Borrowing from creative placemaking approaches, we’re leveraging arts and culture as a driver for economic development and enhanced livability in St. Bernard Parish.
Our family foundation has invested over $2 million to develop a two-block stretch of vacant and underused properties along St. Claude Ave. into an “arts campus” that includes studios, galleries, and a theater.
Placemaking is an intentional, collaborative effort to build the character of a place. Creative placemaking employs arts, culture, and creativity to transform a community in a way that builds character, identity, and sense of place. There are many approaches to creative placemaking, including cultural districts, creative industry clusters, mixed-use development, and public art.
We’re focusing our Creative Placemaking Initiative in the Old Arabi Cultural District, a state-certified Cultural District. The district, spanning from Jackson Barracks to N. Peters St. and St. Bernard Hwy. to the parish line, contains cultural assets, including St. Claude Arts, Zeitgeist, the Maumus Center, the Sugar Museum, Aycock Barn, artist studios on Mehle Street, and more. Businesses within the district benefit from tax incentives including a sales tax exemption on the sale of certain original works of art.
“A growing body of evidence shows that fostering creative activity is an effective way to invigorate communities. And we’ve seen it firsthand since we began this initiative, seeing the area blossom with the addition of new stores, shops, restaurants, and cultural venues. With this success, we’re doubling down on our investment to further nurture the area’s growth into a thriving artistic center.”
The Arts Campus
St. Claude Arts
St. Claude Arts houses 12 studios that provide workspace to artists in Arabi, supporting the area as a regional center for art.
St. Claude Arts Park
An outdoor venue nestled between Art Conscious and Zeitgeist that provides a stage, amenities, and space for performances, community meetings, arts markets and other events that support the cultural economy in St. Bernard.
Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center
Zeitgeist features programming ranging from alternative films and creative music to live performances and community events.
Art Conscious
In what was once the Arabi theatre, Art Conscious combines the expertise of museum preparators, custom and conservation picture framers, carpenters, MFAs, machinists, and artists to provide art to museums, galleries, hotels, offices, restaurants, and more.
Community Center of St. Bernard
The Meraux Foundation renovated and provided this space to the Community Center of St. Bernard, a charity that provides emergency food assistance to local families. It also features two murals. The one on the west side is by artist Mike Collins who describes his art as graphic, nature-based, and angular. The mural on the east side of the building is by artist Lana Guerra who creates characters and worlds that are both childlike and edgy.
Championing the Arts in Education
Beyond our Creative Placemaking Initiative, we donated $1.8 million to develop the Cultural Arts Center of Chalmette High School, a world-class theatre that hosts Broadway-caliber productions. And to ensure the “show goes on,” our family foundation sponsors the St. Bernard Performing Arts Academy.
Murals
We sponsored a series of eight murals to beautify and visually connect a collection of our buildings along St. Claude Ave. within the Old Arabi Cultural District. We partnered with the NOLA Mural Project to identify the artists and manage the project.
