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The Historic New Orleans Collection
African Heritage of New Orleans
A historical illustration depicts a man in formal 19th-century attire standing beside an ornate table. The man has a mustache and wears a long coat. The background includes a draped curtain and part of a wall map.
Presented by the New Orleans Arts & Culture Coalition

African Heritage of New Orleans

300 Years in the Making

A new exhibition documents the presence and development of a uniquely African cultural identity in New Orleans, from its founding to the Reconstruction era.

June 1 to December 8, 2018

400 Chartres Street

Laura Simon Nelson Galleries for Louisiana Art

The New Orleans Arts & Culture Coalition (NOACC) is a collective of local arts, education, and cultural nonprofit organizations that serve as a coordinated voice for the recognition and promotion of civil and human rights, history, and culture in New Orleans. For its inaugural project, NOACC presents a citywide exhibition entitled African Heritage of New Orleans: 300 Years in the Making. This exhibition accounts for the African presence in New Orleans and the development of a uniquely African cultural identity in the city from its founding in 1718 to the post-Civil Rights period.

The citywide exhibition opens June 1, 2018 and will run through December 8, 2018, the latter half of the City’s tricentennial celebrations. An opening reception will take place Friday, June 1, from 6 until 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

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Allison “Tootie” Montana, big chief of the Yellow Pocahontas wearing an elaborate pink and orange feathered costume with detailed beadwork and intricate patterns stands confidently. The outfit includes a large headdress and symbolic designs across the chest and arms.

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