My name is Joseph Hurd and I am an artist.
I was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana.
When I was an adolescent, I discovered the local tradition of serving vegetarian, redbeans and rice on Mondays.
Many restaurants participated in this and there was never any charge unless you ordered more than beans and rice, of course.
After Hurricane Katrina, I moved to Manhattan and I brought the tradition with me.
Each Monday night, my house was open and all were welcome. It is not a "pot-luck" so, it wasn't necessary for anyone to bring anything. However, guests typically arrived with additional courses which resulted in my kitchen overflowing with a feast at the top of each week and all that I invested was well under $5!
There were times when the leftovers lasted for days. This phenomenon is useful for a struggling artist in a big city.
But, the best thing about the weekly, Crescent City Salon was the new contacts that my friends would bring with them which resulted in my social circle of fellow artists growing every week.
About five years ago, I moved to Detroit. I have opened my home in the name of beans and rice a few times here but, I haven't been as consistent.
One of my goals is to achieve a level of generalized stability that facilitates these weekly gatherings each and every Monday, no matter where I may be.
I invite you to put your own spin on it and make new connections while strengthening established ones, 52 times a year.

 

– Joseph

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant