supports and promotes community and creativity. Headshot by Studio 710 -
Stephanie “Sunflowa” Martin Culinary and Performing Artist, 2025, Lousiana Sunflowa, first and foremost, is the mother of two young men (20 and 17). She is a plant-based pastry chef/chef, creating healthy meals and sweets to enjoy. She has a deep love for singing and dance which helps to center… -
Cedric Dent Jr. Visual Artist, 2025, Louisiana Cedric Dent Jr. is a self-taught film documentary photographer from New Orleans, Louisiana. As a documentary photographer, Cedric provides a visual gaze on the everyday and spectacular life of Black people and spaces. During his residency, he worked on archiving… -
Gladney Multidisciplinary Artist, 2025, Louisiana Gladney is a multi-hyphenate creative from New Orleans’s Lower 9th Ward. Gladney is currently finishing post-production for an album featuring himself and Charlie Gabriel. His residency at A Studio in the Woods supported research for a pending documentary. Headshot by… -
Marion Hoàng Ngọc Hill Filmmaker, 2025, Louisiana A filmmaker by trade and a musician at heart, Marion Hoàng Ngọc Hill spent her time in the woods fine-tuning the screenplay for her second narrative feature film currently titled TELL IT LIKE IT IS, a steamy Louisiana summer story following three adult… -
Angel Ohome Visual Artist, 2025, Louisiana Angel Ohome is a first-generation Nigerian-American born and raised in the American South. She is a hand-builder and wheel-throwing ceramic artist. Her work explores themes around ancestral memory, resistance, and the ways clay can be used as a bridge to… -
Antoine Prince Jr. Visual Artist, 2025, Louisiana Antoine Prince Jr. is a native New Orleanian. He is a graduate of John F. Kennedy High School and Southern University at New Orleans. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art Education. Antoine attended New Orleans Center of… -
Tyrone “Pie” Stevenson Black Masking Indian, 2025, Louisiana Tyrone “Pie” Stevenson, the Big Chief of Monogram Hunters, started masking at age 12 with Yellow Pocahontas under Big Chief Tootie. He masked with Yellow Pocahontas for 23 years, then with Tootie’s blessing became Big Chief of Monogram Hunters in… -
Sunni Patterson Poet/Multidisciplinary Artist, 2023 and 2024, Louisiana Armed with an engaging story and voice, New Orleans native and visionary Sunni Patterson deliberately uses art, poetry, and praise (Ancestral veneration) to encourage dialogue, connectivity, spiritual awareness, and healing. She is an internationally acclaimed Poet, Performer, Workshop Facilitator, Certified… -
Kristal M2daE Jones Performing Artist, 2024, Louisiana Kristal M2daE Jones (pronounced M-to-Da-E) is a self-taught, community-developed choreographer, mover, and instructor. Her style of dance is a blend of many different styles of dance ranging from Hip Hop, Bounce, Contemporary, Latin, and more. With an interest in intuitive/ expressive,… -
Jonathan Jackson Filmmaker, 2024, Louisiana Jonathan Isaac Jackson is a New Orleanian filmmaker and Managing Partner at The Colored Section. His first feature documentary, “Big Chief, Black Hawk”, was broadcast on WORLD Channel and was a winner of best documentary at The Black Film Festival of… -
Pamela Pierre Brown Culinary Artist, 2024, Louisiana Pamela Pierre Brown, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, is a Certified Holistic Health Advocate accredited through the State of New York and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Private Chef, Caterer, and Owner of Gourmet Sacred Soul Kitchen Therapy &… -
John Lacarbiere III Multidisciplinary Artist, 2023, Louisiana John Lacarbiere III is an artist of many forms, including writing, spoken word, and photography. He has several books of poems and photography published, as well as spoken word albums. He has most recently been spending time documenting Louisiana wildlife… -
Walter Sandifer III New Orleans Masking Indian, 2023, Louisiana Walter Sandifer III is one of Louisiana’s most significant gems of culture here in New Orleans formerly known as Balbancha (the land of many tongues). Being born into the New Orleans masking tradition, Walter has been encouraged to create an opulent… -
Akilah Toney Multidisciplinary Artist, 2023, Louisiana Akilah Toney is a 20-year-old published writer, poet, dancer, photographer, and youth advocate from New Orleans, Louisiana. In 2020 she graduated from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts with a focus in creative writing. She currently attends Loyola University… -
Kelly Love Jones Multidisciplinary Artist, 2023, Louisiana Kelly Love Jones is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer/director and has produced and directed two productions titled “Pitch Dark“ and “Trust” and both evoked the spirit of imagination and intrigue. Jones graduated with a degree in Video Production with a focus on sound engineering. Jones’s artistic, creative,… -
Kimberly Denesse Writer, 2023, Louisiana Kimberly Denesse is the independent creator of Fat Girl Friendly and Female Rage Fiction novels as well as stage productions. Her most recent book, Not All Women Wear Hot Pants, Some Carry Guns, is a collection of short stories featuring Women as… -
Kr3wcial Hip Hop Artist and Producer, 2023, Louisiana Kr3wcial is a Hip Hop artist, producer, sound engineer from Algiers in New Orleans. He has been performing and creating music for over nine years. Most recently he has performed at the New Orleans Jazz Museums Songwriter Stage during French… -
Ifátùmínínú Bamgbàlà Arẹs̀à Multidisciplinary Artist, 2024, Louisiana Ifátùmínínú Bamgbàlà Arẹs̀à is a multidisciplinary artist, activist and educator born and raised in New Orleans. Ifátùmínínú suppressed her creative side for a decade before moving to Tanzania, where she was reborn. She continues to actively work across the diaspora by… -
Juan Pardo New Orleans Masking Indian, 2023, Louisiana Big Chief Juan Pardo, the chief of the Golden Comanche Mardi Indian Tribe, is a culture bearer of New Orleans. He has 20 years of experience in the arts of music, beading and is also a published author. He has worked… -
Alina Allen Visual Artist, 2023, Louisiana Therapeutic and healing are the two words that Alina Allen always uses to describe her artwork. Allowing herself to be free and create whatever her spirit tells her, the materials she uses are acrylics and oil paints on canvas and wood panels. As… -
Ayanna Molina Multidisciplinary Artist, 2023, Louisiana As a creative poet/spoken word/hip hop artist and performer Ayanna Molina, affectionately known as “Mama Fiyah”. Raised in the arms of New Orleans, Ayanna’s vibe is an eclectic mix of poetry, spoken word, and Hip Hop. Her work is dedicated to uplifting… -
Jose Cotto Visual Artist, 2022, Louisiana Jose Cotto was born and raised in Great Brook Valley, a housing project in Worcester, Massachusetts and has called New Orleans home since 2012. The son of a single mother raising four kids, he often found himself being pulled between… -
Gypsi Lewis Multidisciplinary Artist, 2022, Louisiana C. Gypsi Lewis (she/they) is a Black and Brown queer femme born in New Orleans, Louisiana (Bulbancha) of the Lewis, Thomas, Miller, (de)Leon, Ruiz, and Baham families. Their praxis include installation art, small batch herbal skincare goods, full spectrum birth… -
Mwende “FreeQuency” Katwiwa Anti-Disciplinary Artist, 2022, Louisiana Mwende “FreeQuency” Katwiwa is a Kenyan, Immigrant, Shoga|Queer storyteller, speaker & feeler. The 2018 Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion, a 2017 TEDWomen speaker and ranked 3rd at the 2015 Individual World Poetry Slam, FreeQuency is a highly sought… -
Alex Sorapuru Visual Artist, 2022, Louisiana Alex Sorapuru’s early passion for creating was fostered while taking in the diverse architecture and color growing up in New Orleans. He began to explore painting during his years at LSU Architecture. Centered around abstract portraits, his work aims to… -
Donald Lewis Jr. Performing Artist, 2022, Louisiana Donald Lewis Jr. is a graduate of NOCCA and studied theater at the College of Santa Fe, NM and University of New Orleans. He currently teaches Gifted and Talented Theater in New Orleans Public Schools. He has worked with Edward… -
Quiana Lynell Performing Artist, 2022, Louisiana Growing up in small town West Texas, Quiana Lynell grew her appreciation for all types of music and quickly realized music was a way to connect to the world. With a smile that will entrance you and a voice that… -
Zandashé Brown Filmmaker, 2022, Louisiana Zandashé Brown is a storyteller and writer/director born-and-bred in and inspired by southern Louisiana. As a daughter of the abandoned American South, she blends Black Southern introspection and spirituality with surrealistic horror to tell stories about neglected places and peoples.… -
Nia DeCoux Writer, Educator, and Activist, 2022, Louisiana Nia DeCoux (she/her) is a writer, educator, and activist who believes that storytelling and teaching should be the same practice. Her work has been honored by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and the National Black Arts Festival.… -
Kenniese S. Franklin Multidisciplinary Artist, 2022, Georgia Kenniese S. Franklin is known for building sculptures and household objects with home grown, hand-harvested banana fiber. Her latest body of work, Mother Musa, investigates the banana plant’s significance in mythology and ceremony. During a 2022 research residency at A… -
Karen-Kaia Livers Performing Artist, 2022, Louisiana Karen-Kaia Livers is a native New Orleanian. For the past 45 years, she’s appeared on stage and in films. Most recently, she was nominated for Best Actress at the Tribeca Film Festival for starring in the film Burning Cane. Karen’s… -
Endaira Rellek Multidisciplinary Artist, 2022, Louisiana Endaira Rellek, aka Ariadne M. Keller, is an emerging, ancestrally gifted artist whose heritage is deeply rooted in Southern Louisiana. She learned to see the beauty in nature while spending time with her paternal grandmother, Jessie Mae Boudoin Keller, in… -
Gian Smith Multidisciplinary Artist, 2022, Louisiana Gian Smith is a New Orleans-based, multidisciplinary artist and community organizer. In Spring 2011 Gian was featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition following a successful run of several commercials featuring his original poetry on HBO’s “Treme.” Smith has continued his spoken word through… -
Jarrell Hamilton Performing Artist, 2021, Louisiana Jarrell Hamilton is a Mother, Choreographer, Actress, Singer, Dancer, Educator and Film Director. A graduate of Tulane University Theatre and Dance Department Master of Fine Arts Interdisciplinary Dance Program (Choreography and African-American Studies) and Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX,… -
Kina B. Joshua Radical Healer, 2021, Louisiana “Throughout my life, I have been attuned to the vibrant signals our bodies express, and the ways those expressions can guide us to create a fulfilling partnership with ourselves. From a very early age, I learned about the body by… -
Bill Summers Performing Artist, 2021, Louisiana To say that Bill Summers is a percussionist is like saying a Steinway is a piano: The noun conveys none of the history and quality of the owner of the title. Summers is a musician of the highest order, playing… -
Sabine McCalla Performing Artist, 2021, Louisiana Throughout the first year of the pandemic, Sabine McCalla, like many of us, found herself deeply isolated from friends and family. She wrote songs that spoke of that loneliness, grounding herself in her environment and space in time. Using the… -
Sha’Condria “iCon” Sices-Sibley Multidisciplinary Artist, 2021, Louisiana Sha’Condria (“iCon”) Sices-Sibley is an Alexandria, Louisiana native and longtime New Orleans-based poet and artist of many mediums whose work spans across visual art, theater, music, and film. A multiple-time national poetry slam champion, iCon travels the country performing, including… -
Nikkisha K. Napoleon Literary Artist and Scholar, 2021, Louisiana Nikkisha K. Napoleon is a poet, essayist, and scholar. Affectionately known as Momma Nikki, she is a 2008 graduate of Southern University at New Orleans, where she earned a dual Bachelor of Science in English and History. She is a… -
David L. Harris Performing Artist, 2020, Louisiana David L. Harris is lyricist, vocalist, trombonist, composer and arranger. Harris embodies the edge of modern jazz and the sultriness of blues taking his audiences on an emotionally engaging journey of love and liberation, wrapped in a sound that embraces… -
Christine “Cfreedom” Brown Visual Artist, 2020, Louisiana Christine Brown (aka Cfreedom) is a New Orleans artist, activist, and entrepreneur. Her instagram bio reads “a Nola-based, international, universal, queen-yeyo, photographer-filmmaker kickin in the door for young black women in film and photography to come through 2”. She is… -
Greer Mendy Literary and Performing Artist, 2020, Louisiana Greer Mendy founded and directs Tekrema Center for Art and Culture, a cultural arts organization dedicated to the maintenance, development and perseverance of African and African Diaspora art and culture. She is an independent scholar of African, Caribbean, and Louisiana…
