The NOCCA Foundation & Meraux Foundation Celebrate 50 Years of NOCCA with the ART&SOUL “Golden Gala"
The NOCCA Foundation and The Meraux Foundation are proud to present the 2025 ART&SOUL "Golden Gala” on Saturday, May 17, celebrating 50 years of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA). The evening will feature live entertainment from NOCCA alums Sasha Masakowski, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Preservation Hall (along with some surprise performances by additional NOCCA alumni), plus live entertainment by current NOCCA Music students, food from NOCCA's Culinary Arts students and faculty (plus some of your favorite chefs and restaurants), a silent auction and much more. The event will also offer creative on-site experiences by NOCCA students including portraits drawn by Visual Arts students and improv poetry penned by students in NOCCA's Creative Writing program.
Tickets to the event are now available at ArtAndSoulNOCCA.com, with proceeds directly supporting the NOCCA Foundation and its initiatives for NOCCA students, their teachers, alumni and the community.
In May of 1975, NOCCA held its very first graduation. Fifty years later, NOCCA is known around the world for its dedicated faculty and long list of accomplished alumni, including Jon Batiste, Harry Connick Jr., Jeanne Michele Charbonnet, Wynton Marsalis, Trombone Shorty, Wendell Pierce and many more. Today, the school offers students intensive instruction in culinary arts, dance, media arts (filmmaking and audio production), music (classical, jazz, vocal), theatre arts (drama, musical theatre, theatre design), visual arts and creative writing, all while demanding simultaneous academic excellence. Every year, 95 – 98% of NOCCA graduates attend college and conservatory programs across the country, with almost 80% of students receiving scholarships.
The NOCCA Foundation champions the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, investing in young artists, their mentors, alumni and the community through programs that encourage educational excellence and artistic innovation. The Foundation's Student Support program and its longstanding Artists-in-Residence program have helped make NOCCA the gold standard of arts education in Louisiana and around the globe. The Foundation also oversees rentals of the NOCCA campus, making it available to arts organizations, individuals, corporations and additional community or business groups.
“With over 25 alumni now serving as faculty and staff at the school, it’s clear that NOCCA not only changes lives, but also fosters lifelong relationships and dedication to bettering this amazing organization,” said Rose.
ART&SOUL 2025 is co-chaired by Ashley and Tim Francis, Stephanie and Terrance Osborne, Elise and Matt Ryan, and Sharonda R. Williams. Major sponsors include The Meraux Foundation, Emily Wolfe and Scott Wolfe, Hancock Whitney Bank, Times-Picayune/NOLA.com, Sazerac/Goldring Family Foundation, Baptist Community Ministries, Gregory Holt and Lucy Burnett, Pixie and Jimmy Reiss, and Madalyn and Robert Schenk.
For more information on the 2025 ART&SOUL Gala and to purchase tickets to the event, visit ArtAndSoulNOCCA.com. For additional details on The NOCCA Foundation and how you can support, visit NOCCAFoundation.org.
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/2962097-0
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2962097-2
