Guardian of the Garden:

The Sacredness of Black Bodies in the Stance of “Just Being” 

2025

Lead Artists: Gabrielle Tolliver, Jade Meyers, and Journey Allen

Youth Artists: Selected Young Artist Movement artists

Guardian of the Garden is set in an imaginative garden space, depicting an elder gardener who serves as the keeper of the grounds. Throughout the composition, he watches over the garden, where two young boys stand at the center, surrounded by uplifting images of Black men. Juxtaposed against the Orleans Justice Center, this work speaks to the possibilities that await our children when we nourish and nurture their needs—and the devastating outcomes if we fail to do so. 

Interwoven into the piece are the stories of Mr. Henry Montgomery and Ms. Danielle Metz, both Louisiana natives whose combined sentences total 80 years. Ms. Metz’s image boldly stands in full color among the vibrant portraits at the heart of the garden, while Mr. Montgomery’s presence emerges from its outskirts. Surrounding him are hands modeled after our Young Artist Movement teens currently detained at the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center. These panels not only reflect the time lost and the estrangement of families through incarceration but also offer a counter-narrative—one that defies the stereotypes that deny our youth second chances. 

Beyond challenging the compartmentalized gaze so often placed upon the Black body, this project delivers a message of hope and inspiration to the Greater New Orleans community.