Chelsea Longs for a New Light, a New Love, a New Fire

About the Work

My artworks elucidate stories not typically featured in conventional gallery spaces. I weave together activism and storytelling by highlighting people who work with the organization Peace in New Orleans, a non-profit dedicated to helping people leave gun violence. The traumatic events that ensue from gun violence are part of the lived experience of many people, but I have often found my work rejected by the art market– mirroring the delegitimation of the people whose stories are in my work. However, my work also provides a counternarrative: there is always someone who will lend an ear- or a paintbrush- to stories of personal triumph.

About the Artist

Charles Anderson is a painter working in New Orleans and out of his home studio in Chalmette. Anderson’s work aims to bring light to stories that are not typically featured in conventional gallery spaces. He weaves together activism and storytelling by featuring themes such as gun violence and school expulsion and social and economic marginalization. These traumatic events are part of the lived experience of many people, but often the art market’s heterodoxy rejects Anderson’s work– mirroring the delegitimation of the people whose stories he tells. However, his work also provides a counternarrative: there are members of society who will always lend an ear- or a paint brush- to witness stories of adversity and personal triumph in the face of systemic challenge.