Life Happened

Life Happened... Remembering the Storm, 10 years after Katrina with Charles Gillam, a self-taught artist whose works depict the rich African-American culture of his native New Orleans. Born and raised in the Lower Ninth Ward, he became interested in art while working as a shoeshine boy in the French Quarter. The city's streets provided his art supplies and he was influenced by fellow New Orleans’ artists Willie White and Herbert Singleton. In 1996, he and his wife Susan established the Folk Art Zone and Blues Museum in Algiers Point. Gillam is a longtime participant at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival where he has both demonstrated his craft in the Folklife Village and sold his works as a featured artist in the Louisiana Marketplace. He has also participated at the Essence Music Festival (2009-2011) and the Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival (2011). His work is permanently featured in the Basin Street Visitor Information & Cultural Center, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Archives, Festival Productions, Inc. and Upperline Restaurant. New Orleans Artists Against Hunger and Homelessness,Old Algiers RiverFest, House of Blues, and Art in Algiers. Gillam’s work has been featured in publications such as "Facing South: Portraits of Southern Artists," "Gambit Weekly," "New Orleans Magazine," "Raw Vision" magazine, and "Essence" magazine, among others. Finally, he has been featured, locally and nationally, on radio programs and television shows.