New Orleans, Art, and Community
Last week I hung my hat in New Orleans as I participated in the National Art Education Association annual conference. Each year thousands of art teachers, art education professors, and art museum educators gather together to share ideas and resources on furthering art education.
As I prepared to head to New Orleans, I couldn’t help but consider all the rebuilding efforts that have been and continue to occur. As I listened to education staff from the Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans Museum of Art, Newcomb Art Gallery, and Ogden Museum of Southern Art share their experiences of personal and professional change brought by Katrina, I was surprised by all the consequences I hadn’t considered. Obviously, buildings and their contents were physically damaged, but whole exhibition schedules (and their accompanying projects) were wiped out because institutions would no longer lend artworks, funds were frozen, entire departments were laid off.
But as these museum educators shared their pasts, a new story began to emerge. Their organizations are all rebuilding and proving that museums are more than just repositories for cultural objects. It is these museums that are helping to restore the culture and community in New Orleans—through exhibitions, like the Ogden’s After the Flood, new art therapy programs, and as a venue for discussions about city planning and change.
Museums matter, and those in New Orleans are serving as great examples on how to connect their collections and culture to their community. We should all take notice.