OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — In 2023 the Joslyn Castle neighborhood was officially designated as the Castle & Cathedral District.
The goal of the creative district, use the arts as a “economic driver to support communities in Nebraska by telling their stories and elevating the value of the arts.”
Neighborhood reporter Molly Hudson met with the district’s first artist in residence.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
On the tree lined streets around Joslyn Castle, these are familiar faces.
"I got Kim, I’ve got Tori, I’ve got Lauren," said Watie White, Castle and Catherdral District artist in residence.
And each, comes with a story.
"Lauren here is Lauren Medici, who works at Opera Omaha," White said.
And here, each person’s story is part of a bigger one - about this neighborhood.
"Part of the responsibility was to come in, come to this campus, come to this neighborhood, walk around it, be inspired by it, look for ways that my own work is going to build off of my experiences here,” White said.
Artist Watie White has spent the last year capturing the moment and drawing his neighbors.
Drag queens... restaurant owners… even students at Saint Cecilia's.
“What that turned into was doing portraits of all these people I was meeting over the course of the year and we wound up with 100 of them," White said.
White moved to Omaha in 2006.
He's told the stories of neighbors through various pieces of art displayed like this one in Gifford Park.
But how does he find the people? He told me, for his Castle & Cathedral District residency project, he met people simply walking on the sidewalk, visiting neighborhood spots, and engaging during events.
"Part of what makes this exhibition and this project as meaningful and as powerful as it is, is that where it is coming from," White said. “This is coming from the castle; this is coming from this district."
This is one of Omaha's oldest and famous neighborhoods. His goal is to use this area's rich history as a tool as he makes art more accessible.
"These are real people that you can identify, that look like they are having a particular kind of unguarded moment," White said.
White's exhibit titled 'One Degree of Separation' is more than just portraits.
"These people are now connected then by just this one degree, that they also connected through this neighborhood, through this organization itself and they are very close to all these other people that they didn't know either," White said.
Building meaningful relationships with each other and with art in the neighborhood.
"Hopefully these things will go into those spaces, will be part of what they live with that will also be this little connection, that this is a creative way that this community actually supports people who makes these things,” White said.
People, like White. Motivated by seeing the effect art can have up close.
Reporter Molly Hudson mentioned that students from Saint Cecilia’s were involved in this.
Those 10 portraits will be turned into a mural at the school.
There will also be a display at Boys Town for the students White worked with there.
To see the full exhibit on display you have until early January.
It's at the carriage house on the Joslyn Castle grounds.
You can either go to an event at the carriage house or email John Paul at jpaul@joslyncastle.com to set up a time to visit.
