The National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) The NCTA is the nation’s oldest multicultural arts presenting organization. For over eight decades, through festivals, tours, symposia, exhibits, and media productions, the NCTA has showcased the very best of the myriad grassroots folk, tribal and ethnic cultures that comprise our diverse nation.
Announcing National Heritage Fellows from Louisiana Across Jean Lafitte National Park & Preserve
MEDIA RELEASE
DATE: January 12, 2023
CONTACT: nationaltreasures@ncta-usa.org
SILVER SPRING, MD – The National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) is proud to announce National Heritage Fellows from Louisiana Across Jean Lafitte National Park & Preserve, to take place March 7-11, 2023.
This series is part of NCTA’s National Treasures: A Tour of Culture Bearers in National Parks program, which showcases some of the nation’s most distinguished cultural ambassadors—National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) National Heritage Fellows and their collaborators—and illustrates their connections to signature places within the American landscape through the National Park Service. By connecting Fellows with historically and geographically significant national landmarks, National Treasures invites compelling new conversations and fresh narratives about American heritage and identity.
“National Treasures enables us to reach across the country very intimately through the National Park Service, bringing culture bearers into an open dialog with the communities in which they live,” said NCTA Executive Director Lora Bottinelli. “We believe that this exchange promotes wellbeing and common understanding among individuals, cultures, and our country.”
From March 7-11, 2023, National Treasures will present a series of programs that engage Louisiana-based National Heritage Fellows in partnership with three National Park Service locations within the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve network in southern Louisiana: the French Quarter Visitor Center in New Orleans, the Acadian Cultural Center in Lafayette, and Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux.
This exciting series will feature:
- The Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble: Recipients of the 2022 National Heritage Fellowship, this women-led African American spiritual group is rooted in both Christian worship and the West African-derived ring shout tradition. They will appear at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux on March 7.
- The Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band: This trio comprised of accordion maker, musician, and 1985 National Heritage Fellow Marc Savoy, renowned musician and vocalist Ann Savoy, both of Eunice, and fiddler, composer, and 2005 National Heritage Fellow Michael Doucet of Lafayette will perform in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans on March 8.
- Chief Shaka Zulu: New Orleans Black Masking craftsman, stilt dancer, and musician Chief Shaka Zulu will demonstrate his artistry March 10 at downtown Lafayette’s Downtown Alive! street fair, and March 11 at the Acadian Cultural Center in Lafayette.
Louisiana National Heritage Fellows through Jean Lafitte National Park & Preserve is funded in part by a grant from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. Presented in partnership with the National Park Service, National Treasures is made possible through generous funding from the Sage Foundation. Learn more about this and upcoming National Treasures events at www.ncta-usa.org/nationaltreasures.
About the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA)
A leading non-profit in the field, the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) is dedicated to the presentation and documentation of folk and traditional arts in the U.S. Stressing excellence and authenticity, it works in partnership with American communities to establish new, sustainable traditional arts events that deliver lasting social, cultural, and economic benefits.
Since entering into a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service in 1970, the NCTA has offered a wide range of programmatic assistance to over 50 NPS-administered sites in 36 states and U.S. territories. Its work has included planning new parks, conducting ethnographic studies, organizing crafts and museum exhibits, developing traditional music presentations, training park personnel in cultural presentation techniques, and assisting local non-profit groups with organizing cultural events in national parks.
Learn more here.
About the National Park Service
The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. It cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.
Learn more here.
