In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy, Ogden Museum of Southern Art presents its 4th Annual FREE Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration on Monday, Jan. 18. Join us at Ogden Museum or at home as we use art to imagine a world without racism! There are a variety of ways to celebrate:

Celebrate at Ogden Museum:

• Museum admission is free on Monday, Jan. 18, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Museum capacity has been reduced to 25% in accordance with city guidelines, and masks and social distancing are required. We encourage you to make your reservations online in advance to reserve your timed tickets. Timed tickets can also be reserved in person the day of the event. Reserve your tickets online here.
• Explore the Museum and participate in a scavenger hunt based on works on view in the galleries. Scavenger hunt participants are entered to win prizes such as a Family Membership and an Ogden Museum Art Box!

Celebrate at Home:

• Pick up a FREE Ogden Museum MLK Day Celebration Art Activity Bag containing art activities exploring the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, step-by-step instructions and all supplies. Get your art activity bag starting Tuesday, January 12. A limited number of art activity bags will be available for pick-up at the Museum and all 15 locations of the New Orleans Public Library while supplies last.
• Explore 8 recorded programs honoring Dr. King. These recorded programs are designed for all ages and can be watched from your own home, on your own schedule. Spend the day enjoying programs ranging from dance performances to an Ogden Museum virtual tour to a guided meditation for peace – all at your own pace! Videos will be posted by 10 a.m. on Monday, January 18.

Online Program Descriptions: Programs will only be presented virtually. 

• Watch a performance by Dancing Grounds. Dancing Grounds is a multigenerational arts organization that brings inclusive and accessible dance programs to New Orleans residents of all ages.  With youth dance companies, summer camps, and the annual Dance for Social Change Festival, DG creates safe and celebratory spaces in which the lived experiences of youth are truly valued and their unique creative talents are recognized, developed, and celebrated.   
• Listen to a specifically curated playlist honoring the memory and message of Martin Luther King Jr. created by the Ogden Museum Teen Interns. This 90 minute collage of songs, spoken word and rhythms are meant to challenge, inspire and promote non-violent communication within our hearts, minds and communities.
• Take a virtual tour of Ogden Museum exploring the Civil Rights Movement through the work of photographer, Ernest C. Withers with Museum Educator Sara Echaniz. The tour includes an in-depth discussion about photographs from Ogden’s permanent collection along with background information about the photographer.
• Listen to a MLK Day themed storytime by Early Literacy Librarians from the New Orleans Public Library (ages 4-8). Librarians will share a special selection of books and songs about Martin Luther King, Jr., youth involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and imagining a world without racism. The storytime program includes a reading of Martin’s Dream by Jane Kurtz, A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson, and What Wonderful World by George David Weiss. 
• Be inspired by poetry performances by poets from the Bard Early College Poetry Club (BECNO). The BECNO Poetry Club is a student organization for poets and fans of poetry at Bard Early College New Orleans. BECNO is a satellite campus of Bard College in Annandale, New York for New Orleans 11th and 12th grade students. Each of the poets you hear today has begun their college experience while enrolled in one of BECNO’s six partner high schools.
• Contribute to a virtual community word cloud inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. 
• Create art with artist Kara Crowley featured in Louisiana Contemporary, Presented by the Helis Foundation
• Reflect on a world without racism during a guided meditation for peace. Join Museum Educator Mikhayla Harrell for a 30 minute mindfulness meditation on peace and how to cultivate this quality within ourselves, our communities and on the planet as a whole. Inspired by a meeting between Martin Luther King Jr. and then exiled Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. They met in Chicago to discuss community, peace, freedom and their shared vision of a more just world built on the foundation of nonviolence. No previous experience with meditation is required.
• Learn more about Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy through storytelling and a presentation titled “10 Fun Facts on Dr. King” with New Orleans native and educator Andrea Heard. Andrea Heard aims to empower individuals and organizations through virtual and in-person coaching, online courses, as well as professional development workshops. 
• Pick up a FREE Ogden Museum MLK Day Celebration Art Activity Bag containing art activities exploring the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, step-by-step instructions and all supplies. Get your art activity bag starting Tuesday, January 12. A limited number of art activity bags will be available for pick-up at the Museum and all 15 locations of the New Orleans Public Library while supplies last. Art activity bags were made possible in collaboration with the Junior League of New Orleans volunters and OchsnerServes volunteer program, which connects Ochsner employees to volunteer efforts within their communities. 
• Art activity bag includes:
  • Imagine a Better World: I Have a Dream Doves
  • Celebrate Freedom: Freedom Riders Bus
  • Remember Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy: Watercolor Peace Signs
  • Stand up for Equality: Mini Protest Signs

• Create art with artist Kara Crowley featured in Louisiana Contemporary, Presented by the Helis Foundation. Additional Activity: Use the extra supplies included in the Ogden Museum MLK Day Celebration Art Activity Bag: skin tone paper, half sheet of card stock paper and glue stick (scissors not included).

Special thanks to our community partners:

Image credit: Kara Crowley, Exertion, Acrylic on wood (Featured in Louisiana Contemporary)