FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Lindsay Owens lowens@cacno.org
Office:504.528.3805/Mobile:504.258.2475

New Orleans, LA (January 9, 2015)- The Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans (CAC) is pleased to announce that it has recently been awarded a $100,000 grant from The Ford Foundation to support the CAC's 2015 WATERMARKS multi-disciplinary project. Funding provided has been assembled through a collaboration between the foundation's Metropolitan Opportunity Unit and the Freedom of Expression Unit. The grant will serve as major support for WATERMARKS visual and performing arts programming at the CAC, in addition to education and public outreach initiatives.

"As we continue our engagement within the New Orleans cultural sector, we are pleased to add The Ford Foundation to the growing list of CAC supporters at the national level. Their support makes possible the deepening of our impact in the social and economic life of our constituents."
-Neil A. Barclay, CAC Director and CEO

With WATERMARKS, the CAC'S ultimate goal is to bring the diverse cultural communities of Greater New Orleans together to experience the exceptional local artwork created in a re-invigorated post-Katrina artistic landscape, and to add perspective and meaning to an anniversary of great significance to the people of New Orleans. WATERMARKS is designed to inspire diverse audiences and participants to connect with the shared past of the New Orleans community while inventing the next era of cultural prosperity.

The WATERMARKS project's exhibition, performances, and public programs begin in August 2015 and will run through December 2015.

About WATERMARKS
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the CAC presents WATERMARKS, a multi-disciplinary project that illuminates how New Orleans' life and culture have been transformed by this catalytic event. The project will feature a visual arts exhibition and a performing arts series in addition to public programs designed to engage communities of the Greater New Orleans Region.

About the CAC
The Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) is a multi-disciplinary arts center dedicated to the presentation, production, and promotion of the art of our time. Formed in 1976 by a passionate group of visual and performing artists when the movement to tear down the walls between visual and performing arts was active nationwide, the CAC expresses its mission by organizing world class curated exhibitions, performances, and public programs that educate and enlarge audiences for the arts while encouraging collaboration among diverse stakeholders composed of artists, institutions, communities, and supporters throughout the world.