BEGINNING IN THE EARLY ‘70s WITH A HANDFUL OF ARTISANS – from self-taught painter and street preacher Sister Gertrude Morgan, to acclaimed jewelry designer Mignon Faget and Louisiana Coushatta basket weavers – the Festival’s Crafts now include the diverse works of hundreds of regionally and nationally acclaimed artists in multiple distinct event venues.
Filled with music, art, and energy, the Congo Square African Marketplace is alive with the culture and spirit which helped create the jazz and heritage for which New Orleans is known. You will find an array of local, national and international artisans exhibiting ancient crafting techniques, as well as modern variations and adaptations of those techniques. Enjoy the exchange of wares, customs and ideas that embodies a true marketplace experience as you encounter people and art from throughout the African Diaspora.
Contemporary Crafts, set among blues, jazz and gospel music tents in Heritage Square, is a nationally recognized showcase of alluring handcrafted clothing, beautiful leather goods and musical instruments, along with a brilliant array of paintings, photographs, sculptures and irresistible jewelry. Certain to please your creative inquiries, observe ongoing skilled demonstrations of a variety of the different arts.
In the Louisiana Marketplace, the state’s finest traditional and contemporary artists display and sell Louisiana inspired photographs, Creole and Acadian furniture, whimsical jewelry and other creations that evoke the state’s unique cultural landscape.
