Location:  O.C. Haley Blvd, New Olreans

Dates: December 2015

New Orleans Airlift partnered with Ashe Cultural Center to create a Music Box Outpost in Central City, New Orleans. Ashe's mission to celebrate African diaspora art and culture, along with a belief in community and commerce, informed a designe with influences from Africa, the carribean, and New Orleans in the form of a musical market place. New Orleans visual artist Carl Joe Williams led the design of the project while prominent Congo Square drummer, Luther Gray, provided musical direction for the piece as well as leading many nights of music with the public. Drawing on the idea of umbrella style market places, the artists created a trio of vibrant, tin, umbrella shapes and used 55 gallon metal and plastic drums, water bottles, tin cans, and oyster shells to create a sonic experience that erupted into amazing drum circles once the public got their hands on the piece.

Our other collaborators were youth artists and musicians from Ashe's Kuumba Institute. They made masks and hand held instruments to sell at the market and participated in an amazing performance playing our musical market with the fabulous Tank and the Bangas. The Musical Market debuted with support from The New Orleans Arts Council at their  Luna Fete 2015 event (Nov 29th - Dec 5th) in Central City ahead of joining our larger Music Box Village.

It is so important to form partnerships with organizations and neighbors in Central City and other parts of our city. We will continue to do Outposts in our hometown and abroad to build our project through collaboration.

Airlift’s permanent site for Musical Architecture!

Location: Erato at O.C. Haley Blvd

Dates: Spring 2016 

New Orleans Airlift is taking The Music Box Roving Village to Central City this spring! Due to the success of the City Park Roving Village Residency, (over 10,000 people visited in six weeks) and to grow our audiences across the city, we will open this interactive installation in one of the most historic and architecturally beautiful neighborhoods of our city. We are partnering with Ashe Cultural Center and many of the other amazing organizations along OC Haley Blvd to make the most of our time in Central City.

This fall look out for the debut of a musical market we are building in partnership with Ashe, the visual artist Carl Joe Williams and musician Luther Gray. The musical structure will combine our musical architecture with Ashe's African Diaspora mission and their focus on community, culture and commerce. It will function as an actual market place for vendors AND a playable instrument for visitors and professional musicians. The artists are drawing on African market's for the inspiration and their designs include sonic umbrellas and percussive tables. The Musical Market will debut with support from The New Orleans Arts Council at their  Luna Fete 2015 event (Nov 29th - Dec 5th) in Central City ahead of joining our musical village in the spring.

We are so excited to be laying the groundwork for our next Roving Village Residency through projects like this while forming partnerships with organizations and neighbors in Central City!

If you would like to donate and make sure The Roving Village: Central City is a success, please support us here: http://www.neworleansairlift.org/index.php/support/donate

If you or your organization or business would like to participate in some way, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

If your school would like to schedule a field trip, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..