Arts & Culture

The first operas in America were performed in New Orleans in the 1790s, when the Spanish-style townhouses of the French Quarter and the exquisite Greek Revival mansions of the Garden District were built. Restaurants offered foods of many cultures, as well as the distinct Cajun and Creole cuisines. Ante-bellum New Orleans was the musical hotbed of the nation, and artists and craftsmen from around the globe immigrated to the vibrant port. Visitors of all classes enjoyed the luxuries, and perhaps the decadences, of "the city that care forgot." Residents reveled in cultural and recreational opportunities far beyond what most cities of New Orleans' size could offer. New Orleans was the cultural capital of the South.

Today, New Orleans is undergoing a creative renaissance and reclaiming that title. The city boasts world-class museums, including Smithsonian affiliates The National World War II Museum and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Artist studios and galleries line the streets of the French Quarter/Marigny, Warehouse/Arts District and Magazine Street. Performing arts groups, their shows, and the venues that host them speckle the map. All around the city, historic neighborhoods are being revitalized by architectural restoration and gentrification.

Tropical in climate, lush in setting, exotic in architecture and sensual in atmosphere, New Orleans is still a worldly, yet richly creative environment like no other. Here, we not only appreciate and support our cultural legacy, we celebrate it in every way we can. It’s no wonder that the city has been -- and continues to be -- a favorite muse for an incredible legacy of artists, artisans, performers, musicians, writers and chefs.

On November 1, 2008, Prospect.1 New Orleans [P.1], the largest biennial of international contemporary art ever organized in the United States, will open to the public in museums, historic buildings, and found sites throughout New Orleans. Prospect.1 New Orleans [P.1] has been conceived in the tradition of the great international biennials, and will showcase new artistic practices as well as an array of programs benefiting the local community. Over the course of its eleven-week run, Prospect.1 New Orleans [P.1] plans to draw international media attention, creative energy, and new economic activity to the city of New Orleans.

The Creative Alliance of New Orleans, (CANO), is a unique organization formed by the artists, businesses, and citizens of New Orleans to help develop and promote one of the city’s greatest assets - our living community of creative professionals that continue to call New Orleans home.

 The second Saturday of every month is gallery opening night on St. Claude Ave!

KKProjects | Life is Art Foundation

KKProjects is based in the St. Roch neighborhood of New Orleans in six previously abandoned structures: a former bakery, a storefront, and four 1800s houses. The properties sit in a one block area of the derelict neighborhood on North Villere between Music and Arts streets. Each structure houses a site-specific installation for a three month exhibition period. Local and international artists are invited to work with the spaces as they find them, as well as with the surrounding physical and cultural environment. KKProjects is dedicated to an ongoing conversation with its neighbors. Through art projects involving the greater social ecosystem, the project exists to cultivate creativity and inspire the hearts, minds, and economy of the St Roch neighborhood and its visitors.

 Open Air Project is working to transform empty business signs around New Orleans into spaces available to artists for public installations.

Libraries