As the second largest affiliate of the Young Audiences National Network, Young Audiences of Louisiana (YALA) is the oldest and largest arts integration education nonprofit in Louisiana. Managed almost entirely by artists, YALA offers wraparound arts integration education services that include: afterschool and daytime arts integration programs and residencies; arts integration professional development for teaching artists, educators and school leaders; and workshops for caregivers. All of our programs combine academics, arts and culture in order to develop students intellectually and socially.
We make art magic happen through partnerships with local museums, community centers and places like Urban South Brewery where each year we throw one of the most fabulous art events in the city. YALA Art Live.
Young Audiences of Louisiana will be holding its seventh YALA Art Live fundraiser at Urban South Brewery on Saturday, October 17 from 12-4 pm. This free community event centers around a unique type of visual performance art: live painting, a unique collaboration. Three professional visual artists are paired with three talented student artists to create large-scale works in real-time. This isn’t just about technique; it’s about providing students with a professional “entrepreneurial experience,” allowing them to see their creative passion as a viable path forward.
“YALA Art Live creates a reciprocal relationship wherein students are able to interact with our broader community through the arts, and the community becomes aware of the talent and potential that exists in our New Orleans youth,” according to Jenny James, Co-Executive Director of YALA. “We strive to help students realize the many opportunities that arts education affords them. Pairing them up with a professional artist shows them they have the tools to work with an artist of that caliber, and gives them the confidence to know that art is an option for the future, whether they want to practice professionally or as a hobby.”
Paintings created at the event will be auctioned in January 2027 at YALA’s Winter fundraiser YALA Gras to support YALA’s early learning and afterschool arts education programs. YALA’s afterschool programs currently operate at five locations across the Greater New Orleans Area.
If you think you’re seeing double, you are! For 2026 YALA Art Live will happen a second time! Read all about this past April’s YALA Art Live on our website: From Canvas to Carnival
Follow us to stay connected as we count down to this event!