“Becoming Fully Human” at the Tin Shed

Arts Alive - April 2021

​Dr. James Inabinet continues on a decades-long journey to understand and articulate what it means to be human. His upcoming discussion at 100 Men Hall delves into his quest.

Speaker James Inabinet on the Tin Porch at the 100 Men Hall. Ann Madden photo.

What: “Becoming Fully Human”
Where: Tin Shed porch, 100 Men Hall, 303 Union Street, Bay Saint Louis, MS
When: Friday, April 23, 7–8:30 pm
Open to the Public 
​Free, but more event info here. 

Dr. Inabinet wants to create viable pathways to thriving. He has spent over 30 years dedicated to becoming fully human in his 23-acre wooded bioreserve in Dedeaux, MS. by Bayou La Terre. Most of his research comes from sitting, watching, listening, and just being in the woods.
 
The question he asks is, “Why are our natural and human communities not thriving?” The answer is rooted in larger questions: What does a place want to be? What can a place be? How can it thrive with a human in it?
 
Dr. Inabinet also seeks the answers through vision quests he hosts annually in La Terre. He said, “The vision quest is the first step towards learning intimacy with a place.” This year, he hosted his 45th vision quest.

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In April, 2021, Dr. Inabinet left his wilderness classroom to engage in a month-long residency at the Tin Shed to study three diverse organizations – 100 Men Hall, St. Rose de Lima Catholic Church, and Christ Episcopal Church, and their locations on the Gulf Coast – each place the product of varying amounts of development.
 

James Inabinet and his wife, Margaret

 
His research was made possible by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council, through support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The purpose of Dr. Inabinet’s study is to observe past and current activities, especially as it pertains to the ecological relationship between humans and place.
 
Rachel Dangermond, Director of the 100 Men Hall, will interview Dr. Inabinet about his research. Afterward, he will do an exercise to help ground the audience in understanding how to move into an intimate relationship with their own place and how to feel its feelings as they do their own.
 
In addition, Dr. Inabinet has created paintings and poetry to further describe the process of his research. This will be on display during the discussion. He has crafted 58 coup sticks to be given to the first audience members to arrive.
 
Dr. Inabinet is a regular contributor to the Shoofly Magazine, writing his popular “Nature Notes” columns. Click here to read archived stories by him!
  
This project was made possible by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council, through support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the Mississippi Humanities Council.