Conversation with gallerist Arthur Roger. Art in the Time of Empathy, is an exhibition of gallery and invited artists examining the year 2020 as an historical moment and a transformative time. The exhibition will be on view at Arthur Roger Gallery, 432 Julia Street, until December 19, 2020. More info is available online at arthurrogergallery.com

Conversation with Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Vice President of Content, Erin Greenwald. Additional information about the annual humanities awards can be found online at leh.org\humanities-awards.

The Crescent City Chamber Music Festival kicks off its 5th Anniversary, with live performances by members of the Manhattan Chamber Players, streamed from venues in New Orleans. We talk with the festival's founding artistic director, Luke Fleming. The festival runs October 2nd thru 11th. Streaming links, concert dates and times can be found at crescentcitychambermusicfestival.com

Musaica Chamber Ensemble opens its 15th season, streaming live from the UNO Performing Arts Center on Friday, September 25th @7:30 pm. We catch up with Musaica violist and president Bruce Owen. You'll find a link to the stream at musaica.org .

A host of artists are gearing up for a two-day commemoration honoring Latin American contributions to the Post-Katrina Rebirth of New Orleans on the heels of the 15th Anniversary of the storm. Award winning multi-disciplinary artist José Torres-Tama and Arte Futuro Productions will present a virtual festival of Teatro Sin Fronteras/Theater without Borders with poets, performers, musical acts and immigrant stories. José Torres-Tama joins us by phone. The 2-day featival is free and will be live

A unique pop-up arts experience, some ten years in the making is now a reality. JAMNOLA, is an immersive experience in New Orleans culture. Jonny Liss is co-founder of JAMNOLA. He joins us by phone.

Members of Louisiana’s music industry are joining forces with the National Independent Talent Organization, known as NITO. They are appealing to Congress for financial relief in the form of a bill known as the RESTART Act, a new loan program. The COVID pandemic has shuttered the industry, leaving the future of live music across the country uncertain. Local NITO spokeswoman, Ami Spishock joins us by phone.

White Linen Night is reimagined. The popular Arts District gallery stroll is now called, White Linen Light, as it occurs in the galleries during business hours, Monday through Saturday, all month long. Arts District New Orleans Association vice president Matthew Showman chats with us by phone.

Four highly acclaimed local artists are transforming ordinary materials into surprising works as they headline a new exhibit at Octavia Art Gallery. The group exhibition is called Conceptual Creations: Collage and Assemblage. We talk with gallery owner Pamela Bryan.

The Ogden Museum of Southern Art is among several arts venues reopening following temporary closure due to the pandemic. We talk with executive director William Pittman Andrews.

Dancing Grounds annual Dance for Social Change Festival kicks off this week, virtually via ZOOM. It will focus on issues of gentrification and COVID-19 in New Orleans, featuring a panel discussion with local leaders, dance classes and a film premiere of an original performance piece by its teen dancers. We talk with Dancing Grounds youth programs manager, Randall Rosenberg. The festival runs May 25th thru 29th. All events are free, but you must pre-register at dancingrounds.org for a link to the

Le Petit Theatre presents, “Sorry, Wrong Number”. The 1940’s classic noir radio play, about a woman who overhears a murder plot, will debut on Facebook, Friday May 22nd at 7:30 pm. There is also a link to the event at lepetittheatre.com. We talk with director Max Williams and actors Leslie Castay and Tracey Collins by phone.

CANO, Creative Alliance of New Orleans, explores art and artists virtually with its Artists in View project. Executive director, Jeanne Nathan joins us by phone. More info on the Artists in View project can be found online at cano-la.org

New research from the British Academy of Sound Therapy proves music heals and it doesn't take long to experience therapeutic effects. The study caught the eye of Dr. Penny Roberts, a professor of music therapy at Loyola University. We catch up with her by phone.

Conversation with Jessie Haynes, managing director of The Helis Foundation. You can find more info online at thehelisfoundation.org

This week on Inside the Arts, India Fest is back. We’ll get a sneak peek at the 2020 festivities featuring Indian arts, culture and cuisine at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Then, acclaimed tenor and native son, Bryan Hymel returns with Opus Opera and Delta Festival Ballet in a concert performance celebrating Spring and our planet. It’s called Earthly Delights, featuring works by Mahler and Canteloube. And we round out the show with singer and songwriter René Marie. Inside the Arts Tuesdays at

This week on Inside the Arts, the Louis Moreau Institute's 2020 Festival premieres Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' monodrama, Eight Songs for a Mad King and other works by contemporary masters and emerging composers. Artistic director Morris Rosenzweig and bass baritone Jonathan Z. Harris join us for a chat. And, Le Petit Theatre continues its season with August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Piano Lesson. Veteran actors Lance Nichols and Zeb Hollins III are here. Inside the Arts, Tuesdays

This week on Inside the Arts, Carnival revelry kicks into high gear as Mardi Gras is here! We’ll explore adventures along the parade route. Food writer Ian McNulty looks at a new variety of king cakes. Reporter Betsy Shepherd has an eye on Fat Tuesday’s environmental impact. And, WYES TV host Peggy Scott Laborde joins us with a preview of the LIVE broadcast of the Rex Ball and the Meeting of the Courts of Rex and Comus. Airs Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m., Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 8:45 a

This week on Inside the Arts, the 23rd New Orleans French Film Festival gets underway right after Mardi Gras. It’s one of the longest-running foreign language festivals in the country. We talk with the festival’s artistic director emeritus John Desplas. And, the Contemporary Arts Center continues its run of a series of exhibits highlighting women artists, headlined by internationally acclaimed Brooklyn painter Mickalene Thomas. We caught up with Thomas who will join us in our studio. Airs

This week on Inside the Arts, Big Freedia puts bounce in New Orleans Airlift's 4th Annual Mardi Gras Ball, ushering in the Spring performance season in the Music Box Village. Co-founders Jay Pennington and Delaney Martin will join us in our studio with details on upcoming events. And, a Valentine's treat from Nell Nolan and Dennis Woltering. The actress and society columnist will join the veteran newsman for a stage performance of A.R. Gurney's Love Letters. Dennis Woltering joins us for a chat.

This week on Inside the Arts, mezzo-soprano Hilary Ginther is The Maid of Orléans in Tchaikovsky's Joan of Arc. This production by the New Orleans Opera Association marks the American premiere of the English translation of this work. Hilary Ginther joins us with Maestro Robert Lyall. Then, Musaica Chamber Ensemble continues its 14th season, The Architecture of Music with Keyboard Cornerstones of Bach and Fauré. Among the works featured are Bach's Goldberg Variations for string trio and Fauré's

This week on Inside the Arts, the Marigny Opera Ballet continues its 6th season with legendary dancer/choreographer, Paul Taylor's 1962 masterpiece, Aureole. Plus, a world premiere by Gretchen Erickson: Dialogues in G Major. Artistic director Dave Hurlbert joins us for a chat. And, race and class divisions are exposed in The Uninvited. This original, immersive theatre experience, presented by Goat in the Road Productions, Hermann-Grima and Gallier Historic Houses, is based on historic events in

This week on Inside the Arts, the Hancock-Whitney Broadway in New Orleans series continues its season as the legendary musical, MISS SAIGON, opens at the Saenger. The new national tour of Cameron Mackintosh's revival of Boublil and Schönberg's epic love story, is set during the Vietnam War, and features Emily Bautista starring in the role of "Kim". We catch up with her by phone. Then, Southern Rep Theatre, opens a production of Ntozake (N TOE ZAH KAY) Shange's (SHAN GAY) Mother Courage and Her

This week on Inside the Arts, the Tony nominated Broadway musical, Something Rotten, opens at Le Petit Theatre. This original musical comedy, with a tip of the hat to the Bard, stars Matthew Michael Janisse and Richard Spitaletta. They join us with director Michael McKelvey. Then, a creative re-imagining of abolitionist, Harriet Tubman, continues the NOLA Project's season with the regional premiere of Sigrid Gilmer's Harry and the Thief. It's part science fiction, historical drama and comedic

This week on Inside the Arts, Mark Cortale's Broadway at NOCCA series kicks off the New Year with Liz Callaway. The Broadway superstar and Tony nominee will perform with special guest Bryan Batt. Liz Callaway joins us by phone. And, the 6th Annual Danny Barker Banjo and Guitar Festival swings into high gear next week in venues across the city. The 5 day celebration of the life and legacy of the NEA Jazz Master will feature performances by a star studded cast of New Orleans artists and