NEW EXHIBITION AT NEW ORLEANS' OLD U.S. MINT CELEBRATES
PRESERVATION HALL’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY
The Louisiana State Museum launches a major exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of Preservation Hall on November 4 at the Old U.S. Mint.
Co-curated by Preservation Hall and the Museum, Preservation Hall at 50 will tell the story of this New Orleans music landmark from the early 1960s to the present through artifacts, archival and contemporary photographs, film and audio clips, interviews and oral histories.
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Rebirth Brass Band, The Preservation Hall All-Stars ,The Roots of Music, and The Preservation Hall Junior Jazz & Heritage Brass Band will perform on Friday evening, November 4 as part of a music-filled grand opening benefitting the Louisiana Museum Foundation, the Museum’s non-profit support organization. More than 500 guests are expected. Tickets are $50 advance and $60 on the day of event and available through the Louisiana Museum Foundation at 504.558.0493.
Preservation Hall at 50 will open for public viewing on Saturday, November 5 at 10 a.m. and will run through 2012.
Highlights include large color images of today’s Preservation Hall musicians by art photographer Shannon Brinkman matched with oral histories recorded by radio documentarian Eve Abrams. Brinkman and Abrams are co-authors of Preservation Hall, published in March by LSU Press.
Adding wider historical context, the Museum will display iconic objects from its collection – including Louis Armstrong’s first cornet – and instruments played by Preservation Hall jazz greats such as clarinetist George Lewis and bassist Alcide “Slow Drag” Pavageau.
Also represented are works by two visionary artists associated with Preservation Hall, French Quarter painter Noel Rockmore (1928-1995) and folk artist Sister Gertrude Morgan (1900-1980).
The Preservation Hall exhibition is part of ambitious long-range plans to establish the Old U.S. Mint as a center for live music and music history.
In a joint project of the Museum and the U.S. National Park Service, a new $4-million performance space will open on the Mint’s third floor on November 12. The Museum will use the space for evening lectures, solo and small group concerts and special events, while the National Park Service will use it for daytime programming for the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.
The Museum also plans to install a new permanent exhibition exploring Louisiana’s rich musical heritage in late 2013.
Last year, I found myself in New Orleans for a rather epic birthday party. One place I knew I wanted to visit was 
