Free concert at Newcomb Art Museum celebrates ‘Per(Sister)’

On Friday, March 22, at 6 p.m., six New Orleans musicians will take the stage in Freeman Auditorium to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime concert: Per(Sister) in Song. Lynn Drury, Sarah Quintana, Queen Koldmadina, Spirit McIntyre, Margie Perez and Keith Porteous each created a musical response inspired by the experiences of formerly incarcerated women featured in Newcomb Art Museum’s current exhibition Per(Sister): Incarcerated Women of Louisiana. The musicians will perform their songs for the first time in public at this free show.

The experiences of incarcerated women are often unknown, overlooked, dismissed or misunderstood. Per(Sister) in Song is an invitation to the community to dive deeper into the stories behind the music and celebrate the incredible resilience displayed in the community featured. From rock to hip-hop, blues to jazz, and folk to pop, the concert is a small sample of the unique sounds of Louisiana and the intimate stories of the women incarcerated by the state. The performance  – like the exhibition – is intended to not only share the personal experiences of the women who inspired the songs but shine a light on the myriad issues facing formerly and currently incarcerated women. Designed to echo the path of the galleries at the museum, the concert will outline the timeline of incarceration from root causes of incarceration all the way through to challenges and opportunities of reentry.

Intended to engage, inspire and challenge the audience, the concert is an immersive experience that not only celebrates the power of storytelling but also celebrates the women in the stories and their persistence in their drive for the integral survival of their mind, body and soul.

The concert is free and open to the public. The Newcomb Art Museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday so that guests can explore the exhibition that inspired the concert before and after the performance.