Culture Connection, the annual convening of the Office of Cultural Development, will take place April 14 - 15, 2015, in downtown Baton Rouge. Most events will be held at the Capitol Park Museum (pictured at last year's event), including the 2015 Louisiana Culture Awards on the evening of April 14. Registration for Culture Connection will open in early March, and a full agenda will be sent out at that time. Stay up-to-date on everything Culture Connection-related by following us on  Facebook and Twitter. We look forward to seeing you!

The Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation needs your assistance in identifying historic places in Louisiana considered to be suitable candidates for its 10 Most Endangered Historic Places and 10 Preservation Success Stories lists. A historic place can be a single building or buildings, non-building structure(s), sites (including archeological), districts, landscapes and streetscapes. There is no limit to the number of candidates nominated by a community, group or individual.

 

Criteria for Most Endangered Historic Places consideration:

1. Nominated place is historic (at least 50 years old) and is significantly threatened by direct demolition or demolition by neglect or other threat.
2. There is a reasonable potential for a positive outcome to prevent demolition and to rehabilitate and repurpose the historic place.

Criterion for Preservation Success Stories consideration:

1. Nominated place is historic (at least 50 years old) and completed some type of preservation or rehabilitative effort during 2014 or is under an active preservation plan that began in 2014. 

Click here to learn more and make nominations.

Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation contest for high school students sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. The competition is administered in all 50 states, which hold finals to determine a champion to compete at the national finals.  The Louisiana state finals will be held Saturday, March 7, at 1 p.m. at the Capitol Park Museum in Baton Rouge. Performers from across the state will compete, and the public is invited to attend. (Pictured is last year's state champion, BreAnna LaVerne Smith, performing at the national competition.) Learn more about Poetry Out Loud  here .

Southern Exposure: Performing Arts of Latin America is a national initiative that provides support for the presentation of exemplary performing artists from Latin America in communities across the United States. Fee support grants are available to nonprofit presenters located anywhere in the United States and its territories that book artists for engagements taking place between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2016. Learn more about the program and apply here.

Shreveport's Downtown Development Authority applied to the Louisiana Division of the Arts Cultural Districts Program and was approved in 2009. Since then, the cultural district designation has continued to highlight the things that make the downtown unique, including art, culture and history, and spurred cultural activity and creativity by offering substantial tax incentives. The Shreveport Downtown Cultural District provides an exemption from sales and use taxes for proceeds received from the sale of original, one-of-a-kind works of art from locations established within the district. The district is also spearheading efforts in the area to further increase growth through additional residential and business (especially arts-related) incentives.

The district includes a diverse array of vendors, such as the Red River Revel, Mudbug Madness, the Shreveport Farmers' Market (which opened an Artist's Alley that features works of artists each week), the Texas Avenue Makers Fair and Asian Garden Festival, artbreak and other events produced by the Shreveport Regional Arts Council, the Downtown Development Authority and the city of Shreveport. The district has also opened an art marketplace called Agora Borealis, which represents more than 70 area artists. Visitation to these diverse locations continues to grow and expand as more plans for expansion are undertaken.

Learn more about the Louisiana Cultural Districts Program here.