There is a lot to say about St. Claude Avenue in New Orleans. This commercial corridor traverses nearly two miles across five diverse and historic communities, and connects two of our city’s most iconic places: the French Quarter and the Lower Ninth Ward. In such a unique place, with histories both wonderful and tragic, and cultural both indigenous and new, there are a lot of us to listen to. There is a lot that we can learn about our city’s past and its rebirth. St. Claude Main Street (SCMS) has been proud to support two cultural programs that help us listen in to the sound on the street, and to learn from what these communities have to say.

St. Claude Main Street partnered with audio documentarian Eve Abrams, who helps us listen in to the many voices that make up the changing face of St. Claude. Her oral histories project engaged diverse members of the St. Claude community using the simple tools of conversation and audio recorders to create and share stories, which connect us to one another and our changing neighborhood. “Along Saint Claude” aired on Tuesday, February 18th at 7pm on WWNO / 89.9. It will also be on Eve’s Website and on wwno.org.

It’s not just what people have to say, but how they say it, that we’re interested in supporting. Our partner the New Orleans Youth Sound Experience (NOYSE) is proving that the local youth have some of the most creative voices. NOYSE teaches both at-risk and creative youth ages 13-17 music production and recording while giving them hands-on experience, infusing an appreciation of local culture, and engaging them in their community. The ArtPlace grant helped us partner with NOYSE to get their program off the ground, and we’re excited to make them our anchor tenant at the St. Claude Lab, a community hub for creative programming. Your can hear more about it on the radio, and on the street.