NOMA Forward

At NOMA, our mission is to inspire lifelong learning through the arts—including our permanent collection representing art history around the world, special exhibitions that explore the most important issues of our time, and programming for all ages and backgrounds.

In working toward this mission, we continue to solicit feedback through one-on-one and group conversations with members of the public, community leaders, advocates, and partners to inform our work. Our goals in the process are to better understand areas of opportunity for impact, to pinpoint ways to bolster a network of community organizations, and to be the best possible stewards of the city we call home.

As a direct result, we have defined a group of community-driven goals that have been incorporated into NOMA’s strategic plan, a document that helps guide the work we do. Our hope is to continue identifying new outcomes, to create additional goals for working towards them, and to continue conversations about how to be the best possible stewards of our community and our collection.

These goals will help establish a beneficial framework for communication and public accountability, allowing NOMA to better share our work, our priorities, and vision for the future with our many audiences.

We hope you will follow along and work with us as we move forward as an equitable institution.

Community-Driven Goals in NOMA’s Strategic Plan

Desired Outcomes

Learn More

Communicate our mission and work authentically and meaningfully
  • Read our institutional statement on inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility below (updated February 2024).
  • Read our land and labor acknowledgement (updated January 2024).

Embrace a history of NOMA that aligns with our present and future
  • Read about Sand, Ash, Heat: Glass at the New Orleans Museum of Art, an exhibition reflecting on the development of NOMA’s collection of historic and contemporary glass (published August 2024).

Empower board members to advocate for the museum and support a Board of Trustees that is reflective of our city
  • Learn about NOMA’s current Board of Trustees (updated January 2025).

Amplify efforts to recruit, retain, and support staff
  • Read a profile of Chief Curator Anne Collins Smith in Essence magazine (published February 2025).
  • Read about the appointment of Orlando Hernández Ying, Lapis Curator of the Arts of the Americas, the first permanent curatorial role at the museum dedicated to an expanded look at the arts of North, Central, and South America (published July 2024).
  • Watch a video of Laura Ochoa Rincon, Decorative Arts Trust Curatorial Fellow, presenting on research from her fellowship (recorded January 2024).

Develop partnerships that support NOMA’s mission within a network of like-minded organizations and individuals
  • Learn about a new partnership with LCMC Health to support the museum’s Art Thrives creative aging initiative for ages 55 and older (published October 2024).
  • Read about a collaboration with the New Orleans Hispanic Heritage Foundation celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at the museum and in New Orleans City Park (published October 2024).

Actively connect NOMA’s global collection, exhibitions, and scope to New Orleans’s artistic, social, and cultural histories
  • Learn about New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations, an exhibition spotlighting West African masquerade artists with parallels to New Orleans’s own cultural histories (published February 2025).
  • Read about projects and programs designed by Creative Assembly resident artists including photographer Jourdan Barnes (published October 2024), Dianne Honoré (published April 2024), and Kr3wcial & Charm Taylor (published March 2024).

Foster an environment of belonging and interest for local students
  • Read an article in the Art Newspaper about a program connecting the work of artist Wangechi Mutu to Louisiana students’ AP Art History and AP African American Studies curriculums (published April 2024).

Institutional Statement on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility

The New Orleans Museum of Art is committed to being a welcoming institution built on the values of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. NOMA believes in creating and maintaining a space where everyone feels valued and respected for their diverse life experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. NOMA seeks to ensure that all voices—inside and outside the institution—are invited and heard in order to better achieve our mission. To reach these goals, NOMA commits to intentionally focus on groups who have been historically marginalized by our institution, the museum world more broadly, and within society at large.

This initiative is an outgrowth of the museum’s previously published Agenda for Change and DEI Progress Report.