Current Supported Exhibitions
Now on View at The Cabildo
The exhibition Gálvez and Louisiana in the American Revolution, at the Cabildo showing Louisiana’s decisive but often overlooked role in the Revolutionary era. Under Spanish Rule, the strategic placement of the bustling port of New Orleans made Louisiana central to intelligence gathering, military action, and diplomacy that shaped the outcome of the war. From crucial port, Spanish Governor Bernardo de Gálvez coordinated covert support to the Continental Army and later led a diverse coalition of free people of color, Native allies, Acadian refugees, enslaved Africans, and Creole and Spanish settlers to a series of stunning victories against British forces.
Origins of New Orleans Black Carnival Society:
The Story of The Illinois Clubs
Now on View at The Presbytere
New Exhibition Opens on January 29, 2026 at the Presbytère on Jackson Square, presented by the Louisiana State Museum.
For more than a century, the Original Illinois Club (est. 1895) and the Young Men Illinois Club (est. 1926) have shaped a vital but under-recognized tradition in Black New Orleans Mardi Gras culture. These clubs upheld elegance, dignity, and community pride through their dazzling debutante balls. Long before the Black New Orleans Carnival traditions of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club and the Baby Dolls were household names, Illinois Club royalty were celebrated in Black newspapers and family albums alike.
Though segregation denied them access to traditionally white venues, the clubs flourished in union halls and gymnasiums. Stunning costumes, elaborate backdrops, and courtly rituals mirrored and redefined the traditions of old-line krewes like Rex and Comus. Legacy families like Baranco, Rhodes, Duncan, and Bagneris embodied generational Black excellence that found expression in these royal courts.
This exhibition, which will open in the centennial year of the Young Men Illinois Club, will feature rare photographs, including the first Young Men Illinois Club court in 1927, heirloom gowns, regal costumes, and for the first time in decades, parts of the magnificent original set of the French Opera House from the 1968 Original Illinois Club ball, hand-painted by Schmit Brothers scenic designers.
For more information, Contact Wayne Phillips, Curator of Carnival Collections, Costumes and Textiles at Louisiana State Museums
Phone: 504-568-2475 | Email
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Beading with the Big Chief
Donate to Support our Creative Aging Program
Beading with the Big Chief allows students aged 55+ to explore the history, traditions, and technique of Black Masking Indians.