Join us at NOMA for a day of activities to honor Juneteenth—the annual holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States—and support the ongoing movement for justice, equity, and liberation. Come together on the Museum steps for family art-making; experience a moving dance performance co-presented by Edward Spots and Magnolia Dance & Company; view a photographic banner created by students at New Harmony High School; and delve into online programming. Stop by throughout the day to share what honoring Juneteenth means to you.

All events and activities are free. To reserve your free ticket for admission to NOMA and the Besthoff Sculpture Garden, click here. 

Juneteenth refers to June 19, 1865, when Union general Gordon Granger read out federal orders declaring that all people previously enslaved in Texas were free, nearly two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Through grassroots efforts, Black people in Texas reclaimed June 19 from a day of unheeded military orders as the first celebration of “Juneteenth” a year later in 1866, and it continues as a celebration for Black liberation across the country. To learn more, see  “What Is Juneteenth?” by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

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.