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"Mystery in Motion" Now Open at the Presbyère

In collaboration with guest curators Kim Vaz-Deville and Ron Bechet, Louisiana State Museum examines the direct influence of multicultural spirituality within the carnival traditions of Black New Orleanians.

Trivia, Arts & Crafts, Scavenger Hunts, and more!

Take a look at our NEW educational pages for at-home learning fun!

Nine Museums, One Incredible State

With museums across the state, you can start planning your Louisiana staycation today!

A Colorful World in Black & White: Fonville Winans’ Photographs of Louisiana

New exhibition opens July 14 at Capitol Park Museum!

DRUMSVILLE: Evolution of the New Orleans Beat

Get a behind-the-scenes peak with music curator David Kunian and master drummer Luther Gray!

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Your gift will help sustain our exhibitions, education programs, historic properties and collections.

Exhibitions

Marking Pictures: the Life and Work of Clementine Hunter

Marking Pictures: the Life and Work of Clementine Hunter

This exhibition explores the life and work of Clementine Hunter, one of the most important self-taught American artists of the twentieth century. Hunter, who referred to painting as “marking,” produced thousands of images drawn from her experiences working and living on Melrose Plantation in...

Mystery in Motion: African American Masking and Spirituality in Mardi Gras

Mystery in Motion: African American Masking and Spirituality in Mardi Gras

Color, sound, and energy fill the streets on Mardi Gras. African Americans have long used this annual ritual to express Black spiritual traditions. “A lot of what takes place for me on that day is almost like an out-of-body experience,” says Big Chief Shaka Zulu of the Golden Feather Hunters....

John James Audubon: Highlights from Birds of America

John James Audubon: Highlights from Birds of America

Fifteen double elephant folio engravings from John James Audubon’s Birds of America, published to great acclaim between 1827 and 1838, are on exhibit at the Wedell-Williams Aviation and Cypress Sawmill Museum. Audubon, who painted more birds in Louisiana than anywhere else, lived for a...

Chasing the Butterfly Man

Chasing the Butterfly Man

Today eighteen Louisiana Neo-Classical armoires survive from the workshop of the "Butterfly Man...," a cabinetmaker who created furniture between about 1800 and 1825. Their maker came to be known in the early twentieth century as the Butterfly Man for his signature use of the double dovetail (...

Drumsville!: Evolution of the New Orleans Beat

Drumsville!: Evolution of the New Orleans Beat

Drumsville!: Evolution of the New Orleans Beat explores the role of percussion and rhythm in New Orleans and how the innovative drummers from the Crescent City continually changed that role and took it around the planet. The exhibit has a beautiful sampling of photographs and drums...

We Love You, New Orleans

We Love You, New Orleans

As part of New Orleans’ tricentennial activities, the Cabildo is proud to open a brand new exhibition, We Love You, New Orleans. Celebrating the people, places and things that make New Orleans one of the nation’s most unique cities to visitors and residents alike, the exhibition plays...

Mapping the Crescent

Mapping the Crescent

Maps shown in this exhibition represent the evolution of New Orleans over three centuries. The Mississippi River’s influence is always apparent, its curve bestowing the nickname Crescent City. Geographical constraints are evident, with cypress swamps dominating the landscape until engineers...

The Wildest: Louis Prima Comes Home

The Wildest: Louis Prima Comes Home

From "Buona Sera" to "Just A Gigolo," that "Old Black Magic" still has the world under Louis Prima’s spell! Join us at the New Orleans Jazz Museum for the exhibit The Wildest: Louis Prima Comes Home. As a trumpeter, singer, songwriter and performer, this son of New Orleans sons swinging...

Mardi Gras: It's Carnival Time in Louisiana!

Mardi Gras: It's Carnival Time in Louisiana!

Since 1699, when Pierre Le Moyne, sieur d’Iberville, celebrated Shrove Tuesday at his encampment on the Mississippi River, Mardi Gras has been an integral part of Louisiana’s culture. Experience this extraordinary tradition through rare artifacts, scores of magnificent costumes,...

The Golden Age of Aviation

The Golden Age of Aviation

This exhibition celebrates the legacy of aviation pioneers Jimmie Wedell and Harry P. Williams, who formed an air service in Patterson in 1928 that quickly rose to the top tier of air racing. Displays include numerous replica aircraft, such as the famous Miss Patterson #44 and the Gilmore #121,...

Grounds for Greatness: Louisiana and the Nation

Grounds for Greatness: Louisiana and the Nation

Grounds for Greatness: Louisiana and the Nation shows Louisiana’s impact on the nation and the world. From the Louisiana Purchase to the critical role Louisiana played in our nation’s wars (including the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812, the Civil War and both World...

Living with Hurricanes: Katrina & Beyond

Living with Hurricanes: Katrina & Beyond

Combining eyewitness accounts, historical context, immersive environments and in-depth scientific exploration, this exhibition shows the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and how Louisiana is learning to live more safely with hurricanes. Oral histories and artifacts, such as a Coast...

E.D. White & Bayou Lafourche Exhibition

E.D. White & Bayou Lafourche Exhibition

Exploring this National Historic Landmark will offer both a tour through a historical structure and the culture that surrounded the home throughout history. Situated on the banks of Bayou Lafourche, this was the residence of two of Louisiana’s significant political figures: Governor...

Locations

Museums

All items

Cabildo

The Cabildo

The Presbytère

The Presbytère

The New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint

The New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint

1850 House

1850 House

Madame John's Legacy

Madame John’s Legacy

LSM BR

Capitol Park Museum

E.D. White Historic Site

E.D. White Historic Site

Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame & Northwest Louisiana History Museum

Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame & Northwest Louisiana History Museum

Wedell-Williams Aviation and Cypress Sawmill Museum

Wedell-Williams Aviation and Cypress Sawmill Museum

Events

“Carnivals of Violence: Mob Rule in New Orleans” with Justin Nystrom

“Carnivals of Violence: Mob Rule in New Orleans” with Justin Nystrom

In this talk, Justin Nystrom will explore the deep roots of mob violence in New Orleans from its antebellum origins in the Know-Nothing riots of the 1850s to the many street battles of Reconstruction,...

Masculinity in Masking: Bonds and Rituals in Black Masking Traditions

Masculinity in Masking: Bonds and Rituals in Black Masking Traditions

In connection with St. Joseph’s Night, which falls on March 19 and honors the bonds of fathers and sons, three leaders of the Black masking tradition, Big Chief Shaka Zulu, Big Chief Bo Dollis Jr., and...

Carville's Cure: Leprosy, Stigma, and the Fight for Justice with Pam Fessler

Carville's Cure: Leprosy, Stigma, and the Fight for Justice with Pam Fessler

Join us at 6:00 p.m. CST for an evening with author Pam Fessler as she explores the history and legacy of the only leprosy colony in the continental United States, located in Carville, Louisiana, and...

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Information

Main Office
P.O. Box 2448
New Orleans, LA 70176
M-F 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
1-800-568-6968

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