NEW ORLEANS, LA – The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), in partnership with the New Orleans Photo Alliance (NOPA) and the Everyday Projects, announces #EverydayNewOrleans, an educational and community outreach initiative. Using photography to promote a broader understanding of life across diverse neighborhoods in the Greater New Orleans region, the #EverydayNewOrleans project consists of a series of educational workshops that will take place at various schools, aid organizations, libraries and community centers around New Orleans and surrounding parishes. The project will culminate in a display of photographs at NOMA in conjunction with the upcoming exhibition Changing Course: Reflections on New Orleans Histories. On view June 29 through September 16, 2018, Changing Course commemorates the Tricentennial of New Orleans by focusing on forgotten or marginalized histories of the city.
“Conceived as an opportunity to reach every neighborhood in the metro area, NOMA+ was designed with New Orleans’ diverse neighborhoods in mind,” said Susan Taylor, NOMA’s Montine McDaniel Freeman Director. “Our goal is to reach intergenerational audiences and provide a first point of access to NOMA and the museum’s array of offerings.”
Facilitated by local New Orleans photographers from NOPA and NOMA’s community outreach coordinator, a series of six programs will work with participants to build visual literacy skills, examine how photography can be used to break down stereotypes and misconceptions about place, learn about the elements of photography, and explore photography as a means of telling a story. Each with direct ties to the participating community groups, the facilitators have completed the Pulitzer Center-published Everyday Africa curriculum with training from Everyday Projects founders Austin Merrill and Peter DiCampo.
The #EverydayNewOrleans initiative constitutes the launch of NOMA+, a portable museum created to bring the NOMA experience to the 72 neighborhoods in Greater New Orleans, connecting residents of all ages and backgrounds to art, and promoting access and inclusion to museums and arts organizations. As its first project, NOMA+ will be used to introduce the #EverydayNewOrleans project to broader audiences. Program facilitators and NOMA staff will work together to select 10-20 #EverydayNewOrleans photographs produced by the workshop participants to print and present in the Creative Concept Studio at NOMA, in alignment with Changing Course: Reflections on New Orleans Histories.
“NOMA is committed to making the arts accessible not only inside our traditional museum facility, but also in our neighborhoods,” says NOMA’s Curator of Programs Erin M. Greenwald. “NOMA+ and the #EverydayNewOrleans project are thrilled to be working with community partners to build arts literacy and help demystify the museum experience.”
NOMA+ is supported by Marjorie and Scott Cowen, The Marcus Foundation, and The Selley Foundation.
How to Get Involved
NOMA and NOPA encourage New Orleans locals, NOMA audiences and social media users of all ages to use the #EverydayNewOrleans hashtag with Instagram photos taken of and around their neighborhoods. This will generate a collaborative image feed, featuring authentic snapshots of life across the Greater New Orleans area uploaded by diverse individuals. NOMA program coordinators will also utilize the Instagram handle @EverydayNewOrleans to present a curated selection of photographs aggregated using the #EverydayNewOrleans hashtag.
Participating Organizations and Photographers
Schools, aid organizations and community centers participating in the #EverydayNewOrleans project include Esperanza Charter School, Grace King High School, Warren Easton Charter High School, Algiers Regional Library, Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, and the Rebuild Center at St. Joseph Church.
Additional information
Facebook and Instagram: @EverydayNewOrleans
Hashtag: #EverydayNewOrleans
About the Everyday Projects
Everyday Africa was founded in 2012 by Austin Merrill and Peter DiCampo as an Instagram account moderated by over thirty photojournalists based across Africa. Featuring daily digital snapshots from across the continent’s fifty-four countries, the feed is intended to broaden the spectrum of representation of Africa beyond negative mainstream media. The Everyday Projects has since expanded to include community outreach and educational initiatives, hands-on photography lessons, exhibitions, student workshops and professional educator seminars. In conjunction with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Merrill and DiCampo have designed The Everyday Africa curriculum, which has been applied and adapted in educational workshops in cities such as the Bronx, NY, Atlanta, GA, the Bay Area, CA and the Metro D.C. area.
About New Orleans Photo Alliance
The mission of the New Orleans Photo Alliance is to encourage the understanding and appreciation of photography through exhibitions, opportunities, and educational programs. The Alliance strives to be a cultural stimulus, which fosters economic and artistic growth while preserving the rich and diverse photographic culture of New Orleans and the southern region. The New Orleans Photo Alliance was founded by a diverse group of photographers who joined forces in 2006 to create unity and opportunity for photographers in the Gulf South. It is an artist-driven 501(c)3 nonprofit which currently includes more than 300 members from across Louisiana and throughout the United States.
About NOMA and the Besthoff Sculpture Garden
The New Orleans Museum of Art, founded in 1910 by Isaac Delgado, houses nearly 40,000 art objects encompassing 5,000 years of world art. Works from the permanent collection, along with continuously changing special exhibitions, are on view in the museum’s 46 galleries Fridays from 10 AM to 9 PM; Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10 AM to 6 PM; Saturdays from 10 AM to 5 PM and Sundays from 11 AM to 5 PM. NOMA offers docent-guided tours at 1 PM every Tuesday – Sunday. The adjoining Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden features work by over 60 artists, including several of the 20th century’s master sculptors. The Sculpture Garden is open seven days a week: 9 AM to 6 PM. The New Orleans Museum of Art and the Besthoff Sculpture Garden are fully accessible to handicapped visitors and wheelchairs are available from the front desk. For more information about NOMA, call (504) 658-4100 or visit www.noma.org. Wednesdays are free admission days for Louisiana residents, courtesy of The Helis Foundation. Teenagers (ages 13-19) receive free admission every day through the end of the year, courtesy of The Helis Foundation.
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For additional information and hi-res images, contact Margaux Krane: 504.658.4106 | mkrane@noma.org