Material Institute New Orleans

08/27/2026

To live our mission as a cultural institution and learning community, we’ll have open programs with visiting artists and thinkers, film screenings, exhibitions, and concerts. We’ll also offer selection-based programs: Material Studio, Material Camp, and Material Saturdays.⁠
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✏️ Be on the lookout to sign up for our first Material Saturday, October 10.⁠
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Beginning October through June 2027, we’ll pilot Material Studio, a two-year, college-level curriculum, with fashion and music alumni. Through sustained study and practice with peers and mentors, artists will expand their perspectives; gain technical and creative skills; develop distinct creative voices; build professional portfolios; and foster collaborative relationships.⁠
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Applications for Material Studio will open in February 2027.

✉️ Subscribe to our newsletter to follow our story and be the first to hear about upcoming offerings: https://mailchi.mp/materialinstitute/material-institute-newsletter

08/21/2026

Dare we say, the ground we stand on?

Our Model describes what’s in the soil and what’s coming up. Ecology is the guiding force.

As a cultural institution and learning community, Material Institute becomes a laboratory where we practice our principles to cultivate conditions for transformation within ourselves, our community, and the wider world.

Next, we’ll highlight our new programs.

08/19/2026

Goodbye Chrysalis. Thank you for shaping us. 🦋

We’ve emerged from the goo and want to share what we developed over the year and what we’ve planned for the future.

A top Chrysalis goal was to clarify and unify our vision, mission, philosophy, and principles. We did it! We now have a vision, a mission, and a philosophical model to guide us for future decisions about what we do and how we do it.

In the next post, we’ll dive into our principles.

08/14/2026

Side by side we w**d, plant seeds, crack jokes, and move soil. We grow in relation as we use our hands to build the garden that feeds us.

Every week since March, our team works collectively to build and care for ourselves and our garden for Collective Practice. As we begin programming in the fall, our artists will join us in this ritual as part of their creative process.

We believe that daily life and activities are powerful creative acts when performed imaginatively, from an aesthetic point of view, and with the intention of shifting ways of seeing, thinking, and relating to the world around us.

We believe that, through the consistent rhythm of collective practices over time, we will have an impact on our own and other’s personal transformation and transformation within our world.

06/15/2026

We’re hiring

Jobs We’re hiring; seeking a Head of Programs, Music Education Lead & Chair, and Sites & Operations Coordinator to bring our vision to life. Come join our dynamic team. Head of Programs Music Education Lead & Chair Sites & Operations Coordinator Material Institute Material Studio Material Explorat...

06/15/2026

Guess who’s hiring. We’re seeking a Head of Programs, Music Education Lead & Chair, and Sites & Operations Coordinator to bring our vision to life. Come join our dynamic team.��

Applications submitted by 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟯 will receive priority consideration. Applications will continue to be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. ��

More info → 🔗 https://materialinstitute.org/jobs/

05/07/2026

Previous Fashion & Textiles alumni presented a series of presentations to last year's cohort.

We value learning that happens in relationship. Here, alumni transfer knowledge gained through experiences and studies post-programming to inspire and connect with the newer generations on campus.

Donaka Katherine designed a knitwear bridal line. Marwan Pleasant traveled to Paris to teach and learn beading techniques.

Joshua P. Bell developed choreography and soft sculpture incorporating natural dyed silks. Cypress Rollins graduated with a Pattern and Garment Tech masters from London College of Fashion and learned bespoke tailoring in Italy.

Through these types of exchange, perception deepens, complex and integrative thinking develops, and new possibilities emerge.

05/05/2026

For the last twelve years, Material Institute New Orleans has been a hub of creativity for New Orleans youth and emerging artists.

Today is GiveNOLA Day, and we’re fundraising to provide tuition for ten youth explorers at Material Exploration Camp—a two-week camp where youth explorers develop and share stories through soil, sound, and textiles.

Let’s support New Orleans youth and build a brighter future through material exploration!

We’re raising funds toward tuition for youth explorers at this year's Material Exploration Camp.

04/16/2026

Don't mind us, we're just exploring materials over here. ⛺️🪴

Material Exploration Camp is a two-week camp where youth explorers develop and share their stories through materials.

Explorers discover and work with materials—soil, textiles, and sound—to make visual and edible art. Guided by professional artists, explorers will learn and experiment with these materials to create shirts, vases, bowls, sculpture, and songs that reflect their creative voice.

Material Institute’s community centers emerging Black artists from New Orleans and is made up of people across experience, background, generations, and culture.

We believe that learning and growing happens in relationship—with materials, across disciplines, with the natural world, with one another, and with practitioners from around the country and across the world. Through exchange, new possibilities emerge.

Limited spaces. Apply now through April 21st.
🔗 https://form.jotform.com/260895679904072