Arts, Education, and Entrepreneurship
The performing arts return to historic Bayou Road. The former St. Rose de Lima Church will re-open as The André Cailloux Center for Performing Arts & Cultural Justice (ACC), a Black led, BIPOC community serving, multi-tenant, performance art and cultural justice venue.
This reclamation of historical cultural space prioritizes telling the stories of people of the global majority through the performing arts and cultural justice programming with deep engagement with the community.
Mission Statement
The André Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice seeks to render visible and disrupt institutionalized systems of oppression, and to use storytelling and remembering as ways of honoring Black culture, reclaiming identity, and promoting self-determination in association with members of the New Orleans community through engagement with the performing arts and participation in public conversations about the issues of our times.
A Collective Vision & Cooperative Endeavour
Lauren E. Turner is the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of No Dream Deferred-NOLA, a local theatre production company engaged in theatrical productions. An award-winning director and highly sought-after producer and director, Turner’s knowledge of the performing arts and arts management will guide the project in its structuring of the residency programs for all other participating companies. Given the growing reputation and critical acclaim for its theatrical works, No Dream Deferred will also launch a new program in Spring 2023 which will serve as a biennial signature performing arts event for both the company and the Center, and will support black artists from both New Orleans and the Gulf South region.
Dr. Robin G. Vander is an Associate Professor at Xavier University of Louisiana and is a cofounder of its Performance Studies Laboratory (PSL). As an interdisciplinary scholar, Vander will support the Center in its exploration of the black experience throughout the worldwide African Diaspora and will develop linkages between the Center and the PSL to introduce university students to performing arts opportunities via internships, workshops, and in dialogues with performing arts professionals and social justice activists working on behalf of the communities throughout the Diaspora.
Dr. David Robinson-Morris is the Founder and Chief REImaginelutionary of The REIMaginelution, LLC, a strategic consulting firm. With his extensive background working with organizations on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and justice, Robinson-Morris will help to shape the Center's policies and its community engagements through public programs that are meant to engage citizens, elected officials, organizational and community leaders, and activists in conversation and dialogue.