New Orleans-based artists Breanna Thompson, of Xavier University of Louisiana, and Ernest Littles and Christopher “CZA” Bunch, both of Dillard University, will open their group senior thesis show Compos Mentis at the George and Leah McKenna Museum of African American Art. Contrary to common practice, the three soon-to-be graduates have purposefully chosen to conduct their thesis show outside of their respective institutions to highlight students’ role in

spearheading the necessary reunion of disparate subgroups within the larger community—in this instance, New Orleans’ two historically black universities, Xavier and Dillard. Thompson, Littles, and Bunch are using Compos Mentis, named for the Latin phrase meaning “having mastery over one’s mind,” as a platform to collectively showcase the knowledge and skills they each have acquired through their many previous curatorial projects in New Orleans—emphasizing the importance of pooling resources to build collective consciousness and, by extension, collective strength. Compos Mentis argues that Fine Art needs to become as much a part of popular culture as Hip Hop in order to further promote collective consciousness and to serve as a testament to its beauty.

The exhibition included photographs inspired by past and present life along Louisiana’s River Road. Situating history in a contemporary context, “Becoming Home” explored the connections and disconnect between the region’s African-American residents and its surrounding plantations.