Gallery Talk with Edward Spots
2024-06-19 12:30 (America/Chicago)
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.
Ahead of his sold-out evening dance performance of the original work, Motion To Move 2024, join Edward Spots for a gallery talk as he discusses his creative process and what it means to be a Black creator in New Orleans.
Free with museum admission. Please note: this is a separate event from the evening performance, Motion to Move, which required advanced registration. Louisiana residents receive free admission on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation.

About Edward Spots
Edward Emanuel Spots was born and raised in the city of New Orleans. Spots has led choreography showcased at the New Orleans Museum Of Art, the New Orleans Jazz Market, Tulane University, Audubon Park, and digital platforms. Spots is currently on the board of the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival. He has been featured in films, commercials, music videos, press, and television shows such as So You Think You Can Dance, Dance Moms, Bulgaria’s Dancing With The Stars, Claws, and a leading role in the movie America directed by Garrett Bradley.
Spots was featured in Gambit’s 40 under 40 and has received a Proclamation from the City of New Orleans for his work. Spots teaches at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Loyola University, the New Orleans School of Ballet, Ashé Cultural Arts Center, and Dancing Grounds.

Gallery Talk: Deer on Alert by Rosa Bonheur
2024-06-26 12:30 | 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.
In celebration of Pride month, this week join Laura Moreno, Museum Educator, for a conversation about realist painter Rosa Bonheur. Moreno will discuss Bonheur’s Deer on Alert and the artist’s defiance to exist within the strict social mores or gender binaries of 19th-century France.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation’s Art for All initiative.

Monuments and Memorials to Queer History
2024-06-26 18:00 - 19:30
In honor of Pride Month, join us for a conversation about how artists might create monuments to queer community and history. In a discussion moderated by Charlie Tatum, Director of Marketing and Communications, historian Robert Fieseler and artists Ryan Leitner and Ryan “phlegm” Gilbert will share their own practices and reflect upon how they consider celebration, remembrance, and the past in their work.
The program will also consider other works, including Jim Hodges’s Craig’s closet, first created for the New York City AIDS Memorial Park and installed in front of NOMA in June 2024, and Skylar Fein’s Remember the UpStairs Lounge, which commemorates the arson of a popular gay bar in New Orleans on June 24, 1973.
This program is free and open to the public. Louisiana residents receive free admission every Wednesday courtesy of The Helis Foundation’s Art for All initiative.

About the Panelists

Ryan “phlegm” Gilbert
Ryan “phlegm” Gilbert, a New Orleans-born and -based multidisciplinary artist, uses mixed-media self-portraiture in works called “ritual dramas” that serve as affirmations of their personal Black universe. phlegm says, “My work aims to more firmly connect my Black spiritual concept of time, connecting the past to the present and the present to the future. It’s communally sacred, personally precious. It attempts to tie all the loose ends of Black ethos, Black influence, and Black inspiration into one braid. It is at its core, an affirmation of life: my life, the life of my ancestors, and the life of my community. My work (and by extension my life) makes a production about the necessity and value of Black spiritual presence.” They also penned the mantra “Everything You Love About New Orleans Is Because of Black People.”

Ryan Leitner
Ryan Leitner (b. 1986, South Carolina) is an artist and writer who lives and works in New Orleans. He received his M.F.A. From The Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in 2016, holds a B.F.A. From Regents College of London, and was a participant at the Skowhegan School for Painting and Sculpture in 2023. He is currently a resident at Joan Mitchell Foundation and a collective member at Antenna Gallery.

Robert W. Fieseler
Robert W. Fieseler is a National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association “Journalist of the Year” and the author of Tinderbox—winner of the Edgar Award and the Louisiana Literary Award, shortlisted for the Saroyan International Prize for Writing. As a Tulane PhD History candidate and Mellon Fellow, Fieseler is currently working on his second queer history book, a finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. He lives with his husband and kittens in New Orleans.

Gallery Talk on Afropolitan: Contemporary African Arts at NOMA
2024-07-03 12:30, 2024-07-03 18:00 | 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, join Amanda Maples, NOMA’s Françoise Billion Richardson Curator of African Art, to discuss the special exhibition Afropolitan: Contemporary African Arts at NOMA. This talk will be offered at 12:30 pm and 6:00 pm.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation’s Art for All initiative.

Gallery Talk on Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined
2024-07-10 12:30, 2024-07-10 18:00
Expand your experience of Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined with monthly gallery talks inside the museum or in the Besthoff Sculpture Garden on select Wednesdays: January 31, February 7, March 6, April 3, May 1, June 5, and July 10.
Join Amanda Maples, NOMA’s Françoise Billion Richardson Curator of African Art, for a conversation on Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined. This talk will be at 12:30 pm and 6 pm in the exhibition.
Gallery talks are free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation.
Register in Advance
About the Exhibition
This major solo exhibition of work by Wangechi Mutu brings together nearly one hundred sculptures, paintings, collages, drawings, and films to present the breadth of the Kenyan-American artists’ multidisciplinary practice from the mid-1990s to today. On view January 31–July 14, 2024, Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined traces connections between recent developments in Mutu’s sculptures and her decades-long exploration of the legacies of colonialism, globalization, and African and diasporic cultural traditions. The exhibition travels to NOMA from the New Museum, New York.
Learn More

Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined is organized by the New Museum, New York. Lead support for this exhibition is provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Generous support for this exhibition is provided by the Ed Bradley Family Foundation, Agnes Gund, Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by The Robert Lehman Foundation. Support for the accompanying publication has been provided by the A4 Arts Foundation.
The presentation in New Orleans is sponsored by the Ford Foundation. Additional support is provided by Delta Airlines, Gladstone Gallery, Walda Besthoff, Victoria Miro Gallery, The Windsor Court, Keith Fox and Tom Keyes, Aimée Farnet Siegel and Mike Siegel, Robin Rankin, Elizabeth Boh, Pat Mitchell and Scott Seydel, Harvey and Marie Orth, and Jeff Childers and Onay Gutierrez

Gallery Talk on Show & Tell: A Brief History of Photography and Text
2024-07-17 12:30, 2024-07-17 18:00, 2024-08-07 12:30, 2024-08-07 18:00
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 Brian Piper, NOMA’s Freeman Family Curator of Photographs, Prints, and Drawings, for a discussion on the special exhibition Show & Tell: A Brief History of Photography and Text. This talk will be offered at 12:30 pm and 6:00 pm.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation’s Art for All initiative.

Gallery Talk on Craig's closet by Jim Hodges
2024-07-24 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 Charlie Tatum, Director of Marketing and Communications, as he discusses Craig’s closet by Jim Hodges, a newly installed sculpture near the front steps of NOMA. This talk will be offered at 12:30 pm.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation’s Art for All initiative.

Black People Be: An Evening with Creative Assembly Cohort Artist Jourdan Barnes
2024-07-24 15:00 - 19:00
For this program, Creative Assembly Cohort member Jourdan Barnes will share a selection of photography from his Black People Be series, which aims to portray the vibrancy of Black existence.
The evening will end with a panel discussion with thought leaders exploring how artists define and celebrate Blackness through their work. The program will include topics such as the concept of celebration in Black communities, the role of art in representation, and personal experiences of joy and resilience.
In the words of Barnes, “This program is an opportunity to reflect, appreciate, and engage in meaningful conversations about Black identity and culture.”
Schedule
3–5 pm | Art Presentation with Jourdan Barnes and Mixer
5–6:30 pm | Panel Discussion
This program is free and open to the public.

About the Speakers

Shana M. griffin is a feminist activist, researcher, sociologist, abolitionist, artist, mother, and geographer whose work engages history and memory as sites of resistance, rupture, and protest. griffin’s work attends to the lived experiences of the Black diaspora, centering the particular experiences of Black women most vulnerable to the violence of poverty, incarceration, polluted environments, reproductive legislation, economic exploitation, housing discrimination, and climate change.
griffin is the founder of PUNCTUATE, a feminist initiative integrating critical research methods with activism and art to address the intersecting forms of everyday violence and subjectivity Black women, their families, and communities experience; and the creator of DISPLACED, a multimedia feminist and public history project tracing the geographies of Black displacement, dislocation, and containment through racial slavery and the violent formation of New Orleans and the surrounding region as a carceral landscape and colonial enterprise. griffin has an adjunct position in sociology at the University of New Orleans.

Dr. David J. Wallace is a dedicated culture influencer and the creator of Dream House Lounge, a haven for mental and spiritual wellness nestled in the heart of New Orleans’s Central Business District. Dr. Wallace’s commitment to amplifying culture and fostering community drives his relentless pursuit of wellness advocacy.
As an initiated priest of the IFA tradition, specializing in Lucumi practice, Dr. Wallace serves as a conduit for intuitive healing and a channeler of the Orishas and ancestral wisdom. Additionally, he is the luminary behind Awakening Minds Consulting, where his passion for justice manifests in transformative endeavors reshaping dialogues on racial and social equity.
Dr. Wallace has a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College, a Master’s in the Art of Teaching from Relay GSE, and an Educational Doctorate from St. Thomas University. Currently, Dr. Wallace is spearheading the development of an innovative EdTech platform called Teacharmony, bridging cultural heritage with educational institutions to enrich students’ learning experiences.

About Jourdan Barnes
Born and raised in New Orleans, Jourdan Barnes has always been influenced by art. Completing his education in art and psychology at Xavier University, Barnes is a freelance artist and also works with those affected by STIs and HIV through his work with the Louisiana Department of Health. Barnes creates art that highlights Black communities by amplifying their voices and truths. Barnes has exhibited works in well-respected museums throughout the country, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York. He has also been a part of art initiatives in New Orleans like Prospect New Orleans and White Linen Night. He mentors youth artists with YAYA, a program of which he is an alumnus. Barnes aspires to become a pediatric art therapist, where he would utilize his talents to serve his community and children who are in need of artistic expression for therapeutic purposes.
LEARN MORE ABOUT CREATIVE ASSEMBLY

Gallery Talk on Light and Museum Preservation Principles with Conservator of Objects Ingrid Seyb
2024-07-31 12:30, 2024-07-31 18:00
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 Ingrid Seyb, NOMA’s Conservator of Objects, for a discussion on light and museum preservation principles. The talk will take place in the third-floor Kurt A. Gitter, M.D. and Alice Yelen Gitter Japanese gallery. This talk will be offered at 12:30 pm and 6:00 pm.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation’s Art for All initiative.

Collaborating Across Continents: Developing a Contemporary Masquerade Exhibition for North American and African Audiences
2024-08-02 17:00 - 20:00
Join the New Orleans Museum of Art for a presentation on contemporary West African masquerade, in advance of the upcoming exhibition New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations, opening at the museum in April 2025.
The program will include a panel presentation and discussion with the exhibition’s curators; a first look at immersive documentary film clips from Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Cameroon; a signature West African-inspired cocktail; drumming performances; an opportunity to meet Dr. Aimé Kantoussan, Research Director of the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar; and a virtual presentation from Cameroonian artist Hervé Youmbi.
Additional members of the New African Masquerades research team will present their developing scholarship and discuss the project’s ethical methodologies and foundational artistic, community, and institutional collaborations.
This program is free with advanced registration.
Register Now

About New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations
In New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations, an international team of scholars and artists present the stories of four individual masquerade artists, their motivations, artistic choices, and the patronage and economic networks with which they engage in order to make clear that masquerade is fundamentally contemporary. The show offers fresh research models for contemporary masquerade, bringing to the fore issues relating to restitution, ownership, and research ethics. This is the first major exhibition on contemporary West African masquerade artists to focus on individual creators rather than the typical presentation of masquerades as products of entire cultures, which undermines the nuanced and layered stories that individual artists and masquerades tell.
The exhibition team is led by Amanda M. Maples, Françoise Billion Richardson Curator of African Art at NOMA. Co-curators include Jordan A. Fenton, Associate Professor of Art History at Miami University Ohio, and Lisa Homann, Associate Professor of Art History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Aimé Kantoussan, Research Director at the Musée des Civilisations Noires/Museum of Black Civilizations (MCN) and Hervé Youmbi, a leading contemporary artist in Cameroon, are research collaborators and contributing authors.

Gallery Talk on John Scott: Blues Poem for the Urban Landscape
2024-08-14 12:30, 2024-08-14 18:00
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 Brian Piper, Freeman Family Curator of Photographs, Prints, and Drawings at NOMA, as he discusses the newly installed John Scott: Blues Poem for the Urban Landscape. This talk will be offered at 12:30 & 6:00 pm in the Great Hall.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation’s Art for All initiative.

Gallery Talk on Clementine Hunter with Curator Lisa Rotondo-McCord
2024-08-21 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 Lisa Rotondo-McCord, NOMA’s Deputy Director and Curator of Asian Art, for a discussion of Clementine Hunter in connection with September’s NOMA Book Club pick Letting in Air and Light by author Teresa Tumminello Brader. This talk will be offered at 12:30 pm and 6:00 pm.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation’s Art for All initiative.

Film Screening and Discussion: Katrina Babies
2024-08-21 18:00 - 21:00
NOMA hosts a screening of director Edward Buckles Jr.’s Katrina Babies, a documentary offering an intimate look at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and its impact on the youth of New Orleans. Following the screening, Buckles will discuss the film in a conversation with Chike Ozah, the film’s executive producer, and Simone Immanuel, one of NOMA’s Creative Assembly Cohort members, in remembrance of the hurricane’s 19th anniversary.
This event is free and open to the public. Limited seating will be available. Seating is first come, first serve.

About the Documentary
Years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, an entire generation still grapples with the lifelong impact of having their childhood redefined by tragedy. New Orleans–born filmmaker Edward Buckles Jr., who was 13 years old during Katrina and its initial aftermath, spent seven years documenting the stories of his peers who survived the storm as children, using his community’s tradition of oral storytelling to open a door for healing and to capture the strength and spirit of his city.
Katrina Babies details the close-knit families and vibrant communities of New Orleans whose lives were uprooted by the 2005 disaster. These American children who were airlifted out of the rising waters, evacuated from their homes to refugee-like centers, or placed in makeshift, temporary living situations, have been neglected. As families were tasked with reintegrating into new communities, having experienced loss, displacement, and lack of support from government officials, the children were left to process their trauma in a wounded, fractured city.
Buckles raises his camera to elevate the voices of his city; utilizing confessional-style footage, home movies, animation, harrowing archival footage, and candid interviews with Katrina survivors, Buckles unearths a reservoir of grief and suppressed emotion. Through these moving, first-hand accounts, Katrina Babies journeys toward healing, not just from the most destructive storm in US history, but also from the multi-generational traumas of being black and disenfranchised in America. In the face of systemic racism, government neglect, and the unprocessed pain of family separations, the children of Katrina are left to chart their own path toward healing.
About Edward Buckles Jr.
Edward Buckles Jr. is the director of Katrina Babies.
Buckles is a son of New Orleans. Buckles’ work calls his audience towards remembrance and to see the beauty in imperfections. The award-winning filmmaker, director, and producer continues to find inspiration in his people and innovative ways to share the stories of Black communities that would otherwise be lost in the passing of time.
Buckles’ film Katrina Babies was shortlisted for a 2023 Academy Award. His production company, House of the Young Ent. is a beacon in the New Orleans’ arts community and a platform for the culture of the city. Buckles’ was featured on DOC NYC’s 40 under 40 in 2022 and was awarded the New Orleans Film Society’s Rising Star Award.
About Chike Ozah
Chike Ozah is the executive producer of Katrina Babies.
One-half of the award-winning directing duo Coodie & Chike, Ozah has made a mark on the film industry with his innovative storytelling and approach. A New Orleans native, Chike first collaborated with Coodie on the iconic music video “Through the Wire,” which played a pivotal role in launching Kanye West’s career, and Ozah has worked with other high-profile artists including the Black Keys, Joey Bada$$, Christina Aguilera, Mos Def, and Erykah Badu.
Ozah also executive produced Showtime’s NYC Point Gods, directed by Sam Eliad and Akin Omotoso, which delves into the legendary basketball culture of New York City, and his upcoming project, Meal Ticket, directed by Chicago-based duo Corey Colvin & Carlton Sabbs, highlights the prestigious McDonald’s All American Game, continuing his tradition of supporting emerging filmmakers. Coodie & Chike’s work on the three-act Netflix docuseries Jeen-Yuhs earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Documentary/Nonfiction Series and won Best Music Documentary and Best Docu-Series at the 2022 Grierson Awards.
About Simone Immanuel
Simone Immanuel is a multidisciplinary artist and writer from New Orleans, Louisiana. She attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and graduated with her BFA in theatre from Ball State University. She recently finished the Broadway Advocacy Coalition’s Artivism Fellowship and made her Off-Broadway debut in the play 7 Minutes by Stefano Massini. Immanuel’s play I’m Gonna Let it Shine was a Kennedy Center John Cauble Award finalist. Recently, Immanuel worked as an Artist at Work Resident with the Ashé Cultural Arts Center and the Office of Art and Film. She worked on projects that highlight the positive impacts of artistic civic engagement in her community. Immanuel’s goal is to use her unique experiences to show why representation is one of the most important purposes of art.

Directed by Edward Buckles, Jr. of House of the Young Entertainment; produced by Edward Buckles, Jr, Audrey Rosenberg of Invisible Pictures, Rebecca Teitel of TIME Studios; executive produced by Coodie & Chike of Creative Control, Ian Orefice, Loren Hammonds, Mike Beck and Alexa Conway of TIME Studios, Eileen Tavarez and Jess Jacobs of Invisible Pictures; written by: Edward Buckles, Jr, Luther Clement-Lam, Audrey Rosenberg. For HBO: executive producers, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Sara Rodriguez.

Gallery Talk on Come! Come! Come!: A Triptych by Wang Qingsong
2024-08-28 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 Lisa Rotondo-McCord, NOMA’s Curator of Asian Art and Deputy Director, for a discussion on Come! Come! Come!: A Triptych by Wang Qingsong. This talk will be offered at 12:30 pm and 6:00 pm.
Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation’s Art for All initiative.

Breaking Boundaries: The Art of Hip-Hop with Creative Assembly Member Kr3wcial
2024-08-28 17:30 - 19:00 | NOMA’s Lapis Center for the Arts
Kr3wcial, one of NOMA’s Creative Assembly Cohort members, presents “Breaking Boundaries: The Art of Hip-Hop,” which includes a screening of the artist’s latest visual work Carry Me, followed by insights into the creative process. The program includes a panel discussion moderated by N’Dia Dugue, social media producer at BET Media Group, with Kr3wcial and video directors Dexter Williams and Jovan Hernandez, who will discuss hip-hop’s profound cultural impact and its recognition as an enduring artform. “Breaking Boundaries” explores how hip-hop continues to shape and reflect our world.
This event is free and open to the public.

About Dexter Williams
Dexter Williams is a New Orleans native who specializes in directing, editing, and producing industry-standard music videos as one of the top directors in New Orleans. Williams is the founder/creator of “Dope Media,” a multimedia company that creates aesthetically pleasing, visuals for companies and recording artists. Williams has over ten years of experience creating for clients internationally and locally. Williams has worked with several record labels, including Roc Nation, Atlantic and Empire along with production companies such as AMC and Amazon Prime. Wiliams music videos have been featured on BET Jams, Revolt and have garnered millions of views on YouTube and Worldstar Hip-Hop. Williams has spent over a decade using his skills and techniques to tell the stories of New Orleans artists and the streets that made them.
About N’Dia Dugue
N’Dia Dugue is a social media producer at BET Media Group, where she manages social platforms for BET and VH1 Networks. Dugue uses her passion for pop culture, music, and entertainment to craft strategies and produce engaging social content. Dugue has created short-form content for shows such as the “BET Awards,” “Love & Hip Hop Miami,” “America In Black,” and the Webby honoree program “For The Fellas.” Dugue is from Brooklyn, but her familial roots in New Orleans have called her to make the city her home.
About Kr3wcial
In the vibrant tapestry of New Orleans’ rich musical heritage, Kr3wcial emerges as a dynamic figure, transcending the boundaries of traditional hip-hop. Born and raised in the heart of the Crescent City, Kr3wcial’s music is a sonic journey through the soul of New Orleans itself. With lyrics that delve deep into the city’s intricate layers—from the gritty streets to the transcendent spirit of its people—he weaves a narrative that is both raw and poetic, reminiscent of the city’s jazz and blues roots. Kr3wcial’s tracks, often enlivened with the pulse of brass and the rhythm of New Orleans, serve as a compelling commentary on the city’s multifaceted nature. Through his verses, he explores themes of resilience, identity, and social consciousness. Beyond the studio, Kr3wcial is a community advocate, using his platform to inspire positive change. Collaborating with local nonprofits, he harnesses the unifying power of music to uplift the very city that fuels his creativity.
About Creative Assembly
NOMA Creative Assembly seeks to give renewed expression to the diverse voices embodied in New Orleans’ various neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are places that give birth and places where the honored dead remain present. They invite belonging, whether for a day or for many generations. Gathered between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, our neighborhoods are spaces where cultures flow from across continents and oceans to flourish. They are landscapes where nature takes on countless culinary, linguistic, ancestral, and sacred forms. Neighborhoods allow us to share our anguish and ask us to offer a voice for those who have suffered in the silences of injustice and ignorance. Through music, dance, images, and stories, we hope to create a space of belonging where people can see reflections of their own neighborhoods and find themselves at home.
Learn More

POSTPONED | Healing Through History with Creative Assembly Cohort Member Dianne Honoré
2024-09-14 10:00 - 16:00 | NOMA’s Lapis Center for the Arts
This event has been postponed. We look forward to announcing a new date soon.

This day-long workshop provides a space for collaborative learning about ethnic, gendered, and cultural practices that define our collective history and present reality. Led by Dianne Honoré, one of NOMA’s Creative Assembly Cohort members, program participants will explore local histories, cultures, and approaches to interpreting history and culture through talks, performances, and healing rituals.
The series promotes healing through safe, engaging, and respectful dialogue and activities among participants. Participants will adopt a traditional view of healing that emphasizes the power of narrative to promote well-being, balance, and harmony.
Indigenous elders believe that health is connected to understanding the story of our lives, summed up in four questions: Who are we? Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? It is important to explore these questions as a collective to heal historical trauma within and between our communities.
This event is free and open to the public.

Program Schedule
Land Acknowledgment
Scierra LeGarde, member of the Bayou Lacombe Band of Choctaw and People of the Sacred Medicine Trail
Introduction
Dianne Honoré
Talk and Q&A | Historical Trauma and Healing Practices
Heather Goltz, Professor of Social Work, University of Houston
Healing Dance
Scierra LeGarde and the Bayou Lacombe Band of Choctaw
Talk and Q+A | A Place Called Desire: Researching and Documenting Your History as a Healing Journey
Leonard Smith III, producer and director of the documentary A Place Called Desire
Ancestor Acknowledgement Poem Accompanied by Creole Chant
Poem written by Laurita Marie, Iyanifa, Mambo Asogwe, Nuisettes Noir Baby Doll. Original Louisiana Creole chant, Vyé paran-yé, written by Dianne Honoré.
Reflection on Acting as a Healing Modality
Leslie Nipkow, actor and writer
Talk and Q&A | A City without Care: 300 Years of Racism, Health Disparities, and Health Care Activism in New Orleans
Dr. Kevin McQueeney, Assistant Professor of History at Nicholls State University
Auricular Acupuncture Demo: Healing and Releasing Energy
Bianca San Martin and Eva Hurst, acupuncturists
African Drumming and Chanting and Discussion on the Mbongi Circles
Papa Titos Sompa, musician and cultural activist
Black Keywords for Louisiana
Dr. Jessica M. Johnson, Associate Professor in the Department of History at Johns Hopkins University
Discussion | Healing through Passing on Tradition
Master Plasterer Jeff Poree’ and Big Chief Darryl Montana of the Yellow Pocahontas Hunters Black Masking Indian Tribe
Closing Performance and Reception

POSTPONED | Virtual Program: Created to Create with Creative Assembly Member Simone Immanuel
2024-09-15 14:00 - 15:00
This event has been postponed. We look forward to announcing a new date soon.

Created to Create, a talk show hosted by NOMA Creative Assembly artist Simone Immanuel, is designed to foster honest conversations about creativity with local Black artists in New Orleans. The show’s goal is to spotlight local artists’ work, promote community growth, and amplify the voices of cultural bearers in the city. Featuring different artists in each episode, the show’s emphasis on personal transformation and the human experience aligns with the museum’s mission to support and showcase diverse perspectives within the arts.
On Sunday, September 15, at 2 pm, join a livestream of Created to Create being filmed in NOMA’s Lapis Center for the Arts. This episode will feature celebrity chef, host, and social media influencer Jo Jackson, as well as fellow NOMA Creative Assembly member and hip-hop artist Kr3wcial. Together they will discuss entrepreneurship, social media influence, and the power of technology in artistry.
Follow @is_fierce and @createdtocreatetalkshow on Instagram for more information on Created to Create.
This virtual program is free and will be available for live streaming.
LINK AVAILABLE SOON

ABOUT SIMONE IMMANUEL
Simone Immanuel is a multidisciplinary artist and writer from New Orleans, Louisiana. She attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and graduated with her BFA in theatre from Ball State University. She recently finished the Broadway Advocacy Coalition’s Artivism Fellowship and made her Off-Broadway debut in the play 7 Minutes by Stefano Massini. Immanuel’s play I’m Gonna Let it Shine was a Kennedy Center John Cauble Award finalist. Recently, Immanuel worked as an Artist at Work Resident with the Ashé Cultural Arts Center and the Office of Art and Film. She worked on projects that highlight the positive impacts of artistic civic engagement in her community. Immanuel’s goal is to use her unique experiences to show why representation is one of the most important purposes of art.
Learn More About Creative Assembly

Hispanic Heritage Month Gallery Talk with Museum Educator Laura Moreno
2024-09-18 12:30, 2024-09-18 18:00
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.
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, join Laura Moreno, NOMA Museum Educator, for a conversation on an Aztec Maize Goddess sculpture. The talk will begin on the museum’s third floor and will be offered at 12:30 pm and 6 pm.
Check our calendar for more gallery talks in our Hispanic Heritage Month series!

Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation’s Art for All initiative.

Hispanic Heritage Month Cocktail Demonstration and Gallery Talk with Café NOMA Mixologist Virna Castillo
2024-09-25 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.
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, join Virna Castillo, Café NOMA Mixologist, for a cocktail demonstration and gallery talk. After the talk, guests will be invited to the café to sample the month’s specialty cocktail. This talk will be offered at 12:30 pm at Café NOMA on the first floor.
Check our calendar for more gallery talks in our Hispanic Heritage Month series!

Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation’s Art for All initiative.

Elders Sacred Talk Series with Luther Gray and Jamilah Peters-Muhammad
2024-09-25 18:00 - 19:15
NOMA and the Congo Square Preservation Society present the Elders Sacred Talk Series with prolific elder New Orleanians, celebrating the lives they lead while providing the opportunity to learn firsthand about the impact they’ve had on our city.
On September 25, in NOMA’s Lapis Center for the Arts, the program will feature Luther Gray and Jamilah Yejide Peters-Muhammad, co-founders of the Congo Square Preservation Society, in a conversation moderated by Kelly Harris Deberry, local poet and author. The program will also include a drumming performance by Timothy Brown and Wesley “Kamau” Phillips.
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 admissions desk for directions to the Lapis Center for the Arts.

About Art Thrives
NOMA’s Art Thrives initiative presents creative aging programs designed to support visitors ages 55 and up. In addition to art-making workshops, courses, and opportunities for hands-on art-making, the Elders Sacred Talk Series is a platform for older adults to share their experiences with audiences of all ages.
About the Speakers
Luther Gray
Luther Gray has been an active and important part of the New Orleans arts community since 1984. Gray co-founded the Congo Square Foundation, which is now the Congo Square Preservation Society. The organization was instrumental in the restoration of drumming and cultural activities in Congo Square. Due to the efforts of the Congo Square Foundation, Congo Square is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the organization led the effort to erect the Congo Square historic marker.
Gray led a team of artists, which included visual artist Douglas Redd, that carved three Bamboula drums from a one-hundred-year-old cypress tree, which are now on display at the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Gray founded and directed two bands, Percussion Incorporated and Bamboula 2000, for which he won the Big Easy Music Award in the World Music Category twice. Gray has produced several records; served as lead drummer for the Guardians of the Flame Mardi Gras Indians; and led workshops and tours for thousands of school-age children and adults yearly; and provided African drumming for events in Congo Square and throughout the city as the founding leader of the Congo Square Drum Circle, which dates back to 1988.
Jamilah Yejide Peters-Muhammad
Jamilah Yejide Peters-Muhammad, affectionately known as Mama Jamilah, is a lifelong resident of New Orleans. Peters-Muhammad is a graduate of Dillard University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. Peters-Muhammad also holds a degree in Faith Community Nursing. During Peters-Muhammad’s career, she worked at Touro Infirmary and Tulane Medical Center, among others, but left the hospital setting over three decades ago to pursue community-oriented practices.
In addition to community wellness, Peters-Muhammad serves as a leader in preserving and promoting the cultural traditions of her African ancestors. Peters-Muhammad co-founded the Congo Square Preservation Society, Kumbuka African Drum and Dance collective, and Bamboula 2000. Peters-Muhammad has performed and taught African dance and culture for over 40 years. Peters-Muhammad is a gifted healer, dancer, singer, percussionist, and choreographer. Peters-Muhammad has been a part of the Black Masking Mardi Gras Indian tradition since age 16 and is presently a member of Guardians of the Flame Maroon Society.
Peters-Muhammad is a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She is a health and wellness consultant at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center, the community outreach nurse for the New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation; and the leader of the health as well as the dance ministries at her church, Christian Unity.

Hispanic Heritage Month Gallery Talk with Curator Orlando Hernández Ying
2024-10-02 12:30, 2024-10-02 18:00
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.
Join Orlando Hernández Ying, NOMA’s Lapis Curator of the Arts of the Americas, for a gallery talk celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. This talk will be offered at 12:30 pm and 6 pm.
Check our calendar for more gallery talks in our Hispanic Heritage Month series!

Free with museum admission. Louisiana residents receive free admission on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation’s Art for All initiative.
