New Orleans Museum of Art

Gallery Talk with Curator Russell Lord
2023-02-01 12:00 - 12:30 (America/Chicago) | New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, New Orleans, LA, 70119
Join us in the galleries each Wednesday for weekly talks with artists, curators, and other special guests. During these casual conversations, we’ll take a close look at different works currently on view at NOMA.
This week, we invite you to join Russell Lord, NOMA’s Freeman Family Curator of Photographs, Prints, and Drawings, for a conversation about photographers Robert Polidori and Anne Noggle.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission to NOMA on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation. When you arrive at NOMA, check in at the front desk for directions to the appropriate gallery.
Get Tickets
To book your ticket in advance, click the link above and select the day for the gallery talk you’d like to attend.

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by the Zemurray Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; The City of New Orleans; IBERIABANK; The Wagner Foundation; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; Dr. Scott S. Cowen; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ruby K. Worner Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; The Harry T. Howard III Foundation; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Harvey and Marie Orth; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Mrs. Bennett A. Molter, Jr. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Book Club Discussion: The Overstory
2023-01-31 12:00 | New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, New Orleans, LA, 70119
The NOMA Book Club meets monthly to discuss fiction and non-fiction books related to art in NOMA’s collection and exhibitions. It is an informal group open to anyone on a month-to-month basis. In addition to monthly book discussions, the book club meets periodically for curatorial programs related to the book selections. You do not have to attend every meeting or read every book to join.
Book selections are inspired by the museum’s exhibition schedule. Participants are expected to procure their own copies, and selections are also available at the NOMA Museum Shop, where museum members receive a 10% discount.
Meetings are held in person or via Zoom. All meetings begin at 12 pm.
For more information on the NOMA Book Club, please contact NOMA’s Curator of Education, Tracy Kennan, at tkennan@noma.org or 504.658.4113.
Register Now

January 2023
Book Club Discussion | Tuesday, January 31, 12 pm

The Overstory by Richard Powers
Random House, 2018, ISBN-13: 978-1784708245

Nine strangers―each summoned in different ways by trees―are brought together in a last and violent stand to save the continent’s few remaining acres of virgin forest. The Overstory is a book for readers who despair of humanity’s selfimposed separation from the rest of creation and who hope for the transformative, regenerating possibility of a homecoming. If the trees of this earth could speak, what would they tell us? “Listen. There’s something you need to hear.” From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, The Overstory unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond, exploring the essential conflict on this planet: the one taking place between humans and non humans. There is a world alongside ours―vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe.

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by the Zemurray Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; The City of New Orleans; IBERIABANK; The Wagner Foundation; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; Dr. Scott S. Cowen; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ruby K. Worner Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; The Harry T. Howard III Foundation; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Harvey and Marie Orth; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Mrs. Bennett A. Molter, Jr. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

NOMA Volunteer Committee General Meeting
2023-01-30 11:30 - 12:30 | New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, New Orleans, LA, 70119
NOMA Volunteer Committee (NVC) members are invited to a presentation on the upcoming exhibition Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence and the Mbari Club by curator Ndubuisi Ezeluomba. Attending guests, please enter through the Coleman Courtyard entrance next to Café NOMA.
RSVP for this event at nvc@noma.org or 504.658.4121.
Members of the NVC receive special invitations to lectures, luncheons, and private tours of artist studios, galleries, and more.
Join the NVC

About the Exhibition
Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence and the Mbari Club explores the connection between African American artist Jacob Lawrence and his contemporaries based in West Africa through the Nigerian publication Black Orpheus. The exhibition features over 125 objects, including Lawrence’s little-known 1964–65 Nigeria series, works by the artists featured in Black Orpheus, archival images, videos, and letters.
Learn More

Gallery Talk with Curator Mel Buchanan
2023-01-25 12:00 - 12:30
Join us in the galleries each Wednesday for weekly talks with artists, curators, and other special guests. During these casual conversations, we’ll take a close look at different works currently on view at NOMA.
This week, we invite you to join Mel Buchanan, NOMA’s RosaMary Curator of Decorative Arts and Design, for a conversation about Joyce Lin’s Ghostwood Chair and Table, recently commissioned by the museum.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission to NOMA on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation. When you arrive at NOMA, check in at the front desk for directions to the appropriate gallery.
Get Tickets
To book your ticket in advance, click the link above and select the day for the gallery talk you’d like to attend.

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by the Zemurray Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; The City of New Orleans; IBERIABANK; The Wagner Foundation; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; Dr. Scott S. Cowen; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ruby K. Worner Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; The Harry T. Howard III Foundation; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Harvey and Marie Orth; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Mrs. Bennett A. Molter, Jr. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Mindfulness at NOMA
2023-01-21 09:30 - 13:00 | New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, New Orleans, LA, 70119
From January 21 through February 11, NOMA presents a four-session mindfulness course with Dr. Jayashree Rao. Mindfulness is defined as experiencing the present moment with open curiosity, without judgment, and with a willingness to be with what is.
Mindfulness training teaches skills to help individuals

Cope with the stress, pain, and challenges of everyday life.
Deal with distressing events with grace and composure.
Be present and alive in the here and now.

About Mindfulness at NOMA
This four-part mindfulness course will be held on Saturdays, 9:30 am–1:00 pm, in NOMA’s Woldenberg Boardroom on the museum’s second floor. Participants sign up for the entire series, and attendance is capped at 30 people.
Participants will learn to develop mindfulness through guided meditation and brief exercises that will help them experience the present moment during everyday activities. Although no specific outcome is promised, participants typically report feeling more “in tune” with themselves and others. In addition, research has shown significant beneficial effects in dealing with stress, anxiety, high blood pressure, depression, chronic pain, and diabetes.
$80 General Admission | $50 NOMA members | $70 Seniors (65+) | $65 University Students
Register Now
About the Instructor
Dr. Jayashree Rao is a retired pediatric endocrinologist who spent thirty years teaching, researching, and practicing medicine at LSU Health Sciences Center and Children’s Hospital. For the past several years, Dr. Rao has practiced and led others in practicing mindfulness, employing techniques learned in the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course offered by Dr. Dave Potter.

George Dunbar: Mining the Surfaces | A Silent Auction Benefiting WLAE and NOMA
2023-01-20 - 2023-01-27
In conjunction with the debut of the documentary George Dunbar: Mining the Surfaces—which brings the story of Dunbar’s career, work ethic, life, and art into vivid focus—WLAE and NOMA are pleased to present the opportunity to bid on four fabulous works.
Each of these unique artworks celebrates the artist’s place in the history of modern and contemporary art in New Orleans and beyond; his inspiration from the natural world; his approachability; and his calling as an artist.
Bid Now

The silent auction is open Friday, January 20–Friday, January 27, at noon.
Artworks will be on view in NOMA’s Coleman Courtyard Tuesday, January 24–Friday, January 27, at noon.

About the Works
These four works exemplify George Dunbar’s signature attention to texture, form, shape, and material.
Click each image to view the works in detail.
Bid Now

George Dunbar, Coin Du Lestin CCIV, 2022. Palladium leaf over blue gray clay with incised lines. 14 x 12 inches.
Starting Bid: $11,250
Value: $15,000
Bid Now

George Dunbar, Koroa (Surge Series), 2023. French gold over black and dark green clay. 14 x 16 inches.
Starting Bid: $9,000
Value: $12,000
Bid Now

George Dunbar, Seraphim (Bonfouca Series), 2017. Acrylic, India ink, silver leaf, and paper on panel. 11.25 x 17 inches.
Starting Bid: $7,500
Value: $10,000
Bid Now

George Dunbar, Rouville No. 134, 2023. 24 karat rose gold over black and burgundy clay with die keen. 18 x 24 inches.
Starting Bid: $15,000
Value: $20,000
Bid Now

About George Dunbar: Mining the Surfaces
From the award-winning executive producers of the documentaries Fats Domino – Walkin’ Back to New Orleans and A Tribute to Toussaint comes the latest documentary by WLAE-TV and LAE Productions.
The film premieres on Sunday, March 5, 7 pm, on WLAE.

Gallery Talk on Artist Lynda Benglis
2023-01-18 12:00 - 12:30
Join us in the galleries each Wednesday for weekly talks with artists, curators, and other special guests. During these casual conversations, we’ll take a close look at different works currently on view at NOMA.
This week, we invite you to join Laura Moreno, Visitor Experience Floor Lead at NOMA, for a conversation about the artist Lynda Benglis.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission to NOMA on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation. When you arrive at NOMA, check in at the front desk for directions to the appropriate gallery.
Get Tickets
To book your ticket in advance, click the link above and select the day for the gallery talk you’d like to attend.

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by the Zemurray Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; The City of New Orleans; IBERIABANK; The Wagner Foundation; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; Dr. Scott S. Cowen; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ruby K. Worner Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; The Harry T. Howard III Foundation; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Harvey and Marie Orth; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Mrs. Bennett A. Molter, Jr. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day at NOMA
2023-01-16 10:00 - 15:00 | New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, New Orleans, LA, 70119
Update, Monday, January 16: Due to unexpected work to the city’s electrical grid, today’s programs will take place in the Besthoff Sculpture Garden.
Celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the New Orleans Museum of Art. On Monday, January 16, the museum will be open 10 am–3 pm with free admission for all.
There will also be family-friendly art activities throughout the museum.
Register Now
Learn more about how MLK Jr. Day became a federal holiday in this blog post by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Schedule of Programs

Portraits with Polo Silk
11 am–1 pm in the Great Hall
Get your portrait taken by iconic photographer Polo Silk in front of a backdrop inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy.

Gallery Talk with Polo Silk
2 pm in the Great Hall
For more than three decades, Selwhyn Sthaddeus “Polo Silk” Terrell has been photographing Black New Orleans, creating a unique body of work that blends elements of portraiture, fashion, performance, and street photography. The exhibition Picture Man: Portraits by Polo Silk explores how Polo Silk successfully blends all of those elements, while illustrating his role as an important part of photographic history.

Performance by Detroit Brooks Trio
10:30 am–12:30 pm in the Great Hall
Detroit Brooks, famed session and touring guitarist of the New Orleans music scene, has the most recognizable face in the city. Often admired by guitarists world-wide, Brooks’s laid-back demeanor masks one of the most heralded and sought-after performer, songwriter, and session men of our time.
He began his career at an early age, touring with his famous family which includes his world-famous sister Juanita Brooks, of “Juanita’s Gospel Express,” as well as his acclaimed father, George A. Brooks, Sr., of the famous “Masonic Kings.” Like many accomplished guitarists, Detroit mastered his craft on the road where the performances were “long, free and continuous.” His skill, technique and experience brought him quick recognition and the opportunity to play with gospel greats like Clarence Fountain & the Five Blind Boys, Dorothy Norwood, Reverend Ernest Franklin, Albertina Walker, Raymond Myles and The Rams and the famed Zion Harmonizers.

Song Meditations with Jessc.x
11 am and 2 pm in the second-floor Frederick R. Weisman Galleries

Art-Making Activity, Reading Nook, and Art Cart Gallery Activations
10 am–3 pm on the museum’s second floor
Get creative with special all-ages pop-up activities throughout the museum.

Self-Guided Art as Advocacy Mobile Tour
Throughout the museum
#ExploreNOMA with a self-guided mobile tour guide spotlighting moments to reflect on the relationship between art and advocacy.

Valerie’s Food Truck
10 am–3 pm in front of the museum on Collins C. Diboll Circle

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by the Zemurray Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; The City of New Orleans; IBERIABANK; The Wagner Foundation; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; Dr. Scott S. Cowen; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ruby K. Worner Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; The Harry T. Howard III Foundation; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Harvey and Marie Orth; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Mrs. Bennett A. Molter, Jr. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Gallery Talk on Artist Nick Cave
2023-01-11 12:00 - 12:30
Join us in the galleries each Wednesday for weekly talks with artists, curators, and other special guests. During these casual conversations, we’ll take a close look at different works currently on view at NOMA.
This week, we invite you to join Jessica Johnson, Creative Aging and Access Programs Coordinator, for a conversation about Soundsuit MBG#10801 by Nick Cave in NOMA’s Great Hall.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission to NOMA on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation. When you arrive at NOMA, check in at the front desk for directions to the appropriate gallery.
Get Tickets
To book your ticket in advance, click the link above and select the day for the gallery talk you’d like to attend.

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by the Zemurray Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; The City of New Orleans; IBERIABANK; The Wagner Foundation; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; Dr. Scott S. Cowen; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ruby K. Worner Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; The Harry T. Howard III Foundation; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Harvey and Marie Orth; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Mrs. Bennett A. Molter, Jr. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Art Thrives: Ceramics (Ages 55 and Up)
2023-01-10 14:00 - 16:00
NOMA’s Art Thrives program creates opportunities exclusively for adults ages 55 and up to learn new skills while building community and having fun in the process. In conjunction with Katherine Choy: Radical Potter in 1950s New Orleans, on view through April 16, we invite you to join us for an eight-session ceramics course.
Over four weeks, participants will work with professional teaching artist Lauren Rouatt and museum staff to learn about the history of ceramics over the past 200 years while exploring hand-building techniques.
No ceramics experience or prior knowledge is necessary to participate. Space is limited and advanced registration is required
$160 for the entire course | $120 for members
Register Now
Please contact education@noma.org or 504.658.4140 for more information or to inquire about future Art Thrives programs
Financial Assistance is available on a first come, first served basis. Please complete a brief form requesting financial assistance, and a staff member will reach out to you soon.
Apply for Financial Assistance

Program Schedule
Tuesdays and Thursdays
Week 1: January 10 and 12, 2–4 pm
Week 2: January 17 and 19, 2–4 pm
Week 3: January 24 and 26, 2–4 pm
Week 4: January 31 and February 2, 2–4 pm
Participants are expected to attend all 8 sessions of this workshop.

Additional Program Information
What You’ll Need
Please wear comfortable clothing and shoes that you wouldn’t mind getting messy. Aprons will be provided.
What You’ll Get
Registration includes writing utensils, sketch books for recording observations, and the finished ceramic pieces you’ll make throughout the course.
Please contact education@noma.org or 504.658.4140 with any questions.

About Lauren Rouatt
Lauren Rouatt (she/they) is an artist and educator in New Orleans, Louisiana. Lauren holds a BFA from Tulane University and a Masters of Art Education from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is currently the Managing Director of Byrdie’s Pottery, a community ceramics studio located in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans. She takes a process-oriented approach to her ceramic work—crafting utilitarian vessels that are simultaneously works of art and that create conversation with ongoing inquiries into the natural world. Rouatt is interested in growth, decay, branching, cycles, and metamorphosis, as well as the textures and shapes that emerge when looking at the world both up close and from a distance. Rouatt has facilitated arts and nature education programming at numerous spaces throughout New Orleans, including NOLA Nature School, the Louisiana Children’s Museum, the Contemporary Arts Center, the Green Project, Longue Vue House & Gardens, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and others.

NOMA’s Art Thrives programs are supported by E.A. Michelson Philanthropy.

Free Screening: People Museum
2023-01-07 13:00 - 15:00 | NOMA’s Lapis Center for the Arts
Want to revisit People Museum’s Louise Bourgeois–inspired performance in the Besthoff Sculpture Garden? Join for a free screening of the full performance on Saturday, January 7, 1 pm, in NOMA’s Lapis Center for the Arts.
During the one-night-only presentation last December, New Orleans–based pop art band People Museum performed their latest EP Destruction of, Vol. 1 underneath Bourgeois’s Spider—one of the signature works in the sculpture garden. Written by Claire Givens and produced by Jeremy Phipps, Destruction of, Vol. 1 features a collection of songs inspired by Bourgeois’s life and work, and the performance was timed with the exhibition Louise Bourgeois: Paintings, which was on view at NOMA from September 9 to December 31, 2022.
This screening is free with advanced registration.
RSVP Now

About the Project
NOMA Community Engagement Curator Nic Brierre Aziz interviews People Museum’s Claire Givens and Jeremy Phipps about the genesis of this project.

About Creative Assembly
Creative Assembly is a community engagement initiative by the New Orleans Museum of Art that uses neighborhood-based participatory art experiences as a vehicle for personal exploration, community collaboration, and social change.
Learn more
NOMA’s Creative Assembly community engagement initiative is supported by the Wagner Foundation.

Yoga in the Besthoff Sculpture Garden Every Saturday
2023-01-07 08:00 - 09:00 | Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, New Orleans , LA, 70124
NOMA presents yoga classes in the Besthoff Sculpture Garden on Saturday mornings.
Please meet at the main entrance to the sculpture garden located on Dueling Oaks Drive. Registrants must bring their own yoga mats.
Classes are $10 | $5 for NOMA members
REGISTER NOW
Registration will remain open until 3 pm the evening prior to class. Currently, these classes are outside only, and will be cancelled for severe weather. Registrants will be notified of cancellation via email by 5 pm the evening prior to each class. For more information, call 504.658.4128 or email education@noma.org.

First Fridays at NOMA: Snap That
2023-01-06 18:00 - 22:00 | New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, New Orleans, LA, 70119
#ExploreNOMA after hours.
The museum is open late night for an evening packed with musical performances, gallery tours, and special pop-ups.
Each month, the museum presents First Fridays at NOMA, an after-hours inclusive programmatic mix of live DJs and bands; local creatives speaking about their favorite works of art; a range of performance and dance; and unique experiences of all kinds in response to art from across time and place.
Participants will meet artists, get creative, and immerse themselves in New Orleans’s creative community.

Friday, January 6 | Snap That
Kick off the final weekend of Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers with a night of music, interactive experiences, and more.
$25 General Admission | $15 for Members
Buy Tickets

Khris Royal and Dark Matter feat. Erica Falls
7:30–9:00 pm in the Lapis Center for the Arts
Khris Royal and Dark Matter is a young alternative funk band steeped in jazz flavors on the forefront of the New Orleans music scene. They have secured their spot among the immensely talented acts emerging from a revitalized New Orleans by headlining at local music meccas such as the Blue Nile on Frenchmen Street and the famed Maple Leaf Bar. The band is quickly building momentum on a national scale, with killer debut sets at both the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Gulf Shores’s Hangout Festival.

Felice Gee
6:00–7:30 pm and 9:00–9:45 pm in the Great Hall
Brooklyn-born and New Orleans–inspired, Felice Gee curates sound waves fine-tuned specifically as a form of meditation and celebration, intimately connecting holistic viewpoints intermixed with the foundations of music. Expect African Diasporic sounds from every era, introduced with an emphasis on drum beats and storytelling. She specializes in high-vibrational music, strongly rooted in tribal, reggae, funk, and jazz beats.

Meet the Artist: Polo Silk
6:00 pm in the Second-Floor Stafford Gallery
For more than three decades, Selwhyn Sthaddeus “Polo Silk” Terrell (American, born 1964) has been photographing Black New Orleans, creating a unique body of work that blends elements of portraiture, fashion, performance, and street photography. The exhibition Picture Man: Portraits by Polo Silk explores how Polo Silk successfully blends all of those elements, while illustrating his role as an important part of photographic history.

Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers Exhibition Walkthrough with Malik Bartholomew
6:30 pm in the First-Floor Ella West Freeman Galleries
Malik Bartholomew is a seventh-generation New Orleans native who serves as a community griot, cultural curator, local historian, photographer, storyteller, researcher, and tour guide. He is a proud graduate of John F. Kennedy Senior High School and Dillard University where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history. Post-graduation, he has since spent countless hours in many of the city’s archives exploring and learning more about the unique traditions and history of the city of New Orleans. Currently, Malik is involved in numerous projects documenting the city of New Orleans through the medium of photography and supporting indigenous New Orleans culture. He is a board member of the Congo Square Preservation Society, One Book One New Orleans, and the Louisiana Afro-Indigenous Society. He serves on the curatorial board of the Pass It On Poetry Open Mic Team and was a member of the first exhibition advisory group for Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers. He is also the proud owner of Know NOLA Tours—a tour experience and historical consulting company. Know NOLA Tours is a tour company grounded in the roots of research, history, storytelling, and culture that focuses on the black stories and narratives of the city of New Orleans and its connection, impact, and influence on the world.

Art-Making
6:00–9:30 pm on the Museum’s First Floor
Join NOMA teaching artists in an interactive art-making activity inspired by work on view at the museum.

Ticketing and Admission
$25 General Admission | $15 for Members
Buy Tickets
Please note that food and drinks are not included in the ticket price. They are available for purchase directly from our partner vendors.

Additional Credits
Mahmoud Chouki
NOMA is pleased to work with internationally renowned multi-instrumentalist and composer Mahmoud Chouki, who is organizing musical performances for each First Fridays program in collaboration with museum staff.
Thank You to Our Supporters
First Fridays at NOMA is supported in part by grant funds from the Azby Fund; Ruby K. Worner Charitable Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation; and the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council. Funding has also been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Gallery Talk with Curator Brian Piper
2023-01-04 12:00 - 12:30
Join us in the galleries each Wednesday for weekly talks with artists, curators, and other special guests. During these casual conversations, we’ll take a close look at different works currently on view at NOMA.
This week, join us for a discussion with Brian Piper, NOMA’s Assistant Curator of Photographs, about Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers in the museum’s first-floor Ella West Freeman Galleries.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission to NOMA on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation. When you arrive at NOMA, check in at the front desk for directions to the appropriate gallery.
Get Tickets
To book your ticket in advance, click the link above and select the day for the gallery talk you’d like to attend.

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by the Zemurray Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; The City of New Orleans; IBERIABANK; The Wagner Foundation; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; Dr. Scott S. Cowen; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ruby K. Worner Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; The Harry T. Howard III Foundation; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Harvey and Marie Orth; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Mrs. Bennett A. Molter, Jr. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Gallery Talk with Delaney George
2022-12-28 12:00 - 12:30
Join us in the galleries each Wednesday for weekly talks with artists, curators, and other special guests. During these casual conversations, we’ll take a close look at different works currently on view at NOMA.
This week, join us for a discussion with photographer and exhibition advisor group member Delaney George about Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers in the museum’s first-floor Ella West Freeman Galleries.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission to NOMA on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation. When you arrive at NOMA, check in at the front desk for directions to the appropriate gallery.
Get Tickets
To book your ticket in advance, click the link above and select the day for the gallery talk you’d like to attend.

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by the Zemurray Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; The City of New Orleans; IBERIABANK; The Wagner Foundation; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; Dr. Scott S. Cowen; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ruby K. Worner Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; The Harry T. Howard III Foundation; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Harvey and Marie Orth; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Mrs. Bennett A. Molter, Jr. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Adam Davis’s Black Magic
2022-12-24 - 2023-01-08
In conjunction with Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers, Los Angeles–based photographer Adam Davis is bringing his ongoing Black Magic project to NOMA.
During his two-week Creative Assembly Connector Residency, Davis will set up a studio on the museum’s second floor, where he will produce photographic tintypes as part of his goal to create an archive of 20,000 portraits of Black Americans. Davis has traveled with Black Magic across the country to cities including Tulsa, Chicago, and Detroit. Learn more about in the project in an article from the Los Angeles Times.
On select days during this residency, visitors will have the opportunity to pose for and receive a free tintype portrait from Davis.
Due to overwhelming demand, all spots are currently filled. Please join the waitlist below to be notified as times open up.

Gallery Talk with Ellene “Joi” Whiley
2022-12-21 12:00 - 12:30
Join us in the galleries each Wednesday for weekly talks with artists, curators, and other special guests. During these casual conversations, we’ll take a close look at different works currently on view at NOMA.
This week, join us for a discussion with artist and exhibition advisor group member Ellene “Joi” Whiley about Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers in the museum’s first-floor Ella West Freeman Galleries.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission to NOMA on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation. When you arrive at NOMA, check in at the front desk for directions to the appropriate gallery.
Get Tickets
To book your ticket in advance, click the link above and select the day for the gallery talk you’d like to attend.

About Ellene “Joi” Whiley
Ellene “Joi” Whiley holds a B.A. in Studio Art from Spelman College and a M.A. in Arts Administration from the University of New Orleans. She studied abroad at the LaCoste School of Art in South France. Joi has done advanced studio studies in New York at Parsons School of Design. In addition, she served as the 2004-2005 Romare Bearden Fellow at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Joi has exhibited her work at M.Francis Gallery, the New Orleans Museum of Art during “Artfully Aware”, Baton Rouge Shaw Center 4th Floor Terrace Gallery, and the New Orleans African American Museum. She is an experienced artist, art instructor, and arts administrator. Recently Joi has done workshops at the LSU Museum of Art, an arts lecture for the East Baton Rouge Parish Library, and served as a Teaching Artist for the New Orleans Museum of Art. Currently, Joi serves as a member of the “Called to the Camera” Advisory Group at the New Orleans Museum of Art. She is also blessed to work alongside her husband, Joseph Whiley, as co-owner of E. Joi Studio, LLC.

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by the Zemurray Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; The City of New Orleans; IBERIABANK; The Wagner Foundation; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; Dr. Scott S. Cowen; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ruby K. Worner Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; The Harry T. Howard III Foundation; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Harvey and Marie Orth; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Mrs. Bennett A. Molter, Jr. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Archival Preservation: Family Photographs Workshop
2022-12-17 10:00 - 13:00
Join experts from New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans Photo Alliance, Louisiana State University, and the Historic New Orleans Collection to learn about best practices for preservation of family photograph collections. Following presentations, participants will have the opportunity to bring a limited number of family photographs, in a variety of formats, to be digitized and brought home that day. NOMA will not keep any copies of digitized photographs.
This program is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers, and attendees will tour the exhibition with Brian Piper, Assistant Curator of Photographs.
Free with advanced registration. Registration includes access to the museum galleries for the day.
Register Now
Please note: Up to 10 attendees can participate per registered family.

Additional Program Information
Photographic objects NOMA can digitize:

Photographic prints up to 8 x 10 inches including color, black & white, and instant film prints
Mounted 35 mm slides
Unmounted 35 mm film (negative or slide film)
Sheet film to 8 x 10 inches (negative or slide film)
Daguerreotypes and tintypes in good condition

NOMA cannot digitize:

Professional studio portraits with a watermark or embossment, such as prints from a school portrait company
Photographs, negatives, and slides with extensive damage or mold
Photographic objects that are broken or damaged (e.g. broken glass negatives or rusty tintypes)

Program Speakers
About Mallory Taylor
Mallory Taylor is an Associate Curator at the Historic New Orleans Collection where she works with the photographic holdings. After graduating from Savannah College of Art & Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography, Taylor discovered her interest in working with photographic collections while interning at the National Archives and Records Administration. She later attended Ryerson University, in coordination with the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, where she earned a Master of Arts in Photographic Preservation and Collections Management.
About Edward Benoit III
Edward Benoit III is Associate Director and Associate Professor in the School of Library & Information Science at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. He is the coordinator of the archival studies and cultural heritage resource management programs. He received an MA in History, MLIS and PhD in Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His research focuses on participatory and community archives, non-traditional archival materials, climate change, and archival education. He is the founder and director of the Virtual Footlocker Project, which examines the personal archiving habits of the 21st century soldier in an effort to develop new digital capture and preservation technologies to support their needs.
About Lisa Cates
Lisa Cates is a photographer, educator, and producer who specializes in travel and expedition programs. She has worked with National Geographic Expeditions, National Geographic Student Expeditions, the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, and Nobechi Creative. Lisa Cates is the Director of the New Orleans Photo Alliance (NOPA), a nonprofit focused on elevating photography in the Gulf Coast states through exhibitions, programs and opportunities. In this capacity, she has overseen exhibitions in the NOPA gallery, partnering with institutions like the New Orleans Museum of Art, the New Orleans Jazz Museum, the National World War II Museum, and Tulane University. She has been an active member of the committee for New Orleans’s annual festival of photography, PhotoNOLA, since 2014, and has been a juror for Critical Mass and the Photoville Fence.
About the New Orleans Photo Alliance
The mission of the New Orleans Photo Alliance (NOPA) is to encourage the understanding and appreciation of photography through exhibitions, opportunities, and educational programs. NOPA runs a community photo center at 7800 Oak Street and hosts the annual PhotoNOLA festival every December.

This program is funded under a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of either the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

[Artwork credit: Photographer unidentified, “To My Sweet Baby Brother, From Sister”, ca. 1945. Gelatin silver print in original sleeve mount. Robert Langmuir African American Photograph Collection, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University.]

POSTPONED | Gallery Talk with Ellene "Joi" Whiley
2022-12-14 12:00 - 12:30
Out of caution for the current weather forecast, this public program has been postponed. We look forward to announcing a new date soon.
Join us in the galleries each Wednesday for weekly talks with artists, curators, and other special guests. During these casual conversations, we’ll take a close look at different works currently on view at NOMA.
This week, join us for a discussion with artist and exhibition advisor group member Ellene “Joi” Whiley about Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers in the museum’s first-floor Ella West Freeman Galleries.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission to NOMA on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation. When you arrive at NOMA, check in at the front desk for directions to the appropriate gallery.
Get Tickets
To book your ticket in advance, click the link above and select the day for the gallery talk you’d like to attend.

About Ellene “Joi” Whiley
Ellene “Joi” Whiley holds a B.A. in Studio Art from Spelman College and a M.A. in Arts Administration from the University of New Orleans. She studied abroad at the LaCoste School of Art in South France. Joi has done advanced studio studies in New York at Parsons School of Design. In addition, she served as the 2004-2005 Romare Bearden Fellow at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Joi has exhibited her work at M.Francis Gallery, the New Orleans Museum of Art during “Artfully Aware”, Baton Rouge Shaw Center 4th Floor Terrace Gallery, and the New Orleans African American Museum. She is an experienced artist, art instructor, and arts administrator. Recently Joi has done workshops at the LSU Museum of Art, an arts lecture for the East Baton Rouge Parish Library, and served as a Teaching Artist for the New Orleans Museum of Art. Currently, Joi serves as a member of the “Called to the Camera” Advisory Group at the New Orleans Museum of Art. She is also blessed to work alongside her husband, Joseph Whiley, as co-owner of E. Joi Studio, LLC.

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by the Zemurray Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; The City of New Orleans; IBERIABANK; The Wagner Foundation; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; Dr. Scott S. Cowen; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ruby K. Worner Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; The Harry T. Howard III Foundation; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Harvey and Marie Orth; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Mrs. Bennett A. Molter, Jr. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

POSTPONED | Art Thrives Digital Photography Showcase
2022-12-14 10:00 - 16:00
Out of caution for the current weather forecast, this public program has been postponed. We look forward to announcing a new date soon.
Join us for a special showcase highlighting the work of participants in our Art Thrives digital photography course offered in conjunction with Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers.
NOMA’s Art Thrives program aims to create opportunities exclusively for adults ages 55 and up to learn new creative skills while building community and having fun in the process. Over four weeks, participants worked with professional teaching artists and museum staff to explore a diverse range of photographic processes as a catalyst for inspiration.
The work will be on view in NOMA’s Lapis Center for the Arts on Wednesday, December 14, 10 am–4 pm.
For more information about Art Thrives, contact education@noma.org.

NOMA’s Art Thrives programs are supported by E.A. Michelson Philanthropy.

Canceled | Free Lecture: Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe
2022-12-13 18:30 - 19:30 | NOMA’s Lapis Center for the Arts
Unfortunately, this program on Tuesday, December 13, has been canceled. We look forward to welcoming Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe to NOMA in the future.
Join us for a lecture and conversation with photographer, activist, educator, and historian Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe. Presented as part of the programming schedule for Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers, Moutoussamy-Ashe will speak about her career as an image-maker, including what motivates her own practice as a photographer. Deeply invested in issues of representation and photography’s potential to create social change, Moutoussamy-Ashe will also consider the relationship between photographs and the fight for civil rights, including important historical work by Black female photographers.
CANCELED
About the Artist
Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe holds a BFA in photography from the Cooper Union for the Advancement for Art and Science in New York City. Her work has appeared in Life, Ebony, Sports Illustrated, Essence, the New York Times, and numerous other publications. She has had more than two dozen solo exhibitions, and her photography is held in public collections throughout the country, including the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Museum of Modern Art, and the New Orleans Museum of Art. Her 1986 historical volume Viewfinders: Black Women Photographers was the first of its kind and remains a foundational text in the field. In 2007, the University of South Carolina published the 25th anniversary edition of Daufuskie Island: Photographs by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, for which the photographer received an Essence Literary Award in Photography the following year. She serves as a director for the Arthur Ashe Endowment to Defeat AIDS and the President’s Council of the Cooper Union.
From the Artist’s Website
“Over the past five decades, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe has used her lens in service of storytelling, harnessing the power of images to convey meaning and truth. And while her photographs tell definitive stories—those of the condition and moments when they were taken- they are also intimate revelation reinforcing our underlying humanity, where our own personal truths can be found, refracted through personal experience.”

Art Thrives: Digital Photography (Ages 55 and Up)
2022-12-13 10:00 - 16:00
NOMA’s Art Thrives program aims to create opportunities exclusively for adults ages 55 and up to learn new creative skills while building community and having fun in the process. In conjunction with Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers, on view through January 8, we invite you to join us for an eight-session digital photography course.
Over four weeks, participants will work with professional teaching artists and museum staff to explore a diverse range of photographic processes as a catalyst for inspiration. Workshops will focus on history, techniques, aesthetics, and practice. Teaching Artists include Tiffany Smith, Jonathan Traviesa, Ariya Aladjem Wolf, and Camille Farrah Lenain.
No photography experience or prior knowledge is necessary to participate. Space is limited and advanced registration is required
$160 for the entire course | $120 for members
Sold Out
Please contact education@noma.org or 504.658.4140 for more information or to inquire about future Art Thrives programs
Financial Assistance is available on a first come, first served basis. Please complete a brief form requesting financial assistance, and a staff member will reach out to you soon.
Apply for Financial Assistance

Program Schedule
Week 1: Tuesday, November 8, and Friday, November 11, 2–4 pm
Week 2: Tuesday, November 15, and Friday November 18, 2–4 pm
Break for Thanksgiving Week
Week 3: Tuesday, November 29, and Friday, December 2, 2-4 pm
Week 4: Tuesday, December 6, and Friday December 9, 2-4 pm
Participants are expected to attend all 8 sessions of this workshop.

Additional Program Information
What You’ll Need
Please bring whatever digital camera you have that you would like to make images with, even a cell phone or tablet. We will have cameras available for use in session if you are not able to bring your own.
What You’ll Get
Registration includes a photo storage box, sketch books for recording observations, and printed versions of the images you make over the course of the workshop.
Please contact education@noma.org or 504.658.4140 with any questions.

NOMA’s Art Thrives programs are supported by E.A. Michelson Philanthropy.

See Me: Teen Art & Poetry Lounge
2022-12-10 14:00 - 17:00
Teens are invited to experience the exhibition Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers and enjoy a space devoted to rest and self-representation, designed by NOMA’s Teen Art Council. See Me explores themes from the exhibition like self-portraiture, identity, and the uses of photography in the past and today.
Stop by to recharge in the lounge and galleries and take part in interactive activities inspired by the exhibition:

2–5 pm: Art-Making: Frame It! Build your own keepsake photo frame inspired by decorative cases for daguerreotype photographs, one of the earliest forms of photography.

2–4 pm: Pop-Up Talk & Photo Booth with visiting artist Tiffany Smith Meet Tiffany Smith, a New York–based interdisciplinary artist whose work is featured in the exhibition. Smith’s photographic portraits, installations, user engaged experiences, and assemblages focus on identity, representation, cultural ambiguity, and displacement. Step into the photo booth, designed and activated by the Teen Art Council in collaboration with the artist, to pose for a portrait that celebrates how you invite others to see you.

4–5 pm: Poetry Reading & Open Mic Listen to youth poets perform original works, and peruse poetry art books created by youth artists with Creative Assembly Cohort members Tiana Noble and Joseph Darensbourg. Want to perform? Bring your own poems and sign up at the event!

All teens are admitted to the museum for free year-round, courtesy of The Helis Foundation. Teens and accompanying adults may check in at the front desk upon arrival.

Gallery Talk
2022-12-07 12:00 - 12:30
Join us in the galleries each Wednesday for weekly talks with artists, curators, and other special guests. During these casual conversations, we’ll take a close look at different works currently on view at NOMA.
This week, join us for a discussion about Louise Bourgeois: Paintings, currently on view in the museum’s second-floor Templeman Galleries.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission to NOMA on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation. When you arrive at NOMA, check in at the front desk for directions to the appropriate gallery.
Get Tickets
To book your ticket in advance, click the link above and select the day for the gallery talk you’d like to attend.

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by the Zemurray Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; The City of New Orleans; IBERIABANK; The Wagner Foundation; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; Dr. Scott S. Cowen; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ruby K. Worner Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; The Harry T. Howard III Foundation; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Harvey and Marie Orth; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Mrs. Bennett A. Molter, Jr. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Performance and Record Release: People Museum
2022-12-04 19:00 | Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, New Orleans , LA, 70124
New Orleans–based pop art band People Museum presents a special one-night-only performance in the Besthoff Sculpture Garden responding to the work of artist Louise Bourgeois.
People Museum’s latest EP Destruction of, Vol. 1 (out October 21 from Strange Daisy Records and Community Records) features a collection of songs inspired by Bourgeois’s life and work. Written by Claire Givens and produced by Jeremy Phipps, the record was supported in part by NOMA’s Creative Assembly Cohort, which invites artists from different mediums to use the museum’s collection, exhibition, and programs as catalysts to create new research and artwork.
On Sunday, December 4, People Museum perform underneath Bourgeois’s Spider—one of the signature works in NOMA’s Besthoff Sculpture Garden—and celebrate the release of a limited-edition vinyl pressing of Destruction of, Vol. 1.
Tickets are $15 | $10 for NOMA members
SOLD OUT
Tickets to this program are currently sold out. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. Entry is not guaranteed.

About the Project
NOMA Community Engagement Curator Nic Brierre Aziz interviews People Museum’s Claire Givens and Jeremy Phipps and about the genesis of this project.

Album Credits
Written by Claire Givens
Produced by Jeremy Phipps
Performed by Claire Givens and Jeremy Phipps
Mixed and Mastered by Steve Gilliland
Artwork by Claire Givens and Nicholas Ashe Bateman
Vinyl available for pre-order from Community Records

About People Museum
People Museum is a pop art, electronic band formed by Jeremy Phipps and Claire Givens in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2016. Inspired by afro-beat, hip-hop, choral, and marching band music, People Museum has formed a sound that could only come from the eclectic corners of Louisiana. Created with the intention of bringing nature to the future, they combine the historic sounds of the city’s past with the synthesizer heavy, progressive underground of New Orleans —always mixing menacing textures with cathartic hopefulness. People Museum performs live as a four-piece with the addition of drummer, Aaron Boudreaux, as well as with bassist Charles Lumar ll.

About Creative Assembly
Creative Assembly is a community engagement initiative by the New Orleans Museum of Art that uses neighborhood-based participatory art experiences as a vehicle for personal exploration, community collaboration, and social change.
Learn more
NOMA’s Creative Assembly community engagement initiative is supported by the Wagner Foundation.

Day With(out) Art: Being & Belonging
2022-12-01 10:00 - 17:00 | NOMA’s Lapis Center for the Arts
NOMA is proud to partner with Visual AIDS for Day With(out) Art 2022 by presenting Being & Belonging, a program of seven short videos highlighting under-told stories of HIV and AIDS from the perspective of artists living with HIV across the world.
The program features newly commissioned work by Camila Arce (Argentina), Davina “Dee” Conner and Karin Hayes (USA), Jaewon Kim (South Korea), Clifford Prince King (USA), Santiago Lemus and Camilo Acosta Huntertexas (Colombia), Mikiki (Canada), and Jhoel Zempoalteca and La Jerry (México).
From navigating sex and intimacy to confronting stigma and isolation, Being & Belonging centers the emotional realities of living with HIV today. How does living with HIV shift the ways that a person experiences, asks for, or provides love, support, and belonging? The seven videos are a call for belonging from those that have been stigmatized within their communities or left out of mainstream HIV/AIDS narratives.
The seven short videos will screen on a loop in NOMA’s Lapis Center for the Arts during the museum’s regular open hours.
Admission to this program is free for all. Please check in at the admissions desk upon arrival.

About Visual AIDS
Visual AIDS is a New York-based non-profit that utilizes art to fight AIDS by provoking dialogue, supporting HIV+ artists, and preserving a legacy, because AIDS is not over.
Learn More

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The City of New Orleans; First Horizon; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; the Howard Foundation; Karen and Henry Coaxum; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Laitram.

Gallery Talk with Polo Silk and Charlie Vaughn
2022-11-30 12:00 - 12:30
Join us in the galleries each Wednesday for weekly talks with artists, curators, and other special guests. During these casual conversations, we’ll take a close look at different works currently on view at NOMA.
This week, join us for a discussion with photographer Selwhyn Sthaddeus “Polo Silk” Terrell and artist and educator Charlie Vaughn. The two will discuss Polo Silk’s solo exhibition on the museum’s second floor.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission to NOMA on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation. When you arrive at NOMA, check in at the front desk for directions to the appropriate gallery.
Get Tickets
To book your ticket in advance, click the link above and select the day for the gallery talk you’d like to attend.

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by the Zemurray Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; The City of New Orleans; IBERIABANK; The Wagner Foundation; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; Dr. Scott S. Cowen; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ruby K. Worner Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; The Harry T. Howard III Foundation; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Harvey and Marie Orth; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Mrs. Bennett A. Molter, Jr. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Book Club Discussion: Braiding Sweetgrass
2022-11-29 12:00
The NOMA Book Club meets monthly to discuss fiction and nonfiction books related to art in NOMA’s collection and exhibitions. It is an informal group open to anyone on a month-to-month basis. You do not have to attend every meeting or read every book! In addition to monthly book discussions, the Book Club meets periodically for curatorial programs related to the book selections.
Books are selected in advance and planned for the entire year according to the exhibition schedule. Participants are expected to procure their own copy of the selected titles. Most of the titles are available for purchase in store at the NOMA Museum Shop.
For more information on the NOMA Book Club please contact NOMA’s Curator of Education, Tracy Kennan, at tkennan@noma.org or (504) 658-4113.
Register Now
November 2022
Book Discussion Group (In-Person and Virtual) | Tuesday, November 29, 12 PM

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Milkweed Editions, 2015, ISBN: 978-1571313560
Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by the Zemurray Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; The City of New Orleans; IBERIABANK; The Wagner Foundation; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; Dr. Scott S. Cowen; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ruby K. Worner Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; The Harry T. Howard III Foundation; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Harvey and Marie Orth; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Mrs. Bennett A. Molter, Jr. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Gallery Talk with Malik Bartholomew
2022-11-23 12:00 - 12:30
Join us in the galleries each Wednesday for weekly talks with artists, curators, and other special guests. During these casual conversations, we’ll take a close look at different works currently on view at NOMA.
This week, join us for a discussion about Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers on the museum’s first floor with Malik Bartholomew of Know NOLA Tours and a member of the exhibition advisory group.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission to NOMA on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation. When you arrive at NOMA, check in at the front desk for directions to the appropriate gallery.
Get Tickets
To book your ticket in advance, click the link above and select the day for the gallery talk you’d like to attend.

About Malik Bartholomew
Malik Bartholomew is a seventh-generation New Orleans native who serves as a community griot, cultural curator, local historian, photographer, storyteller, researcher, and tour guide. He is a proud graduate of John F. Kennedy Senior High School and Dillard University where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History. Post-graduation he has since spent countless hours in many of the city’s archives exploring and learning more about the unique traditions and history of the city of New Orleans.
Currently, Malik is involved in numerous projects documenting the city of New Orleans through the medium of photography and supporting indigenous New Orleans culture. He is a board member of the Congo Square Preservation Society, One Book One New Orleans, and the Louisiana Afro-Indigenous Society. He serves on the curatorial board of the Pass it On Poetry Open Mic Team and was a member of the first exhibition advisory group for the New Orleans Museum of Art exhibition Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers, He is also the proud owner of Know NOLA Tours a tour experience & historical consulting company.
Know NOLA Tours is a tour company grounded in the roots of research, history, storytelling, and culture that focuses on the black stories and narratives of the city of New Orleans and its connection, impact, and influence on the world.
Malik additionally serves as the lead docent and resident historian at Studio BE, the solo exhibition of visual artist Brandan “Bmike” Odums, and is proud to work at his alma mater as the Access Services Manager at the Will W. Alexander Library located at Dillard University.
Malik has an undying passion for all things “New Orleans” and remains committed to reading, exploring, researching, learning, and most importantly sharing the special history, rich culture, and distinctive qualities of the city of New Orleans.

Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by the Zemurray Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; The City of New Orleans; IBERIABANK; The Wagner Foundation; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; Dr. Scott S. Cowen; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ruby K. Worner Trust through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee; The Harry T. Howard III Foundation; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Harvey and Marie Orth; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Mrs. Bennett A. Molter, Jr. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Free Screening: City of a Million Dreams
2022-11-20 14:00 | NOMA’s Lapis Center for the Arts
Join us on Sunday, November 20, in NOMA’s Lapis Center for the Arts for a screening of the acclaimed documentary City of a Million Dreams. The film, based on the book of the same name by Jason Berry, explores New Orleans’s jazz funerals and second lines.
Following the film screening, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from the filmmakers and ask questions during a panel discussion.
Free with museum admission.
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About the Film
Famous the world over, jazz funerals have origins shrouded in mystery. Filmed over twenty-two years, City of a Million Dreams explores race relations at a tearing time in American society. Burial traditions train a lens on the unique and resilient culture of New Orleans. City of a Million Dreams draws from the 2018 book of the same title by Jason Berry.
Deb Cotton, an African American and observant Jew, leaves “hard-hearted Hollywood” for New Orleans, and becomes a chronicler of the parading clubs spawned by 19th century burial societies. Her zeal for the city grows as she becomes a blogger for Gambit Weekly, adopting the handle “Big Red Cotton.” As Deb explores her adopted culture, Dr. Michael White, a prolific clarinetist and New Orleans native, plays “the widow’s wail” on his clarinet, a cry of lamentation in the funeral marches.
White’s transcendent music also includes joyous peals for the soul’s cutting-loose, which happens when the band leaves the cemetery, followed by dancers in what New Orleanians call “the second line.” Risen in the ranks of brass bands, White, too, is on a journey of self-discovery, seeking clues about his ancestor who played at the dawn of jazz. White says of jazz funerals: “For someone dealing with American racism and trying to figure out your place in this life…you can be transformed into another world that really sets you free.”
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Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by The Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation; the Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The City of New Orleans; First Horizon; Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack; Sara and David Kelso; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; The RosaMary Foundation; The Azby Fund; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation; Burkenroad Foundation; Marian Dreux Van Horn Education Endowment; the Howard Foundation; Karen and Henry Coaxum; The Bruce J. Heim Foundation; and Laitram.
