Spotlight: Arts Council New Orleans

FINDING ART IN EVERYTHING

Across the country, Louisiana is hailed as a haven for visual artists, musicians, performers, and various creatives. But now, in the midst of a pandemic, earning and exhibition opportunities for these creative artists have evaporated, as local and national festivals and teaching positions have been cancelled or delayed. A key local organization endeavoring to keep the arts alive during this new normal is the Arts Council New Orleans, a private nonprofit that has supported local artists for 50 years.

Throughout its half century, the Arts Council has demonstrated continual innovation. From the early days of building artist visibility with its “Brown Bag Concerts” to LUNA Fest, the current annual celebration that combines contemporary art, architecture, technology, and sound, the organization has always operated with style and creativity. Unsurprisingly then, the Arts Council is adapting creatively during this era of COVID-19.

“The arts have a powerful way of making people listen, inspiring emotion, and making people understand,” Alphonse Smith, Executive Director of Arts Council New Orleans told me when we spoke recently. For this reason, the group’s efforts prioritize making “space for artists to have a platform,” in order to raise their visibility, create a following, and find purchasers for their work.

But Alphonse Smith recognizes that finding space for artists to exhibit during a pandemic is harder than normal.

To circumvent the constraints of social distancing, the Council has gone virtual. “To be quite honest, it is a little bit more limited than a physical place like Palmer Park,” Smith admits of the virtual arts market that the organization created in March as a means of connecting artists with patrons. This virtual arts market has replaced the regular and wildly popular Palmer Park arts market, where more than 80 artists normally fill the space with their creations. Although the park’s festive ambience cannot exactly be replicated online, Smith reminds us that what matters most is providing local artists with a means to show their art and have an ability to sell.

Another creative example of how they’ve supported artists recently is the mass mural project Unframed presented by the Helis Foundation. This Arts Council-sponsored exhibition is the first multi-mural exhibition of large-scale artwork in downtown New Orleans and features five dynamic murals. The bright colors and expert craftsmanship of these works are sure to make you proud to be a New Orleanian, and that’s what the Arts Council is all about: using art to bring people together.

Smith explains, “Even though we don’t all like the same things, the arts can be like an equalizer, getting folks to come together and start a conversation.”

Looking toward the future, Smith points out that “it’s going to be a rough time over the next year and a half as we figure this thing out,” but he urges community members to keep in mind the nonprofit’s vision of “art in everything.”

Beyond using art as inspiration, he wants people to see art as a tool for improvement. Smith noted, (it’s) “a viable way to address poor health outcomes that come from social distress and trauma.”

In short, we should embrace art as a means to carry on through hard times like the ones we are living through because, as Smith eloquently puts it, “the arts have a powerful way of making people listen, inspiring emotion, and making people understand.”

Whatever your connection to New Orleans, you cannot deny the strong influence that the arts have on this city. Organizations like Arts Council New Orleans exist so that the people behind the art we enjoy can continue to strengthen our community. Going forward, we urge you to support artists whenever and wherever you can, and consider how to apply the nonprofit’s vision of #artineverything.

Sofia Rivera is a native New Orleanian, sophomore at Columbia University, and Nola Family editorial intern.