News
Jazz & Heritage Opportunities
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is excited to share a variety of opportunities for culture makers. These include Fellowship Research Grants centered on Louisiana’s rich heritage, vendor spots for food and crafts at the Congo Square Rhythms Festival, and an open call for school bands to participate in the Class Got Brass competition, among other programs.
These initiatives are designed to support musicians, researchers, educators, and community members in their efforts to preserve and celebrate music and the arts. We invite everyone to get involved and benefit from the Foundation’s mission to uphold and promote cultural traditions of New Orleans and Louisiana. For more information and application deadlines, please see below!
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Archive is an educational resource that identifies, collects, preserves, and protects materials of cultural and historical significance to New Orleans and Louisiana as well as the records of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation and its assets and programs.
The Fellowship Research Grant supports research about Louisiana’s diverse music, cultural, and artistic heritage. Successful applicants have a history of productive scholarship via public presentations, publications, or exhibitions. Recipients chosen will receive $5,000 from the Jazz & Heritage Archive. Deadline is Monday, January 6 at 11:00pm (CT)
The Congo Square Rhythms Festival is set to take place on March 29-30, 2025, at Armstrong Park in New Orleans. The Foundation is accepting vendor applications for categories including food, desserts, and various arts and crafts mediums that showcase unique and original handmade works. Imports are also welcome. The application deadline is Monday, January 6th, at 11:00 PM.
Two Art Markets showcasing local artisans’ handmade artworks, crafts, and imported goods, emphasizing the African diaspora’s influence on New Orleans through art, photography, jewelry, clothing, and housewares.
Additionally, two food markets will highlight the culinary journey from Africa to New Orleans, offering a mix of flavors with dishes like West African jollof rice, Caribbean oxtail stew and Jamaican patties, and New Orleans classics such as jambalaya, gumbo, étouffée, and red beans and rice, reflecting a fusion of African, French, Spanish, and Native American influences.
Applications are now open for Class Got Brass presented by the Gia Maione Prima Foundation. Class Got Brass is an initiative of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation to support music education in the schools while promoting the traditional brass band music of New Orleans. At stake are more than $50,000 worth of instruments and other supplies for the winning schools’ music programs. Class Got Brass takes place in conjunction with Congo Square Rhythms Fest on Saturday, March 29 in Armstrong Park!
About the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation invests proceeds from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell and additional funds that we raise for year-round programming in education, economic development and cultural enrichment. Education programs include the Don “Moose” Jamison Heritage School of Music, the Tom Dent Congo Square Lectures, the Class Got Brass competition for school brass bands, a youth audio workshop program, youth vocal workshops, and more! Economic Development initiatives include the Community Partnership Grants, the Catapult Fund accelerator program and Sync Up entertainment industry workshops. Cultural enrichment programs include the Jazz & Heritage Concert Series and annual Foundation Festivals: the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, the Congo Square Rhythms Festival, the Tremé Creole Gumbo Festival and the Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival. Importantly, these are free programs that the Jazz and Heritage Foundation has developed over many years to ensure that we give back to Louisiana. The Jazz & Heritage Foundation also owns radio station WWOZ 90.7-FM and the Jazz & Heritage Archive. In late 2014, the Foundation opened the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center – an education and community facility named for the late Jazz Fest founder George Wein and his wife Joyce. In March of 2020, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation established the Jazz & Heritage Music Relief Fund – a statewide relief fund to support Louisiana musicians who were affected by the pandemic. In the last two years the Jazz & Heritage Foundation has been able to provide relief funds of more than $2 million dollars supporting musicians, music industry gig workers, Black Masking Indians and other indigenous cultural practitioners. To learn more about the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, please visit us online at www.jazzandheritage.org