People for Public Art

The mission of People for Public Art is to facilitate, create, and document works of public art for the City of New Orleans and beyond. We are artist-run and community-informed. We use this platform to create works of art that reflect the stories of the people, and aim to empower underrepresented artists. We believe that public artwork should be anchored by social justice, and preserve narratives that are in danger of being silenced.

People for Public Art's first project was the "Memorial for Bubba, Quinn, & Jose", a tribute to the victims of the Hard Rock collapse on 1031 Canal. We worked closely with the families of the victims to create a memorial that honored these men whose lives were lost in the tragedy. This collaboration was created by a team of women artists led by Monica Rose Kelly and Antonia Zennaro. It was funded by 201 N. Rampart St., LLC, Monica Kelly Studio, and People for Public Art. The ELLA Project was our fiscal sponsor and helped us found our non-profit.

Our second project was the "The New Orleans Queens of Sound & Soul" Mural House on 1401 Laharpe Street. This permanent mural landmark features portraits of over 20 women musicians from New Orleans painted by a team of female muralists. We kicked off the project as a House Float for Mardi Gras 2021 and we are accepting sponsorships to add more portraits in the future. This project was funded by homeowner Tricia Diamond and the community of New Orleans via our GoFundMe fundraiser.

Our largest project to-date is the "Gumbo Botanica" mural on St. Claude and Elysian Fields Ave. This massive 3-mural series was designed as a mural education and training project, through which 6 local women muralists trained 9 teens in the design and painting of large-scale murals. The mural features the flowering cooking herbs of New Orleans cuisine, and portraits of the youth artists who participated in painting it.