Before we get into our programming for the month, JGI New Orleans would like to pay homage to two jazz titans: the 100th birthday of the late and great Miles Davis, and Walter Theodore “Sonny” Rollins who passed away on May 25, one day before Miles Davis’ birthday. For more on Sonny Rollins, please check out this wonderful book by the JGI Program Director Aidan Levy: Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins.
We are excited to celebrate Juneteenth this month, a celebration that started in JGI New Orleans Creative Director Denise Frazier’s home state of Texas and has grown to become a national holiday, reminding us of the value of freedom for all people of African descent. Juneteenth honors the day, June 19, 1865, that news arrived to Texas that people of African descent were finally freed from enslavement. We hope that you all take the time to celebrate Juneteenth.
Improvisation is about being in the moment, not thinking ahead. It’s about opening your heart and soul and letting the music flow through you.
Performances and Workshops
JGI New Orleans has had the privilege to work with multimedia artist Amy Bryan for a series of workshops this winter, spring, and now, summer!
Amy Bryan is an artist working in watercolor, drawing, and photography. She has taught art in a variety of educational and cultural settings and now focuses on studio practice, workshops, and institutional collaborations.
Her work draws from long-term interests in human presence, birds, and natural forms, combining careful observation with attention to structure and pattern.
Her summer series is called Pattern, Memory, and Identity, and participants will explore the work of Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett and Frida Kahlo through collage, printmaking, portraiture, and the meaning behind different patterns, like kente cloth.
Bryan employs a relaxed, inclusive, and engaging teaching style. No prior art experience is necessary. Please join us for the dates below:
June Bamboula Residents
We are excited to welcome our June 2026 short-term residents to The New Quorum. They are neurologists, anthropologists, historians, Grammy-nominated artists, and environmentalists: Cory Diane Ashby, Dr. Christophe Jackson, Dr. Josh Kun, and Leyla McCalla. Please see our residents upcoming events below!
Upcoming events hosted and co-hosted by JGI New Orleans
All events are free and open to the public. Suggested donations of $10-20 per event are welcome and encouraged for those with the means. No one turned away for lack of funds. Admission and seating is only guaranteed with advance RSVP online. First-come, first-served until each event reaches capacity.
Saturday, June 6, 2026, 10 am-12 pm | Historic St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Gaudet Hall, 1222 N. Dorgenois Street
Romare Bearden: Collage, Music, and Community, an art workshop led by Amy Bryan. Participants will explore the vibrant collage work of Romare Bearden and create layered mixed-media artworks inspired by memory, storytelling, music, and community life. Using painted papers, patterned materials, and collage techniques, participants will experiment with composition, texture, and visual rhythm. RSVP here.
Please bring a canned food item for the church’s pantry.
Thursday, June 11, 2026, 6-7:30 pm | Historic St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
The Music of Here and There: Migrations in and out of 19th Century New Orleans. Dr. Josh Kun will host a musical conversation with Grammy-nominated artist Leyla McCalla and Grammy award-winning artist Louis Michot featuring stories of Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Edmund Dédé, and the 8th Cavalry Mexican Military Band. RSVP here.
Monday, June 15, 2026, 6-7:30 pm | Historic St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
Nueva Orleans: Latin American in New Orleans History and Culture. Dr. Josh Kun will bring together Rachel Ornelas, Oscar Rossingoli, and Dr. Yuri Herrera to discuss Latin American histories in New Orleans, with an emphasis on contemporary legacies of Mexico and Honduras, with conversation, readings, and live performance. RSVP here.
Thursday, June 18, 2026, 7-9 pm | The New Quorum, 2435 Esplanade Street
Science of Song, the Arts of Medicine: A Salon featuring Dr. Christophe Jackson and the 2026 JGI New Orleans Jazz Cohort. This event is by invitation only.
Saturday, June 20, 2026, 10 am-12 pm | Historic St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Gaudet Hall, 1222 N. Dorgenois Street
Kente Cloth: Pattern, Symbol, and Meaning, a workshop led by Amy Bryan.
This workshop introduces participants to the rich visual tradition of Kente cloth and the symbolic meanings behind color and pattern. Participants will create pattern-based artworks inspired by weaving traditions while exploring rhythm, repetition, and visual storytelling. RSVP here.
Please bring a canned food item for the church’s pantry.
Tuesday, June 30, 2026, 6-7:30 pm | Historic St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sanctuary, 1222 N. Dorgenois Street
Gravitational Wave Astronomy and Ecological Listening with Cory Diane
Cory Diane will host an environmental listening session and works-in-progress concert, where they will share new pieces created during their two-week residency. Connecting gravitational wave astronomy and deep ecological listening, Diane will share their experiments with a new geophone, recording low-frequency vibrations throughout Bulbancha. This concert will be a window into their process—a moment for meditation on place, space, and time, on grief and joy, with saxophone, piano, zither, voice, and breath. RSVP here.
Please bring a canned food item for the church’s pantry.
Stay tuned for more great events in July!