JR Welch

Storyteller of the American South

Writer | Artist | Documentary Photographer I am J. R. Welch, writer, photographer, and cultural storyteller. Rooted in survival.

My life’s work is built around art, words, and leadership, each rooted in resilience and shaped by three cities along the Mississippi: Hayti (roots & survival), Memphis (gateway to culture), and New Orleans (belonging & voice). Through art, I draw out beauty from overlooked places. Through words, I tell stories that hold both grit and grace. Through leadership, I walk with others; coaching, guidin

g, and creating spaces where healing, imagination, and courage can grow. My journey carries both wounds and wisdom. I’ve known rupture, and I’ve chosen to root deeper; I’ve wrestled with vision, and I’ve learned to rein it toward purpose. What I offer is not perfection but presence; an open house where people can breathe, belong, and be inspired to rise. Reined in by vision. Living as a son of the Mississippi River.

08/31/2026

This is a intimate space, designed to collaborate and create. It is my home studio and a place I love.

Do you have a space you create in? A space that feels flexible and safe? A place you pour words on a page? Paint on a canvas?

I would love to know about your creative practice and space/spaces. Drop it in the comments.

08/28/2026

1943. The Ivory-billed Woodpecker was hanging on, flying, making music, moving through the old growth trees in the American South. Activists working to preserve it for future generations. Then in 1944 it was seen, for the last time, Northern Lousiana its final home.

This Contemporary Assemblage Sculpture is about what remains when a living thing, beautiful and majestic, becomes memory.

What do you think we owe the things that disappear?

08/25/2026

This is a work in progress about erasure. About what happens when people in power decide something is gone, or determine it should be.

The mannequin, the feminine figure, the ivory-billed woodpecker. 1944. Missing. Last seen in Louisiana. Arkansas claiming it saw a ghost.

These elements keep showing up in my work.

And above them, this plastic watering aide.

Watering the woman? The bird? Trying to give growth to things culture neglects?

I don’t know yet, as the work isn’t finished, and is still evolving.

It doesn’t have a title either.

What would you call it?

08/24/2026

Amy Renee Welch and I had a wonderful time in Ruston for The Ruston Art Ramble. We had the chance to reconnect with wonderful friends, experience outstanding art installations, and engage with the community.

I was also grateful for the opportunity to share The Authorized Version, a collaborative work created with my residency collaborator, Lo Patt. The work explores erasure and excavation; what is removed, what remains, and what can be uncovered through the act of looking again. People in power often control the narrative. What does it look like to give agency back?

Thank you to everyone who spent time with the work, asked questions, shared thoughts, and helped make the experience so meaningful.

08/05/2026

Just a quiet Saturday morning at the Welch Cottage. Amy was excited, in just a few hours we would be Gambino’s Bakery for Blythe and Hector N Garcia’s Wedding cake tasting. Amy loves icing. Her grandmother owned and operated a bakery in Mississippi County for years. She grew up being spoiled on icing. By the end of the tasting she was “sugar drunk”. 😁

She is beautiful and fun. She gets joy from simple things. Whimsy follows her.

07/31/2026

Kicking around in the humidity and working some physiological work.

In progress. Stay tuned. Drop a comment if you like it. Tell me what you feel. What you see.

07/30/2026

The Ladies Who Lunch:

This piece was inspired by the many wonderful women in my life who love to laugh, enjoy company, and have long southern lunches. The Ivory-Billed, featured in whimsy.

Address

New Orleans, LA

Website

https://thejrwelch.com/

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