HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL
In April 2024, a group of artists, dancers, musicians, and supporters gathered to support the work of RISE St. James, a grassroots environmental justice organization fighting to protect St. James Parish from petrochemical expansion. During a live performance, participants created a large-scale painting using ink made from local oak trees and paint made with soil gathered from a contested plot of land at the heart of Louisiana’s struggle between life and industry.
Facilitated by Heather Bird Harris and Monica Ordóñez,
in collaboration with RISE St. James, Melange Dance Company,
Delechaise Ensemble, and photo/videographer Bryan Tarnowski.
About Rise St. James
RISE St. James is a fenceline community activist organization led by Sharon Lavigne that works to protect St. James Parish against petrochemical expansion. We are raising funds to support their fight against Formosa and environmental racism in Louisiana.
What We're Fighting
In January 2024, Louisiana granted Formosa Plastics the air permit it needed to build a massive petrochemical plant in St. James Parish, overturning a judge’s 2022 decision to toss the permit. The decision now grants Formosa Plastics authority to emit over 800 tons per year of toxic chemicals, including almost 45 tons of two pollutants recognized as carcinogens and to release 13.6 million tons of greenhouse gasses yearly.
Cartographic regression techniques reveal the occupation of the community of Lions and its surroundings by petrochemical industry. (Forensic Architecture)
The proposed plant site, formerly Buena Vista Plantation, is the burial ground of at least 158 enslaved and formerly enslaved people, freedmen, and their descendants, based in part on the presence of tree groves and on cartographic and genealogical research conducted by Forensic Architecure. Some of the people archaeologists were able to validate are Jack Butler, Kitty Lawler Butler, Marguerite, Artemise, Julian Ceasar, and other ancestors of the Butler, Ceasar, Fisher, Geason, Harris, Hogan, Lalla, and Martin families. Descendant families include the Butlers, Ceasars, Fishers, Geasons, Harrises, Hogans, Lallas, and Martins.
There is no placard or marker for the graves except for a chain link fence that now surrounds most of the area. The area went from a grove of trees in the middle of sugar cane fields to being plowed over sometime in the late 1970s.
RISE St. James is working to block Formosa’s expansion, protect their ancestors' graves from further desecration, and create a permanent memorial honoring the people buried there.
After decades of ploughing, a single tree remains of the Point Houmas Plantation Cemetery sacred grove. The cemetery is located on land marketed for future industrial development by Louisiana Economic Development. (Forensic Architecture)
Hope Springs Eternal
More than fifty community members contributed to the creation of paintings during the Hope Springs Eternal performance. Dancers, musicians, artists, and audience members painted with oak tree ink and watercolor made with the soil ceremoniously gathered by RISE St. James at the contested ancestral site.
The resulting large-scale work was divided into two parts: one portion was raffled to raise funds for RISE St. James’ legal fight against Formosa, and the other returned home with the Lavigne family. The paintings are collaborative expressions of grief and resistance made by community, for community, in support of community. In this spirit, the “winner” of the raffle will become the steward of the painting, caring for its message within their home and by allowing it to be shown publicly whenever possible.
Upcoming public showings include the international juried climate film festival, Films of Return (Sept-Oct 2025), and Cancer Alley United (Aug 27, 2025) featuring Former Vice President Al Gore.
