Material Institute

Join us Monday to harvest food from our garden, learn new culinary skills, and fill our community fridge.

Please bring containers to reuse. Show up early for a welcome circle and tour of the garden. Menu below:

• Fried Perilla Leaves
• Stuffed Perilla Leaves
• Hibiscus and Tulsi Tea

Photos: Behr Media

Figure drawing Dirtbike 🐶

textiles using leaves and flowers from our garden 🌿

Soaking the plants in iron baths brings out their vibrancy. You can hammer the leaves into the fiber or let them soak in hot water.

Materials: cotton,

Two more weeks to apply for the Cultivation Residency. Our living classroom is rooted in plantcestral teachings cultivating a symbiotic ecosystem to empower intergenerational communities. We envision a liberated world where food justice prevails, fostering wholeness amongst all living beings. Through shared abundance, the land and humanity both heal. 🌱

Flower Essence Making with Renee K. Smith. 🌼 We explored plant intelligence and connecting with the magic of marigolds. Renee showed us her wholistic wellness practice used to heal, transform, and empower. We learned how to listen to the flowers in order to cultivate their medicine.

We’re launching a new residency program; introducing the Cultivation Residency! Our living classroom is rooted in plantcestral teachings cultivating a symbiotic ecosystem to empower intergenerational communities. We envision a liberated world where food justice prevails, fostering wholeness amongst all living beings. Through shared abundance, the land and humanity both heal.

Our Cultivation Residency is a cost-free, three-month program for plant artists, cultivators, home gardeners, and herbalists from New Orleans to connect to the ancestral teachings of culturally relevant plants. This is a space for budding learners to participate in a series of workshops and applied learning opportunities.

This program is for those who are at the start of their gardening journey and know very little about plant identification, cultivating, and harvesting. This is an introductory course for those who are new to gardening and want to learn how to establish their own garden at home.

Apply now through 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟱𝘁𝗵 for the session that runs 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿–𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿. https://tinyurl.com/cultivationres

Summer Camp is fully underway in the garden. These are analog snapshots the campers took at last year’s Photography Workshop. 📸🌱

Apply now until June 16th at midnight: https://materialinstitute.org/apply

Open Enrollment for three programs! 🚨 Please share widely and visit https://materialinstitute.org/apply for more info and to apply.

Today is Give NOLA Day, New Orleans’ official day of charitable giving and the last day to donate towards our goal.

Please visit https://www.givenola.org/materialinstitute to make a tax-deductible contribution to help us reach our goal!

Material Institute is a nonprofit arts center in New Orleans' 9th Ward that expands access to resources for Black New Orleans artists. We are a learning environment where experimentation and collaborative spirit collide to foster community and cultivate freedom of expression in the fields of music, fashion, and gardening. Our community is made up of artists, farmers, cultivators, and culture bearers.

We’re hosting a community garden day in conjunction with The Recycle Challenge’s Earth Day Parade & Festival. Bring glass recyclables, compost, and reusable takeout containers.

𝗦𝘂𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗿 𝟮𝟭
𝟭–𝟱𝗽𝗺
𝟮𝟭𝟮𝟬 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝘁

Please RSVP at https://materialinstitute.org/earth-day

Itinerary:

𝟭:𝟯𝟬–𝟯𝗽𝗺
Community Gardening
Earthseed Food Cooking Demo

𝟮:𝟯𝟬–𝟯:𝟭𝟱𝗽𝗺
Sacred Worker Bee Mama Circle

𝟯:𝟯𝟬𝗽𝗺
Group Meal

𝟰𝗽𝗺
Big Chief David Montana History Discussion — Wash*taw Nation

We’re like dropping hints that you should save the date

The much anticipated marigold-themed sequel to last year’s Material Fête 🌼

Applications to the 2023 Recording Artist Residency are now open until 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟵𝘁𝗵

https://materialinstitute.org/rarapp

The Recording Artist Residency is a ten-month residency designed to further the development of New Orleans’ recording artists.

Six artists per year are selected to receive project management support, studio time with a professional engineer to complete an EP, artist portraits, music industry workshops, a live studio performance video, and a feature in our annual showcase concert. Additional development opportunities include vocal and performance coaching.

All Material Institute programs are cost-free. The music you create here belongs to you 💿

Image: 2022–23 resident, Adiaj

We’re pleased to announce the release of 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙮 by fake coffee club

https://songwhip.com/fakecoffeeclub/feels-funny

Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Andy Gross at

Rain or shine ☀️ these six artists will take to the MATERIAL FÊTE stage tomorrow at 7pm after garden festivities 🌱

High Heal Doula
Adiaj
fake coffee club
Chloé Marie
Döuno
kgz

They've spent the last ten months recording EPs in our studio. We’re celebrating their achievement by presenting six sets of original material from their projects

Not to be missed! Get your 🎟️ below

Here’s what you can expect this weekend at MATERIAL FÊTE

Join us for an all-day spring festival with kids garden activities, eclectic New Orleans music, West African cuisine, botanic cocktails, and indigo dyeing

This is a free event – consider donating to our programming! Get your 🎟️ at the 🔗 below

Schedule:
𝟯–𝟲𝗽𝗺 Garden Spring Fling Activities
𝟰–𝟲𝗽𝗺 Indigo Dyeing
𝟲–𝟭𝟬𝗽𝗺 DJ / Live Performances

Photos: Kewon Hunter, Monwell Frazier, Shivers

Riso Poster by Aimée Toledano using photos by Jonathan Traviesa Printed at Constance