Friday Nights at NOMA opens the museum’s doors for many interesting activities throughout the year: live music, movies, children’s activities, and more. Regular admission prices apply—NOMA members are FREE—but there is no extra charge for programs or films. All galleries and Café NOMA remain open till 9 pm.

• 5 – 8 pm: Art on the Spot family activity table
• 5:30 – 8:30 pm: Music by Extended
• 7 pm: Arts & Letters: Author Yuri Herrara in Conversation with Rosana Cruz

ABOUT EXTENDED

Extended—Oscar Rossignoli on piano, Matt Booth on bass, and Brad Webb on drums—have all the attributes of a clever New Orleans piano-bass-drums trio. The three have been part of the New Orleans scene for years in various configurations. Their debut LP from the spring of 2017, released on Breakfast 4 Dinner records, has received praise for its distinctive compositions and dynamic group interplay.

ABOUT YURI HERRERA AND ROSANA CRUZ

Born in Actopan, Mexico, in 1970, Yuri Herrera studied politics in Mexico, creative writing in El Paso and took his PhD in literature at Berkeley. His first novel to appear in English, Signs Preceding the End of the World, was published to great critical acclaim in 2015 and included in many Best-of-Year lists, including The Guardian‘s Best Fiction and NBC News’s Ten Great Latino Books, going on to win the 2016 Best Translated Book Award. He is currently teaching at Tulane University.

Rosana Cruz is a writer, parent, social justice movement leader and intersectional feminist. They (Cruz’s singular pronoun) have lived in New Orleans for over 20 years and in that time, worked closely with numerous organizations in the struggle for racial justice, LGBTQ liberation and immigrant rights. They currently serve as the Vice President of Movement and Capacity Building at Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation. Born in the US to Cuban parents, Cruz identifies as a pre-natal exile, remaining close to the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who stayed behind in Cuba. They were raised by a single mother in a multi-racial community in North Miami in the 1970s and 80s. Cruz draws deeply from this experience, as well as their close ties to the Caribbean, in their writing. They hold an MA in Latin American Studies from the Stone Center at Tulane University. Essays by Cruz have been published in hipMama, Bridge the Gulf Project, Colorlines.com and the anthology Mamaphonic. Cruz is a 2018 VONA Voices Fellow. Their writing practice is now centered on speculative fiction and Afro-Futurist influenced magical realism.

This program, part of NOMA’s Arts and Letters Series, is free with museum admission thanks to support from the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival.