New Orleans is getting ready for the Super Bowl. But not everyone benefits from the beautification measures.
by Camilla Winterhager
“The world will be watching us, and we must take advantage of that spotlight,” says Jeff Landry, governor of Louisiana, in a post on his social media. He is determined to get New Orleans in shape for Super Bowl LIX, which the city will host in February. According to The New Orleans Advocate, Landry has allocated $40 million to economic development and infrastructure projects around the Caesars Superdome, where the championship game will take place. To the delight of many New Orleans residents, this includes the relighting of the Crescent City Connection and the resurfacing of several streets in the downtown area. But the state budget is also used for cultural projects. All over the city, new murals aimed at showcasing New Orleans’ unique identity are popping up. However, recent events seem to indicate that Landry’s government has little interest in shining the “spotlight” on all New Orleanians.
New Orleans, Central Business District: The 1300 block of Girod Street is surprisingly busy for a Saturday morning. A constant stream of pedestrians flows past the Poydras parking garage and the back of the Hyatt Regency Hotel. At the nearest intersection, a police officer directs cars and bike shuttles. Young couples, mothers and daughters of all ages, fathers and daughters, and groups of friends walk down the sidewalk. On this sunny morning in late October, most of them have the same destination: the Superdome. But this is not the only thing they have in common. It almost seems like there was a dress code: light summer dresses, tutus, cowboy boots, lots of glitter, and shirts that say, “It’s me, I’m the problem, it’s me.” Excitement and joyful anticipation seem to radiate from every person. Coming back from the Superdome, many carry plastic bags with black lettering that leaves no doubt about the reason for all of this excitement: “Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour.” The bags are filled with freshly acquired merchandise for Swift’s concert later that evening. With almost 200,000 tickets sold, local media treats the October concert series as a test run for the upcoming Super Bowl.
Most in the crowd are glued to their phones, taking pictures of their new posters or trying to locate their Uber. Every now and then, however, someone turns their head to look at the large mural only a few feet away from them. Covering the entire back wall of the Hyatt Regency hotel, the mural shines in bright yellow, pink, and blue. In the center, there are two portraits, one of Sister Gertrude Morgan and one of John T. Scott. Between the portraits, a quote reads: “A dreamer reflects himself as a dream, but only while he’s dreaming.” Smaller motifs fill the sides of the wall, showing a group of angels and people making music or reading.
Mural details, created by artists from the Eternal Seeds collective.
One mural, many goals
The mural, created by local high school students this summer, is part of the state’s Super Bowl beautification efforts. Its creation was catalyzed by GNO, Inc., the economic development agency for the Greater New Orleans area, which was tasked with the Super Bowl preparations by Landry’s government. According to the agency’s CEO, Michael Hecht, GNO, Inc. spent about $15,000 of the $40 million Super Bowl beautification grant from the state on the mural. Projects like this are supposed to show visitors a “world-class, one-of-a-kind” New Orleans, says Hecht. But what exactly are the state and GNO, Inc. trying to achieve with this initiative?
Beginning with the most obvious, both entities aim to shape the brand of New Orleans and show tourists a colorful, lively city. “There might be some cities where having clean, white walls is appropriate for the character of the city. Probably most of those cities are in Switzerland. But New Orleans is very different in its self-identity than Zurich. We consider ourselves a colorful place,” says Hecht. Looking out of the floor-to-ceiling window of his conference room on the 34th floor of a Poydras Street building, he points to the nearby Heal Garage and the Civil District Court. Both buildings are within walking distance of the Superdome, and local artists will soon decorate them with murals. According to Hecht, street art “reinforces what people love” about New Orleans and creates a positive image of the city.
This strategy seems to go down well with the tourists visiting for the Taylor Swift concert. Beatriz Walker, 62, is visiting New Orleans for the first time. She feels very welcomed and safe, “especially with all the Swifties flooding the city.” The mural’s vibrant colors match her perception of the city.
A father and his ten-year-old daughter from Monroe, Louisiana, stop to take a picture in front of the mural. “I really like how people do art. I love every single thing that is art. Even if it’s not perfect, it gives character to a place, even if it’s just one dot,” she says. Her father, born in New Orleans, believes that street art is a central part of the city, which he wants his daughter to experience. Not everyone is as passionate about New Orleans’ murals as these two, but most people seem to embrace them: “Good that they have ‘em,” says a woman in her early twenties, tying her shoelaces in front of the mural. However, there is more to this project than beautifying the Central Business District for big events.
The Girod Street mural was created by young artists from Eternal Seeds, a youth collective founded by the local mural artist Brandan Odums, better known as BMIKE. Eternal Seeds provides a space and resources for young Black creatives to learn about the preservation of New Orleans’ history and culture and to find their artistic voice. In their annual Summer Session, local youth between the ages of 14 and 18 are trained in street art and digital media techniques. In 2024, the final project was the Girod Street mural.
One of the project’s major objectives was to show the participants how to “create community impact,” says Camron Irvin, assistant visual arts instructor at the Summer Session. Morrah Burton-Edwards, also a visual arts instructor, agrees with Irvin. What she would like the participants to learn from the program is “teamwork, delegation and confidence, and that’s even more powerful than what the final image looks like.” To empower the young artists and show them how they can have an impact on their own city, the instruction team gave them a lot of creative freedom. Although the project was largely funded by GNO, Inc., there were only a few guidelines for the design. While the two main portraits were determined by the instructors, every participant contributed a piece of their own work in the motifs on the side.
Burton-Edwards, Irvin, and the other members of the instruction team seem to be living proof that Eternal Seeds’ empowerment is effective. All of them were participants in previous Summer Sessions themselves and have now advanced to instructing younger cohorts. Perhaps the empowerment is even working a little too well: “People were already trying to kick me off my job, there was already talk about it,” jokes Burton-Edwards.
According to Michael Hecht, GNO, Inc. supports Eternal Seeds’ mission to “train these students both artistically and politically.” He believes that projects like the Girod Street mural are a great way “to encourage self-confidence and self-efficacy,” while beautifying the city at the same time.
While the process is important, the final product has another purpose that goes beyond mere beautification. Whenever there is a big event at the Superdome, “so basically every night,” as Hecht puts it, there is a lot of foot traffic on Girod Street. On their way to a Saints game, Taylor Swift, or, eventually, the Super Bowl, all of these visitors now see portraits of historical figures they may not have known before.
The mural not only allows young artists to shape public space, but it also gives them the opportunity to honor influential New Orleanian artists who have significantly impacted the community. “It highlights figures that you wouldn’t normally see represented,” says Miya Scaggs, media arts instructor at the Summer Session. Sister Gertrude Morgan and John Scott were both Black artists who lived in New Orleans. Morgan’s paintings and music reflected her Christian faith and missionary work. Scott, born and raised in New Orleans’ 9th Ward, made sculptures, paintings, and prints inspired by Caribbean, African-American, and Creole influences.
While many people may have heard of Sister Gertrude Morgan and John Scott, most of them are not familiar with what they did or why they are worth being honored. “When they are elevated on such a large scale, it’s like, wow, these are pillars in the community that we haven’t really exalted like this in that way,” says Scaggs. According to her colleague, André Pellebon, the mural’s goal is to create an image that is not only pretty but also conveys a carefully researched message. He wants passersby to have a close look, read the quotes, interpret the stylistic choices, and think about the reason why the mural is there. Pellebon has a clear idea of the message the mural brings across: “It’s Black, you know? It’s Black. That’s all I gotta say. It’s creative. It’s us.”
And while some people simply enjoy the mural’s vibrant colors, others seem to deeply understand and connect with Pellebon’s message. Sara Langville came to see Taylor Swift from Atlanta, Georgia, with her twelve-year-old daughter. She is very interested in New Orleans’ culture, especially street art and cuisine. “The mural is a neat way to preserve the city’s history. I feel like the city really cares about supporting the arts and its history.”
Just like Langville, Katie Scott from Missouri appreciates “cities with a vibrant street art culture.” Pointing at the mural, she says, “This one shows cultural appreciation. Where you are in the country is represented in the murals that are there.” This is something she finds very valuable.
Hecht, from GNO, Inc., also believes it is important to show tourists what New Orleans is about beyond Mardi Gras and hurricanes. “People think about New Orleans the way people think about Munich and Oktoberfest… It’s not entirely untrue, but it’s a narrow conception, a bit of a stereotype.” He hopes that the murals reinforce the city’s cultural richness and tell a deeper story. “This is a unique city in America for sure, and basically an unusual city in the world. You’re not going to find a place that has this type of cultural, racial history anywhere,” he says. “We call ourselves a Gumbo.”
By supporting the creation of the Girod Street mural with state funds, GNO, Inc. sends an important message. As Swiftie Langville from Atlanta puts it, there is a commitment to preserving the city’s culture and giving Black New Orleanians a public space to express themselves and be represented.
Not everyone is represented
Only three blocks away, however, state police sent an entirely different message before the Taylor Swift concerts. Two days before the first show, Troop NOLA, a specialized unit of the Louisiana State Police, displaced more than 70 unhoused people from their encampment under the Pontchartrain Expressway and moved them to a different location under the U.S. 90 overpass. NOPD was not involved in the operation. This sweep, mandated by Governor Landry, indicates that the state has no interest in celebrating everyone who makes up the “gumbo” of the city. The tens of thousands of tourists coming for Taylor Swift were not supposed to see the New Orleanians who live on the streets.
Chris Beary is the founder of Grace at the Green Light, a non-profit organization that supports unhoused people by providing basic needs like food, clothes, and medical care. As a lifelong New Orleans resident, Beary generally supports the beautification of the city. “Whether it’s for the Super Bowl or for Taylor Swift or for any other reason, it is necessary and well received. It gives everyone at every level, from living on the street to being the wealthiest person in town, a sense of pride and respect for our city.“ He is also convinced that closing down encampments is necessary to achieve this goal and that “there are better options for homeless people.” However, Beary criticizes how Troop NOLA proceeded. The lack of adequate notice and the supposed disposal of unhoused individuals’ personal property especially conflict with his idea of appropriate relocation. “I think we should do it in a more humane way,” he says.
Tee, who often gets breakfast at Grace at the Green Light, was personally affected by the displacement. While he is happy to talk about his experience, he prefers not to share his full name. He was notified of the operation the night before, but this did not give him enough time to prepare. “There’s only so much you can wear and carry,” he says and explains how he had to leave many of his clothes and other belongings behind. When he came back, all of it was gone. Tee’s new location provides less shelter from the rain than his previous spot and lacks basic facilities like trash cans. “If they really need to move us, they could at least move us somewhere inside,” he says.
Another guest at the Grace at the Green Light breakfast, who would also like to remain anonymous, agrees with Tee. She was not there when Troop NOLA came, and when she returned to the encampment, she could not find her tent anywhere. “They put my tent in the garbage, so I had to buy a new one.” This poses a significant financial challenge and temporarily leaves her without any shelter at all. Martha Kegel, executive director of UNITY of Greater New Orleans, a non-profit organization focused on sheltering unhoused people, calls the operation “needless and harmful.”
Two days after the sweep, an Orleans Parish Court judge issued a temporary restraining order against state agencies, forbidding them to “destroy or dispose of the property of unhoused people without judicial process.” However, this temporary halt was not renewed by Civil Court Judge Ethel Julien on November 12. Judge Julien’s decision sets the tone for the coming months leading up to the Super Bowl, paving the way for similar sweeps in the future. In fact, less than two weeks after the ruling, Troop NOLA continued to forcibly relocate unhoused individuals in the downtown area, according to The New Orleans Advocate.
The sweeps fit into the Landry administration’s overarching approach to homelessness. According to New Orleans City Councilmember Lesli Harris, state officials have been calling for “containment strategies,” which do not address the problem’s root causes or provide sustainable solutions. In a statement on social media, Harris, who advocates for the rights of unhoused people, says that the sweep undermines the city’s housing efforts. According to Harris, it leads to a loss of trust in outreach workers and makes it hard to locate clients who are going through the process of being housed. The city administration places an emphasis on housing initiatives, often in cooperation with organizations like Grace at the Green Light. Beary calls this “a very conscious approach” to addressing homelessness. Through interviews, counseling, and adequate notice of seven days, more than two hundred people have been housed in the past year.
Although people living on the sidewalk are not what the state government wants tourists to see, no one can deny that homelessness is a part of New Orleans. According to a recent report by UNITY of Greater New Orleans, more than 1,400 New Orleanians are without permanent housing, and at least 480 people sleep on the streets. These numbers have risen by 20 percent in the last two years.
Recent research shows that policies criminalizing and containing unhoused individuals are neither a cost-efficient nor an effective tool to address homelessness. Concealing the problem when tourists come into town is not a solution, as Harris says in her statement. The state’s efforts to remove unhoused individuals from the cityscape raise questions about its commitment to the empowerment and representation of Black New Orleanians. How can these values be reconciled with an operation that sweeps the struggle of the predominantly Black unhoused population under the rug?
Letting local youth create murals with motifs they care about is a powerful way to beautify New Orleans. In theory, there is nothing wrong with closing down encampments and providing real alternatives, such as permanent housing. Still, as long as relocating people involves discarding their personal belongings and forcing them to move to inadequate locations, these two projects do not seem to fit together. As Beary points out, every human deserves to be treated with “respect and understanding.” Unless Landry’s officials start to act upon these values, operations like encampment sweeps will continue to overshadow commendable state-funded projects.
Written as part of the Alternative Journalism course at Tulane University with the guidance of Cheree Franco.