Since we can’t be together in person, we’ve partnered with local organizations and creatives to bring you on-screen fun at home. We’re exploring what it means to have courage and to take care of ourselves and one another. Facing things that are new, different, or unknown can be scary, but a moment of bravery to reach out a helping hand or to try something new can lead to beautiful possibilities!
Virtual Family Festival live programming took place on August 22, 2020. We hope you’ll enjoy recorded & archived activities and workshops!
Create a continuous pattern with a lint roller or toilet paper roll in this activity inspired by the work of artist Katrina Andry
Block printing is one of the oldest forms of printmaking. Create your own block print by carving a design into a bar of soap in this activity inspired by the work of artist Elizabeth Catlett.
To “take note” is to notice; to pay particular care or attention to. Help us kick off our new all-ages creative community sketchbook project! Weekly prompts encourage us to slow down, reflect, and create independently, together.
The Teaching Tolerance program by the Southern Poverty Law Center provides free learning resources on social justice and anti-bias for K-12 educators. Access lessons, reading lists, podcasts, and more!
Grab a partner and head to the Besthoff Sculpture Garden to experience sculpture in a new way through these [socially distant] exercises, rooted in meditation, movement, and play. Can’t make it to the Garden? Look for tips to try at home!
Download the Sensory Walk Guide
Access a compilation of resources provided by our friends and neighbors at Louisiana Children’s Museum, developed in partnership with the Tulane Institute of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health.
Alyssa McClelland is a six-year-old African American author, born in Houma, Louisiana. She is the author of My Big Curly Fro, a book that teaches children about self-esteem, cultural and personal identification, and how to create stronger friendships.
Follow Alyssa and her mother Tamara’s work at Melanin Merch LLC on Facebook or on Instagram @melaninmerchllc. Click here to purchase your own copy of My Big Curly Fro through various vendors.
At the Southern Food and Beverage Museum we strive to get children involved and interested in cultural, nutritional, and culinary learning. We strongly believe that by training kids early how to take control of their own food choices, by empowering them through skill and knowledge, we are not only continuing the unique cultural heritage of Southern food, but preparing kids to take an active role in their health.
Visit the SoFab Kids webpage for more information about upcoming classes and programs, and the SoFAB Kids YouTube channel for loads of recipes and demos for youth and families!
The Southern Food & Beverage Museum is a nonprofit educational and cultural organization in New Orleans dedicated to the discovery, understanding and celebration of food, drink and its related culture and folklife in America and the world.
Christian “Cubs the Poet” Davenport was born in Baton Rouge and raised in the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia). Wanting to develop and understand his own way of thinking, Cubs left college to start typing custom poems in the French Quarter, where he honed his poetic skills and expanded his vocabulary with regards to communicating with tourists and natives. He believes freedom is not the experience, but the expression of the experience.
The inaugural Poet Laureate of Baton Rouge, Cubs is currently working on self publishing his first book of poems and art, What I Did with my Free Time. Cubs the Poet is also a visual artist whose latest exhibition, entitled, “Say It: I Love Black People,” delved into the lack of intimacy and vulnerability between races, in addition to the lack of development of self love.
Follow Cubs the Poet’s work through his website or on Instagram @cubsthepoet
Having the courage to love and care for one another starts with having the courage to love and care for YOU! Join six-year-old author Alyssa McClelland from Houma, Louisiana, as she reads her book My Big Curly Fro, a story that teaches children about self-esteem, cultural and personal identification, and how to create stronger friendships. Participants will view a Zoom webinar with the option to ask questions (audio only) during a post-reading Q&A session.
How can we write a poem without knowing the line that came before? How does your individuality think within the community? Play with reaction and response in this group spoken poetry activity for youth and families!
Much like using words to describe what we see in an artwork, we can use words to describe how something tastes! We may get stuck in a rut saying foods are good/bad or gross/yummy. In this activity, we’ll explore with our tastebuds to come up with new and different answers to the question “what does it taste like?”
Check the cupboard or take a walk to the corner store to pick up 1 item belonging to each of these 3 taste profiles: sour, sweet, and savory!
You will need 3 food items (sour, sweet and savory) & this worksheet from SoFAB.
How do you speak to your soul? How do you love your heart? In this group poetry experience, we’ll think about the stories we tell ourselves & how words can free the world around us. Participants will view a Zoom webinar with the option to ask questions and contribute to a crowdsourced poem through Q&A and chat box features.
Education and outreach initiatives at NOMA are supported in part by Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation; The Helis Foundation; The Wagner Foundation; IBERIABANK; 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; The City of New Orleans; 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; Ruby K. Worner Charitable Trust; Elizabeth and Willy Monaghan; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Pamela and Robert Steeg; Pamela Ryan; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.; Marie and Harvey Orth; and The Bruce J. Heim Foundation.