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Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.
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The Backstreet Cultural Museum officially opened its doors in 1999. However, its origins can be traced back three decades to when Sylvester Francis paraded with the Gentlemen of Leisure Social Aid & Pleasure Club. A man photographing the parade wanted Francis to pay $35.00 for his own photograph. Become a Member Located in Treme, the oldest African-American neighborhood in the United States, is the Backstreet Cultural Museum where visitors find an amazing assortment of memorabilia indigenous to Mardi Gras, jazz funerals and other traditions found only in New Orleans. The Backstreet Museum, once the home of the Blandin Funeral Home, houses the city’s largest collection of Mardi Gras In 1988, Francis began displaying his photographs and Mardi Gras Indian memorabilia in his two-car garage in the “back streets” of the historic Tremé neighborhood. When Chief Victor Harris of the Mandingo Warriors “Spirit of Fi Yi Yi” Mardi Gras Indians and social aid and pleasure club members heard about the display, they donated The Backstreet Cultural Museum is proud to host an extensive collection of Mardi Gras Indian regalia, including suits of Big Chiefs, Queens, Flag Boys, Wild Men, and more. The Mardi Gras Indians are one of New Orleans’ greatest cultural treasures. Every year, the tribes take to the streets, bringing generations of history right along with them. Was amazing to get such a close up view of the incredible Mardi Gras Indian costumes, and to read firsthand about the people and organizations who keep the special culture of New Orleans alive. I especially loved chatting with the museum staff, who shared great stories and gave us a few tips on where else to check out in the neighborhood. The museum contains many priceless artifacts of African-American culture in New Orleans, including elaborate, brightly colored suits worn by Mardi Gras Indians in previous years, and rare photos of Mardi Gras Indian "gangs" from the 1940s. The museum is also a clearing house for information about Mardi Gras Indian and second-line events and The museum displays several Mardi Gras Indian suits, offering visitors a chance to see their beadwork up close. There are a variety of other objects, too, like sashes from social aid and pleasure clubs and programs from jazz funerals. The collection also includes walls of photographs and an extensive video library of street processions. Treme & Mardi Gras Indian Cultural Tours are live interactions with true New Orleanians and their rich culture! This tour gives you the past and present view of the oldest African American neighborhood in the United States, Treme. You will experience historic sites and architecture as you encounter the tradition of the Mardi Gras Indians. The Backstreet Cultural Museum is home to costumes, artifacts, memorabilia, photographs, films, and other materials important to New Orleans’ African American cultural traditions. These living folklife traditions include Mardi Gras Indians, Skull and Bone gangs, Baby Dolls, jazz funerals, social aid & pleasure clubs, and more. A pillar in the historic Faubourg Tremé neighborhood, the Located in Treme, the oldest African-American neighborhood in the United States, the Backstreet Cultural Museum stands as a testament to the vibrant and diverse cultural heritage of New Orleans. This hidden gem showcases the art, traditions, and history of the Mardi Gras Indians, jazz funerals, and social aid and pleasure clubs, offering Wild Treme Mardi Gras Indians | Colorful Indian Suits This is a cultural site dedicated to educating the public and preserving the tradition of The Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans, Louisiana. All images and likenesses of Big Chief Andrew Justin and The Wild Treme are our sole property of the tribe. The Backstreet Cultural Museum inaugurates its Mardi Gras Indian Sewing Program in 2010. The program will provide opportunities for youth to learn the history and art of Mardi Gras Indians from elders who uphold the tradition. Since 1999, the Backstreet Museum had been the repository of Mardi Gras Indian suits, Social Aid and Pleasure Club regalia, Skull and Bones accoutrement and Baby Doll memorabilia, plus photos Mardi Gras Indian suits are seen in the home of Big Chief Victor Harris, the Spirit of Fi-Yi-Yi, in New Orleans on Tuesday, January 23, 2024. (Staff photo by Brett Duke, The Times-Picayune) Mannequins that are used to display Mardi Gras Indian suits are surrounded by growing old on the wall of the Backstreet Cultural Museum on Henriette Delille Street in New Orleans, Friday, Sept. 17 Visiting Tremé’s Backstreet Cultural Museum and Ronald Lewis’ House of Dance & Feathers, you begin to piece together the murky history of Mardi Gras Indian culture. Its origins date back to 1725, when the first African slaves escaped into the bayou with help from the Choctaw and other tribes. Find Backstreet Cultural Museum, Tremé-Lafitte, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, ratings, photos, prices, expert advice, traveler reviews and tips, and more information from Condé Nast Treme & Mardi Gras Indian Cultural Tours are live interactions with true New Orleanians and their rich culture! This tour gives you the past and present view of the oldest African American neighborhood in the United States, Treme. You will experience historic sites and architecture as you encounter the tradition of the Mardi Gras Indians. You can also experience Mardi Gras for yourself by playing dress-up for fun and the selfies in the museum’s vast costume closet. Mardi Gras Museum at Arnaud’s 813 Bienville Street. This small museum dedicated to the Carnival is located inside the sprawling grande dame of elevated Creole dining, Arnaud’s. The restaurant was founded in 1910 Mardi Gras Indian suits grab the spotlight with dazzling flair – and finely crafted detail – in this informative museum examining the distinctive elements of African American culture in New Orleans.
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Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.
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