Creative Alliance of New Orleans

CANO's mission is to provide training, tangible support, education, representation, and financial resources to creative artists and cultural producers to best promote the growth of New Orleans' creative industries. We aim to expand public, civic, and business leaders' understanding of the creative industries' core value to the city's economic growth, as well as increase funding and investing opportunities in creative artists of all disciplines.

CANO brings the New Orleans arts and creative industries to the forefront of economic growth. We are the only organization addressing the full range of the creative sector, including visual, performing, design, media, literature, and culinary arts. Through our various projects and events, such as Artists in View and our current Survey, CANO represents, empowers, and preserves the unique, artistic, and cultural experience of New Orleans. Please learn about CANO's initiatives below:

ARTISTS IN VIEW:

Covid-19 bore a detrimental impact on the creative economy. Our current project, Artists in View, seeks to provide creatives exposure, exhibition space, and sales opportunities in the face of these challenges. By virtually exhibiting and promoting a different local creative each week on our social media platforms, CANO has created an online art-based community. Through self-made videos, artists share their processes and perspectives to our local community, engaging New Orleans more broadly in the creative industries. Since the emergence of Covid-19, CANO has represented and shown over 50 different creatives through Artists in View, fostering significant business opportunities in the creative community.

SURVEY:

CANO is also distributing and analyzing a cultural survey that addresses the current needs of our creatives. This survey has been sent to thousands of organizations, associations, and businesses addressing the creative arts, and their responses will help CANO's Creative Coalition take the next steps in growing our creative industries. This survey, its focus groups, and interviews address the scale, character, and concerns of (1) those in creative and cultural industries or occupations related to visual arts and crafts, performing arts, film and media arts, culture and heritage, design, literary arts, and culinary arts/artisanal foods; and (2) support necessary for the survival and growth of creative industries, represented by spaces and places, events, social infrastructure, technical and business assistance, and access to capital; scope, needs, and opportunities for culture bearers.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING AND TOURS:

The Creative Alliance of New Orleans presents forums, exhibitions and events that expose and promote under-represented artists in under-served neighborhoods including Central City, Treme, and St. Bernard Parish. In addition to supporting these artists, CANO provides educational programming to better inform the local community of educational and career opportunities in the creative industries. We also arrange cultural tours to immerse visitors and residents in the work of artists in their personal studios, private collections, and galleries. This tour program, Art Home, has generated thousands of dollars in art sales that directly benefit the creative industries and our culture bearers.

To continue these efforts, we ask for your support on Give NOLA Day, an entire day devoted to supporting local non-profits like ourselves. CANO exists to support the creative industries that characterize our city. Please take this opportunity to make an overarching difference in the lives of those devoted to the arts that make New Orleans the city we love.

For more about CANO by visiting our website: https://cano-la.org

Testimonials

"From its inception the Creative Alliance of New Orleans CANO championed the rightful cause to both acknowledge and support Artists and Artisans who comprise the cultural economy as invaluable assets to the city of New Orleans. I personally witnessed this organization spearhead initiatives devoted to promoting the work and livelihood of Artists while simultaneously sparking the revitalization of whole neighborhoods.

CANO was instrumental in the rebirth of the Marigny area as one of the first organizations to resurrect an abandoned school into a multi-purpose, multi Artist studio space called the Studio at Colton. It was here where Krewe du Vieux held its ball when space in the city was extremely limited. It was also here where Jeanne Nathan won the support and participation of the international Arts festival Prospect 1, which continues to return to New Orleans and create deep impact on the cultural economy.

Then, there is the Myrtle Banks building on Oretha Castle Hayley Boulevard, in which CANO was key in resurrecting into a much-needed neighborhood grocery store, contributing to a boom in economic re-development of the historic Dryades Street area. It is here where CANO supported various exhibitions for visual Artists...