Heck.house founder and Executive Director Paula Novelle’s 11 Good Things

In this series, ArtsATL asks a member of the Atlanta arts community to share 11 things on their mind. We hope you enjoy getting to know these people better.

Paula Novelle started Heck.house in 2017 by repurposing an old house into an inclusive, nonprofit arts and community venue in Scottdale. She was born with severe to profound deafness and grew up on a dairy farm in rural Newnan. Not having access to the deaf community, she did not learn American Sign Language (ASL) and instead relies heavily on lip-reading and hearing aids. She is open about her deafness and often jokes about it. The venue is known for its supportive, inclusive, welcoming atmosphere and is recognized as a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. 

Here, in no particular order, are her 11 good things. 

1. The internet. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be as productive as I am. The internet has revolutionized my life, probably more significantly than other Gen Xers, due to my deafness. 

2. Heckhounds. My two dogs, Humpty and Turkey, make sure I get out of bed every morning to feed them, and often it’s easier to connect with/love them than it is with most humans. Most of the time. These hounds can be a handful themselves sometimes. 

3. Puppeteers. Even though I can’t read puppets’ lips, I am lucky to be involved with their projects and support them. Puppetry goes beyond kid shows into unique, experimental art, like with our local puppet slam, The Puckin’ Fuppet Show, the yearly grant program XPT; Xperimental Puppetry Theater, local burlesque shows, local improv shows and even various film projects. 

4. Music. Ironically for a “deafy,” I have above-average auditory memory and am a huge fan of music, mostly ’80s punk and new wave. During Covid-19, I learned that Atlanta has an abundance of talented musicians and ended up having several outdoor concerts at Heck. We have a wide range of nearby musicians involved with Heck, from the more folksy band Blackfoot Daisy to the more technoish artist Imp and more in between. We don’t do concerts here anymore because we can only accommodate 20 people on-site at a time due to limited parking. We love helping out performers by doing filming projects. 

5. Heck’s board members. Heck would not be possible without the board members, both past and present. We are seeking more people to join the board. Do reach out if interested. 

6. Heck’s neighbors. The nearby neighborhoods are diverse and growing. Many neighbors are artsy and crafty, and some are even professional artists. Some are just weird. We receive numerous supplies and unique items donated by our neighbors for upcycling projects. We will be holding many workshops in the spring.  Please check out our happenings page for opportunities to art up with us: www.heck.house/happenings

7. What the Heck!? A Documentary. Dee Riete, Rose Bianco, Keith Brooks and Rob Pralgo (local actors/actresses/filmmakers) are making a documentary about Heck. They are currently in post-production. See the trailer on YouTube here. 

8. The Little Free Contentious Library at Heck. A local artist, Aileen Loy, upcycled several newspaper boxes and keeps them filled with banned books. I’m so glad to have one located at Heck. Learn more on Instagram: @littlefreecontentiouslibrary. 

9. The Young and the Heckless. This is a Heck.house program for youth ages 12 to 18 that has an art vending collective that vends at local pop-up markets and makes DIY coloring books. More information here: www.heck.house/youths. 

10. The telephone geocache at Heck. The Petite family created, installed and maintains this geocache, which must be solved to open. Geocachers, make sure to visit and make a log here.

11. All the people who came to Heck. So many of y’all! 

• Tons of talented artists of all types! There is not enough time and space to list them all. We love to have Heck art up by local artists. Feel free to contact me if you wanna paint something here. 
• A bunch of community organizations like Trans Atlanta Social Club, Georgia Overdose Prevention, Positive Growth INC, North Decatur Action, Fleur + Forage free clinics and more that offer needed support and resources to our community. 
• All the peeps who have volunteered, donated and participated in events and art projects here. I’m truly thankful. Heck is a special place because of people like y’all. 
• Zed Yu, who gets on my nerves regularly, but I couldn’t have done Heck without him.