Batiste Cultural Arts Academy Students Invited to White House to meet with First Lady Michelle Obama

NEW ORLEANS – Twenty local students from Batiste Cultural Arts Academy (BCAA) headed out this past Monday to the nation’s capital in preparation for a February 13, 2013 meeting with First Lady Michelle Obama.  These twenty students from BCAA were chosen as part of the “Turnaround Arts Commission,” a grant received from President Barack Obama’s Committee on Arts and Humanities. Students were invited to a special screening of Beasts of the Southern Wild with filmmakers, leading actress and the film’s star, Quvenzhané Wallis, and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House.

The Turnaround Arts program awards eight schools nationwide a 2-year mentorship program focused on implementing and integrating arts in education. Through the relationships built with the Turnaround Arts program, Batiste Cultural Arts Academy has had meaningful visits and partnerships with actress Alfre Woodard, the George Rodrigue Foundation for the Arts, Irvin Mayfield, and the Crayola Foundation.  This Program is anchored by Damon J. Batiste & NOSACONN AM PM New Orleans Arts In Education Initiative at ReNew Charter Management.

Additional components of the trip will be visits to the Smithsonian Institutions and other cultural and historical landmarks.  Students and chaperons are traveling by bus to Washington, D.C. for a week-long visit; returning to New Orleans on Friday evening at 10pm.

The purpose of the BCAA is to promote restore, preserve, protect and support the Arts in our schools.  The BCAA is an educational organization whose goals include becoming the flagship program and an arts hub for the District.