Music Box Village created a first-of-its-kind traveling
musical structure with support from Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and the band
The National for Eaux Claires Fest. "Porch Life" has crossed the country,
turning up at locations including the Coney Island boardwalk, The Kennedy
Center, The Momentary Museum and more!

New Orleans Airlift celebrated 10 years of
collaboration and community at the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center in
November 2019

Leah Hennessy is a vocalist, curator, and educator. As lead creative producer for the Music Box Village, Leah has collaborated with artists across multiple genres to shape one-of-a-kind, immersive concert experiences. Her creative practice combines tools of improvisation with jazz, blues and folk influences to play with and investigate the tension between traditional forms and experimental expression. As a curator, Leah’s work focuses on promoting pathways for multi-disciplinary collaboration and creativity—particularly as it relates to fostering local arts and culture. From 2013-2015 she was co-director of Gallery 263, a non-profit arts organization that provides a contemporary voice for the arts in Cambridge, MA through an eclectic array of public programs. In addition, Leah is an experienced music educator and has worked across multiple settings as a teaching artist, curriculum designer, and arts integration consultant.

Leah holds a B.M. in Jazz Voice and M.M. in Contemporary Improvisation from the New England Conservatory, has three independent releases of her own (Talk Listen Door - Talk Listen Door, Leah Hennessy & Nicholas Morrison - Make Your Cozy Little Corner in the Bright Electrified World, The By & By - Some Bright Morning) and is featured on Anthony Coleman’s 2013 recording, The End of Summer (Tzadik).

The Phyllis M. Taylor Center at Tulane engages campus and community in social innovation, social entrepreneurship, and design thinking.

New Orleans-based family foundation 

The MAP Fund is founded on the principle that exploration drives human progress, no less in art than in science or medicine. MAP supports original live performance projects that embody a spirit of deep inquiry.

Location: New Orleans

Practice: Creates more resilient and engaged communities, in which water is managed effectively to reduce flooding and water pollution

Airlift project: New Water Music

Website: http://www.waterworksla.com/

Location: New Orleans South Central Regional Center

Practice: Protecting wildlife, inspiring future generations

Airlift Project: New Water Music

Website: http://www.nwf.org/South-Central-Region.aspx