HONORING DARRYL REEVES Master Blacksmith, New Orleans, LA

HONORING DARRYL REEVES
Master Blacksmith, New Orleans, LA

Wednesday, October 9, 2024 at 2 pm
Dillard University, Will Alexander Library

Address: 2601 Gentilly Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70126

Ambassador: Dr. Mona Lisa Saloy, Conrad Hilton Endowed Chair, Professor of English, Dillard University, Poet Laureate

Partnering Organization: Dillard University

Tradition Bearer: New Orleans native, who’s shop remains in the 7th Ward, Darryl Reeves is a Master Blacksmith is a third-generation metal worker and owner of Andrew’s Welding & Blacksmith Shop in New Orleans’ Seventh Ward,Possessing centuries-old knowledge and creative ability, with over 50 years of service to his craft here and around the world, Reeves has restored the ornate gates of the Presbytère, the massive gate at the Chalmette National Cemetery, the fabrication of the fence of the Cabildo. In 2012, he cofounded the New Orleans Master Crafts Guild, with Jonn Hankins who manages the program and Jeffrey Poree (Master Plasterer); this program includes apprenticeship training, ground-level networks, and reviving building trades for a new generation.

Reeves addresses the need for skilled laborers to maintain New Orleans’ historic architecture adorned by iron fences and gates. Reeves is the most celebrated architectural blacksmith in the Gulf South, according to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Most recently, Darryl Reeves forged a metal masterpiece for Disney’s Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Darryl Reeves Shop is at 1873 Agriculture Street in New Orleans 7th Ward.

The Event: Mona Lisa Saloy will recognize Darryl Reeves as a Louisiana Tradition Bearer in a ceremony at Dillard University.