New Orleans Street Art & Mural Walk
"Zoom out. What’s the big picture here? Given the ‘street level’ nature of this tour, it's reassuringly organic and produced from a real passion about street art, and how it works within an urban environment. Some tours like this can feel voyeuristic, but the detail and well-informed tour guide Carlos made you feel like you were being shown ‘behind the scenes’. The eight or so people on the tour, which covers a mile and a half or so in the Marigny neighborhood, were all fascinated from beginning to end. Tell us about your fellow tourees. There’s around two hours of walking in total, with a bathroom/refreshment break in the middle; comfy shoes are a must. The tour group skewed younger, my fellow tourees brandishing cameras for Instagram-worthy shots of the art and interested enough to ask lots of questions and talk about the street art in their own cities. How are the guides? Carlos has been a professional photographer of street art for years, and has created street art himself, often collaborating with other local artists. It’s this kind of experience and knowledge that gives the tour its authenticity. There’s no hipper-than-thou attitude, though, and Carlos explains the context of the pieces we see with accessible and genuinely refreshing candor. He knows the people that made this art, why they did it and how, and that enthusiasm and joy in the work really shines through. Anything you’ll be remembering weeks or months or years from now? I live around the neighborhood that the walk takes place in. I’ve walked past many of the larger murals before and admired them, but having their context explained and being told the backgrounds of the characters portrayed helped me appreciate them on a new level. We looked at smaller artworks painted on lampposts and water meter covers, things I had walked past many times before without seeing, but now I see them anew. It honestly helped me appreciate and connect to my neighborhood in a new way. So: money, time—how can we make the most of both? Anyone with an interest in art beyond the galleries and museums would love this tour. It demystifies street art and provides meaning to the murals that you’ll see walking around the Marigny. It’s even-handed, incredibly well informed, and Carlos really brought the murals and assorted art works to life within the light of various current events throughout New Orleans’ recent history. You’re in the fresh air, appreciating skilled and striking paintings with fresh eyes." - Paul Oswell
