Louisiana: New Populations Project

The New Populations Project, an initiative of the Folklife Program of the Louisiana Division of the Arts, reaches out to the state’s immigrant and refugee communities. The goal of the initiative is to address underserved sectors within the cultural economy and provide an opportunity to engage these communities in the identification and documentation of traditional cultures and art forms. The initiative focuses on how concentrated communities with long-term residence maintain their home culture in Louisiana through crafts, music, food, holidays and traditional occupations. Fieldworkers documenting these communities help identify folk-tradition bearers, professional artists, organizations, community spokespeople and artifacts. To find out more, contact Louisiana Division on the Arts Director of Folklife Services Maida Owens.