Culture and Art in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM OF ART AND SCULPTURE GARDEN
I'd never had a chance to visit during the Tulane/ jazz fest visits, so luckily had some solo time when I hopped on my dad's conference last January. Took the streetcar (quarters only!) here and loved it. Really beautiful and small museum that has a great modern/ contemporary collection. The sculpture garden is pretty large as well and has a bunch of pieces from well known artists. Claes safety pin, Yinka Wind sculpture, the blue dog. Fun stuff and free!!
JACKSON SQUARE
gotta love a park named for one of the worst prezzies of all times, although I guess this remains to be seen. Ugh but just forget you're in trump country for a minute and enjoy the nice architecture and water around you…. I guess. Wow populism is a little scary tbh. But I'm gonna stop thinking about that for a second and instead focus on this classic Nola scene.
THE FAIRGROUNDS
I mean, unless you're in town for jazz fest or another fair you might not be here, but I couldn't *not* include for all the good times had on this dusty / muddy patch of land. Don't wear shoes you care about, even if the forecast is dry as a bone.
studio be
favorite new discovery of 2018 that wasn’t a fried bologna sandwich. This massive warehouse in bywater was taken over by Brandon Odums and it’s actually breathtaking. Massive portraits of MLK + Coretta, Trayvon, Ali, as well as normal people of new orleans are inspiring and thought provoking. There’s a room about Katrina, one about basketball. Honestly so worth the trek - i was blown away!
AUDUBON PARK
This expansive park near Tulane's campus (uptown) is a lovely space to enjoy some outdoor time in nature. I often found myself wandering around alone in the mornings while waiting for people to wake up. Love a good nature spot with these cute swans!
MUSEE DE LE F.P.C.
tiny house museum on Esplanade explains the history of Free People of Color in new orleans - so fascinating, although most of the ‘tour’ took place in seats listening to a lecture. Still, i was really interested and engaged. Look up tignons and LMK what you think.