FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Teresa Devlin, The Historic New Orleans Collection
(504) 598-7170 | teresad@hnoc.org

Sarah Chambless Federer, Gambel Communications
(985) 373-5271 | sarahc@gambelpr.com

July 24, 2017 | New Orleans, Louisiana - The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC) announced four of its cornerstone projects that will commemorate New Orleans' Tricentennial at a special event today, which was held inside The Collection's galleries at 533 Royal St. in the French Quarter.

THNOC Executive Director Priscilla Lawrence welcomed attendees to the event, which included the following speakers: Lt. Gov. of Louisiana Billy Nungesser; Senior Advisor to The Mayor for Cultural Economy and Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for the City of New Orleans Scott Hutcheson; New Orleans City Councilmember Nadine Ramsey, District C; Consul General of France in New Orleans Grégor Trumel; Co-chair of the City of New Orleans 2018 Commission's Cultural and Historical Committee and former first lady of New Orleans Sybil Morial; former WDSU-TV personality Norman Robinson; THNOC Deputy Director Daniel Hammer; and President of The Helis Foundation David Kerstein.

"The Historic New Orleans Collection has developed several exciting projects to celebrate the City of New Orleans' Tricentennial over the next year. These projects will not only pay tribute to our city's vibrant culture and complex history, but also help pave the way for a brighter future," said Lawrence.

The first announcement was a new exhibition titled "New Orleans, the Founding Era," sponsored by Whitney Bank. The exhibition, which was announced by Grégor Trumel, will be on view from Feb. 27-May 27, 2018, in the upstairs galleries at 533 Royal St. It will feature a vast array of rare artifacts from THNOC's holdings and from institutions across Europe and North America to tell the stories of the city's early days. It will focus on the challenges posed by the difficult environment and the various people in the area-namely Native Americans, European settlers, and enslaved laborers.

The second project, which was announced by Sybil Morial, was "Making New Orleans Home: A Tricentennial Symposium," presented by the City of New Orleans 2018 Commission's Cultural and Historical Committee, which is co-chaired by Lawrence and Morial. The event will take place from March 8-11, 2018, at various locations throughout the city and will explore the 300-year history of how New Orleans came to be inhabited by diverse, vibrant people and how, in turn, the concept of home has been central to the life and culture of the city. It will feature individual lectures, panel discussions and cultural programming.

The Collection also revealed its plans to expand its operations to a third campus - the Seignouret-Brulatour Building located at 520 Royal Street in the French Quarter - in fall 2018. This new campus will include the renovation of a 19th-century structure known as the Seignouret-Brulatour Building, with a state-of-the-art rear addition plus a beautiful interior courtyard. This site will house the institution's largest exhibition facility, with over 12,000 square feet for permanent and changing exhibitions, dynamic interactive displays, and a hands-on educational display for children and families. It will also include a larger space for the museum shop and a café.

"This is an ambitious and exciting project for those of us at The Collection, but what is more exciting is what this new cultural resource will mean for the community," said Daniel Hammer. "The new spaces will allow us to share more of our holdings so that visitors-whether they are locals or just passing through-will have greater access to the varied, compelling and enriching stories of this place that our exhibitions and programs strive to tell."

In addition to revealing its plans for the new building, THNOC also announced Brulatour's inaugural exhibition, "Art of the City: Postmodern to Post-Katrina," presented by The Helis Foundation. This groundbreaking contemporary art exhibition, which will open in fall 2018, fuses history and contemporary art to reflect the city's cultural canvas. Works featured cover three decades of artists reacting to the strife and progress of the city. As guest curator, New Orleans interdisciplinary artist, curator and educator Jan Gilbert assembled a diverse array of works from more than 75 artists, including Lin Emery, Krista Jurisich, Douglas Bourgeois, Luis Cruz Azaceta, Candy Chang, Gina Phillips, Zarouhie Abdalian and Brandan Odums.

"As we celebrate the Tricentennial of the City of New Orleans, The Helis Foundation is proud to support this important exhibition celebrating New Orleans's finest contemporary artists responding to our rich cultural history," said David Kerstein, president of The Helis Foundation. "THNOC is uniquely positioned to tell this story within the context of 300 years of significant artistic achievements highlighted in its collection."

Additional information about these and other upcoming Tricentennial initiatives presented by The Historic New Orleans Collection can be found online at www.hnoc.org/about/newsroom.

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About The Historic New Orleans Collection
Founded in 1966, The Historic New Orleans Collection is a museum, research center and publisher dedicated to the study and preservation of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South region. For more information, visit www.hnoc.org, call (504) 523-4662, or follow THNOC on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.