Virginia Archer (center) teams up with locals such as Nicholas Molbert (left) and Samantha Bares (right) for New South Story Lab, a nonprofit that hosts creative workshops for teenagers in Baton Rouge. Photo by Collin Richie.
Virginia Archer knows a thing or two about pent-up creative energy in those formative high school years.
A north Louisiana native, Archer says she had a lot of potential to explore her artistic talents in her teenage years. However, time and space weren’t so readily available.
“I was starving for creative opportunities [in high school],” she says. “Those years weren’t fruitful. When I got to college, I stuck my nose in a book because I was so ready to start learning.”
Now, the LSU graduate and a few of her friends are giving creative opportunities to Baton Rouge elementary, junior high and high school students through the nonprofit New South Story Lab.
The idea behind New South is to foster storytelling with creative writing and visual arts. The nonprofit then hosts workshops in lower-income areas and at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s main branch on Goodwood Boulevard at no cost for interested students who sign up through New South’s website.
One year into development, New South has held two creative writing workshops thanks to the involvement of writers/mentors Nicholas Molbert and Samantha Bares. The setting isn’t like a formal classroom, Archer says.
“We want students to feel comfortable and free to say what they can’t say in a formal educational setting,” Archer says.
“There are a lot of topics avoided in conversation and writing at school because of the vibe, big audience or authority figures being present. … There’s a lot of pressure to produce for a certain grade, too. There’s merit for that, but we want it to be more about creative growth.”
The workshops also provide an opportunity to give the students attention and the necessary tools.
Archer plans to bring on photographer Jessi Arnold for future workshops. Filmmaking workshops might be also possible in the future. Creative writing workshops will continue throughout the year.
The toolboxes and opportunities for interested students are growing, and Archer doesn’t want to see students in the situation she was in as a teenager.
“Culturally, there’s a basic human need to create, to share a story, to have a voice, to communicate what you have to say,” she says. “There is power in the ability to communicate effective and interesting stories and messages. That’s how the world goes around. You can use writing, filmmaking and photography to communicate. My goal is to give the tools of that communication to everybody in the South.”
