An overview of the intergenerational transmission of building trade traditions among families of master craftsmen from Colonial times till the present, with special emphasis on the communities of color who significantly built and still maintain the historic architecture of New Orleans.

About the Speaker:
Jonn Ethan Hankins is the founding director of the New Orleans Master Crafts Guild. He previously held the positions of Executive Director of the New Orleans African American Museum, Development Director of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Foundation, and Principal Development Officer for Corporate and Community Affairs at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA). 

At NOMA, he directed, “Raised to the Trade: Creole Building Arts of New Orleans,” an award winning exhibition and oral history research project that documented two centuries of families of master craftsmen who built and still maintain New Orleans’ unique architecture. Mr. Hankins has advocated for and lectured to apprentice trainees on the need to revive traditional building trade skills in a post-Katrina New Orleans beset by what has been described as “a lack of traditional building skills in the local population and a low quality of rebuilding that threatened New Orleans’ character” by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales’ Foundation for Building Community. 

Mr. Hankins, who holds a BA in Journalism/Advertising and a Masters of Business Administration, has served on the boards of related organizations, including the Louisiana Folklife Commission, Louisiana Landmarks Society, and the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans.

This event is made possible by funding from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Funding for 2021 Rebirth grants has been administered by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH) and provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and the NEH Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) initiative.

Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.