The Links, Incorporated’s support of the Arts can be traced to our cultured co-founder Margaret Roselle Hawkins. Her innate artistic talent, discovered at a young age, earned her a four-year scholarship to the Women’s School of Design, later known as the Moore Institute of Art. Her passion for creative expression later led to her appointment as an art teacher, and helped give root to the establishment of The Arts facet in 1964 at the 14th National Assembly.
Throughout the nation today, Links Chapters partner with museums, symphonies, arts councils, educational institutes and corporations in order to support art programs, especially where there is a focus on artists of color. Links are creating and supporting opportunities for educating minority youth in the arts and presenting and supporting performances by youth and accomplished professional artists in a diversity of disciplines.
The goal of The Arts facet is to increase and expand art activity, and elevate our programs through arts integration and effectively create an arts renaissance within our organization and programmatic efforts.
The New Orleans (LA) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated has sponsored many programs meeting the goals of The Arts facet. Most recently, the chapter sponsored the following programs:
In 2024, The New Orleans (LA) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art were proud to present the 11th Annual HBCU Art Showcase featuring works from two of Louisiana’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) – Dillard University and Xavier University of New Orleans. The exhibit was showcased from May 29 through September 29, 2024.
In 2005, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and The New Orleans Chapter of The Links, Incorporated formed a partnership with the goal of presenting an exhibition that would spotlight works of art created by students attending Louisiana’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and provide an opportunity to celebrate those young emerging artists and provide them with a platform from which to highlight their work and share their voice, while also offering an engaging art experience at an institution that values innovation and diversity.
The HBCU Art Showcase has been presented annually in the Museum’s Education Gallery, a space designated to honor the teaching of art and works created by students in the Southern region of the United States. To date, over 125 HBCU artists from Louisiana’s five HBCUs have participated in the annual showcase.
A fundamental objective of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art has been to create programs that explore the diversity of backgrounds, experiences and ideas that artists and viewers bring to the museum experience. To that end, the Museum’s Learning and Engagement Department sought to present a variety of perspectives and points of view to broaden and enrich our understanding of the world. Below is a sampling of the 2024 HBCU Art Showcase.
The Chapter was honored that The Ogden Museum produced an Art Showcase Catalogue for the Chapter’s 2020 HBCU Art Showcase.
The New Orleans (LA) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, in conjunction with Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School, participate in The Links, Incorporated National Poster Art Competition.
In 2020, the Arts Facet and the New Orleans (LA)Chapter were pleased to learn that two artistically talented Bethune students were announced as National Poster Arts local winners, and runners up at the National level.
The first National Poster Art Competition was created in 1995 in conjunction with The Links, Incorporated’s National Walk-a-Thon. The competition was an artistic exercise focused around a theme of promoting good health – Project Walking Fete: Make Health a Habit. Over the years, students have produced posters depicting various themes often centered on healthy lifestyle choices and the benefits of walking.
As part of The New Orleans (LA) Chapter’s Music in the Classroom initiative, art students at Bethune School have had opportunities to participate in special performances and question-and-answer workshops with cast members from Broadway Productions such as Motown The Musical and The Lion King. Students aspiring to be performers saw an inside look into the life of a professional performer.
The Arts Facet invited all students from the New Orleans metropolitan area to take an artistic stand and create awareness against bullying by creating quilts. The program allowed students to creatively express their thoughts, fears, concerns and ultimately their resolutions concerning the issue, in hopes of putting a stop to bullying. The theme was titled “Bullying and Trash Talking: It’s No Joke,” The quilts were unveiled and displayed at New Orleans City Hall.the 11th Annual