State arts agencies use their deep knowledge of the creative sector to provide services to their constituents, strengthen communities and bolster the economy. In Louisiana, this entails tapping into the rich musical legacy of the state to support artists in an ever-changing music industry. In November 2025, the Louisiana Music Program transitioned into the Louisiana…
Louisiana is facing the most acute coastal erosion crisis in the nation. Every 100 minutes, an area equivalent to a football field disappears from the Louisiana coastline. In recent decades, Louisiana’s land loss has exceeded 2,000 square miles, an area roughly the size of the whole state of Delaware. Change of this magnitude has an…
More than 284,000 veterans live in Louisiana, and the Louisiana Division of the Arts (LDOA) is seeking ways to address the unique needs of this population. The LDOA, in concert with Baton Rouge Music Studios and the National Endowment for the Arts, initiated a songwriting workshop for veterans. Songs of Survivors (SOS) workshops are designed…
The Louisiana Division of the Arts (LDOA) has a new creative placemaking pilot using music to enhance the vibrancy of its cultural districts and influence the “meaning” of place. Sound Places—a partnership between LDOA, Chamber Music America and Project for Public Spaces and funded by a National Endowment for the Arts grant—is supporting residencies of…
South Arts has kicked off a pilot program to help expand opportunities for performing arts presenters and grow the performing arts field in its nine member states—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Through its Launchpad initiative, the regional arts organization is providing mentorships and other professional development services to…
The Gulf States Presenters Network (GSPN) is a collaborative effort of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Louisiana Division of the Arts and the Mississippi Arts Commission to cultivate performance opportunities—and the creative economy—for presenting artists and arts organizations. The three state arts agencies each offer grants to presenters in their own state…
This summer, the Louisiana Office of Cultural Development (OCD), the parent agency of the Louisiana Division of the Arts (LDOA), is building the capacity of Louisiana community leaders to undertake place-based cultural, community and economic development projects. Through OCD’s Creative Communities Initiative, leaders from 10 communities are working with coaches trained by The National Consortium…
The results of three arts education surveys are available on the Louisiana Division of the Arts (LDOA) Web site. The Louisiana Arts in Education surveys, commissioned by the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism and conducted by KID smART, a nonprofit arts education organization based in New Orleans, resulted in three separate reports: Public…
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…