Material Belief

Friday, August 7
9 a.m.–5 p.m.
$125 per person (add to cart at checkout)

Join fellow attendees for a full-day North Shore excursion featuring visits to historic homes and sacred spaces that highlight the region’s cultural and spiritual traditions. Lunch and refreshments are included, with time built in to enjoy the experience and connect with fellow guests. The bus departs the French Quarter at 9 a.m. and returns by 5 p.m.

2–4 p.m.The registration desk will be open for early check-in at the Williams Research Center (410 Chartres Street).

2–4 p.m.
Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street
Included with forum registration; also open to non-registered guests of forum attendees

On Friday afternoon, attendees will have the opportunity to view a curated selection of objects from HNOC’s permanent collection that relate to the forum’s themes of faith, spirit, and tradition. The show-and-tell will not be open to the public, but registered forum attendees are welcome to bring a guest. 

Check-in at the Williams Research Center (410 Chartres Street).

Daniel Hammer, president and CEO, HNOC

Tom Savage, moderator, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Dr. Alexia Williams, assistant professor of religion and African American studies, University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne

Roman Catholic churches are replete with statues of saints, the Virgin Mary, and Christ—sacred figures chiseled in stone, rendered in wood, or cast in plaster or bronze. Far from mere decoration, these objects have long played a central role in facilitating devotion, intensifying prayer, adorning sacred space, and communicating stories from the life of Christ and the saints to believers. This talk explores the history and function of Catholic statuary in the United States, with particular attention to the relationship between material form and sacred presence.

Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street

Beth B. Schneider, consultant to the Judaica Initiative at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Jewish ritual objects are used in homes and synagogues for Sabbath and holiday observance, life-cycle celebrations, and the adornment of Torah scrolls and sacred spaces. Fine materials and precious metals exemplify the principle of hiddur mitzvah (beautifying the commandment) as a way to honor God. This presentation will explore works from the newly formed Judaica collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), along with items from the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience to link Jewish life in the American South with ritual objects from other parts of the world.

Dale A. Carlson, author and architectural historian

Join author and architectural historian Dale A. Carlson as he discusses nine of his favorite sites discovered while undertaking the research and photography for his 2022 book, Stained Glass New Orleans: A Field Guide. Enjoy stellar photography of each site’s windows while learning about some of the most highly regarded American and European stained-glass makers represented in the Crescent City, including Emil Frei Art Glass Co. of St. Louis, Willet Studios of Philadelphia, Franz Mayer and Co. of Munich, and, of course, Tiffany Studios of New York City.

Attendees are on their own for lunch in the French Quarter, or are invited to a luncheon with event speakers for an additional fee. Space is limited.

Luncheon with the Speakers
Saturday, August 8 , 12 p.m.
Riverview Room, Hotel Monteleone
$95 per person (add to cart at checkout)

Join us for an elegant luncheon in the Riverview Room at the Hotel Monteleone, featuring forum speakers and the leadership of the Historic New Orleans Collection. Enjoy spirited conversation, a deluxe buffet, and wine service while taking in sweeping views of the Mississippi River.

Dr. George H. Schwartz, curator-at-large, Peabody Essex Museum 

The human desire to connect with the departed has given rise to a fascination with the supernatural and the magical. Dr. Schwartz will show how art and objects—paintings, posters, photographs, stage apparatuses, and others—were essential components for mediums and magicians “communicating” with the dead at séances and magic shows during the 19th- and 20th-century Spiritualism movement in the US and Europe. During this time period, people actively debated and wondered, “Can spirits return?”—whether they were believers, skeptics, or somewhere in between.  

Lydia Blackmore, curator, HNOC
Nina Bozak, senior curator, HNOC

The Historic New Orleans Collection actively collects books, documents, art, and artifacts relating to the history and culture of New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Gulf South. Curators Nina Bozak and Lydia Blackmore will share some recent and notable acquisitions. 

Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street

Panelists: Dr. Alexia Williams, Beth B. Schneider, Dr. George H. Schwartz, Dr. Marcelitte Failla, and Heather Veneziano.

Moderated by Dr. Erin M. Greenwald, HNOC deputy director

What are the ethical challenges and considerations of collecting, displaying, and caring for sacred objects in both museums and private collections? Forum speakers will consider how meaning can shift when these items move outside their original religious contexts, and what responsibilities come with their stewardship. The discussion will explore what it means to care for sacred material while respecting living traditions. 

Dr. Lily Higgins, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow, the Walters Art Museum 

Although the structural integrity of the fabric is compromised and the colors are diminished, a French inscription marks the sampler crafted by 10-year-old Pauline Fortier in 1815, making it the earliest surviving Louisiana sampler. Made at the Ursuline Convent school in New Orleans during a tumultuous period in the city’s history, the sampler is tangible evidence of the order’s mission to educate women and create the foundation for a society steeped in Catholic virtues. Another early Louisiana sampler made by a young Acadian woman named Louise Celeste Babin in Attakapas territory in 1819 survives at the Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site. Together, the Fortier and Babin samplers highlight the ways in which material objects, literacy, and the shared rituals of Catholic faith connected women not only across the Atlantic Ocean, but also within the varied cultural landscape of early 19th-century Louisiana. 

Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street

Dr. Marcelitte Failla, assistant professor of philosophy and religious studies, North Carolina State University
Lilith Dorsey, author and filmmaker

African diasporic religions, including Voodoo, Hoodoo, Vodou, Ifá, and Òrìṣà traditions, have long shaped the spiritual landscape of New Orleans and the broader Gulf South. Rooted in West and Central African belief systems and transformed through histories of enslavement, migration, and cultural exchange, these practices are expressed through a rich material culture of altars, offerings, ritual tools, and performance. This session explores how such objects are made, used, and understood within living traditions, serving as points of connection to spiritual forces, ancestors, and community. Considering both historical and contemporary contexts, the speakers examine the meanings these materials carry and the roles they continue to play in sustaining belief and practice today. 

Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street

The Historic New Orleans Collection
520 Royal Street
5:15–6:30 p.m.

Mix and mingle with fellow program attendees over libations and hors d’oeuvres.  

Check-in at the Williams Research Center (410 Chartres Street).

Daniel Hammer, president and CEO, HNOC
Tom Savage , Colonial Williamsburg Foundation 

Sarah Duggan, DAGS project manager, HNOC

Decorative Arts of the Gulf South project manager Sarah Duggan will share about graduate summer interns’ recently completed research and object cataloging. This year’s team conducted fieldwork in longtime DAGS favorite Natchez, Mississippi, and visited a local New Orleans antiques collector. Their work revealed new stories about the context of historic objects.

About Decorative Arts of the Gulf South
The Decorative Arts of the Gulf South project at HNOC is an initiative that documents and shares information about pre-1865 material life in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The initiative also prioritizes education, offering internships for both graduate and undergraduate students. Duggan oversees DAGS data and research and was a cocurator for the exhibitions Pieces of History: Ten Years of Decorative Arts Fieldwork and Unknown Sitters.

Heather Veneziano, professor and director of historic preservation program, Tulane University 

This session examines cemeteries and mourning practices as material expressions of belief in the Gulf South. It considers not only tombs and markers, but also what is brought into these spaces, including votives, flowers, hand-crafted offerings, and other tributes that give form to grief, memory, and spiritual connection. Together, these elements reveal how belief is made visible through making, use, and ongoing care. By situating these practices within the cemetery landscape, the talk highlights how sacred meaning is continuously shaped through both built forms and ephemeral materials, creating dynamic environments where communities express and sustain traditions of faith and remembrance. 

Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street

Dr. Christopher S. Hunter, associate professor of the practice and director of professional programs, Texas A&M University

This presentation will introduce the architecture of the African American church house and explore the building as a constructed representation of cultural agency and spiritual belief. How have four walls defined Black space as a representation of material culture, temporal resistance, and architectural aesthetics? Resilience of spiritual practice in a society that progressively fought against Afrocentric existence became linked to agency and the importance of self-determination. Black spirituality in the South carries cultural connections from West Africa to the syncretized creation of American spiritual traditions. The Afrocentric church house became and continues to be an enduring place of faith, spirit, and tradition. 

Tom Savage, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Arnaud’s Restaurant, 813 Bienville Street  
$90 per person (add to cart at checkout)

Toast the conclusion of the 18th Annual New Orleans Antiques Forum! Socialize with speakers and staff and enjoy classic Creole cuisine in one of the city’s oldest restaurants.

Brunch Menu
Passed hors d’oeuvres:
Gruyère puff with Fontina cheese
Soufflé potatoes with Béarnaise sauce

1st course:
Haricots Verts Salad: French green beans, hazelnuts, parmesan cheese, truffle vinaigrette

2nd course:
Pan Seared Red Fish: Clemenceau-sauteed gulf shrimp, garlic butter, summer peas, mini brabant potatoes (substitute Chicken Hefner or Cauliflower au Vin)

3rd course:
Pineapple pavlova-pineapple curd, coconut meringue