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.

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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.