SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) announces the exclusive West Coast presentation of internationally-renown photographer and installation artist Carrie Mae Weems’ traveling exhibition, “Carrie Mae Weems: The Louisiana Project.”

Originally commissioned in 2003 to commemorate the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase, Weems’ exhibition offers a provocative rumination on the complex history of New Orleans and the commingling of culture that resulted when African, Franco-Caribbean, and Anglo-American cultures were brought together in New Orleans some 200 years ago.

The layered installation incorporates stunning, large-scale still photography, narratives drawn from 18th and 19th century letters, travel journals, and archival material, and a video projection that documents the Zulu Parade, a legendary New Orleans masquerade ritual that happens during Mardi Gras. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the work is given a startling new context, as the New Orleans Diaspora continues to span across the United States.

Weems, whose work is noted for its historical themes, probes beneath the facade of classic New Orleans society to reveal fissures of race, class, and sex that run throughout the history of the city and its culture. One aspect of “The Louisiana Project” is how it addresses the complicated racial and social hierarchies that involved white men, their wives, and their Creole mistresses. Says Weems: “The focus of my work is to describe simply and directly those aspects of American culture in need of deeper illumination.”

The installation includes text, both written and spoken, that is directed toward the particular historical situation of Louisiana. However, the artistic implications of race, class, identity, gender, role playing, and role models extend far beyond one state or one region. The work, juxtaposed against the current shifting backdrop in New Orleans, creates exciting possibilities.

“At a time when New Orleans culture is undergoing phenomenal changes that, coincidentally, all relate to MoAD’s founding themes of origins, movement, adaptation, and transformation,” said Denise Bradley, MoAD’s executive director “this presentation of Carrie Mae Weems’ work is vitally important.”