The Presbytère
Mardi Gras craft and Hurricane Katrina testimony share a landmark beside Jackson Square; building work can interrupt access, so confirm reopening before visiting.
Artwork inspired by Caroline Durieux
“Mardi Gras: It’s Carnival Time in Louisiana” explains more than floats and costumes. It introduces krewes, neighborhood traditions, Black Masking Indians, rural Courir de Mardi Gras, balls, satire, labor, and the enormous year-round craft behind a short public season. Look for distinctions among traditions rather than treating every mask, bead, and procession as one festival.
“Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond” uses oral histories, damaged objects, media, and engineering explanation to examine storm surge, levee and floodwall failures, evacuation, displacement, government response, and recovery. The emotional change between floors is intentional and substantial. Leave time to listen rather than photographing artifacts quickly, and expect the exhibition to raise questions about whose neighborhoods received protection, attention, and resources.
- Current status
- Temporarily closed for building work
- Permanent stories
- Carnival + hurricanes
- Before traveling
- Confirm reopening with the museum
Quick guide
- Right now
- Do not plan entry during the published closure
- After reopening
- Separate Carnival traditions; hear Katrina testimony
Make the visit count
- Map the makers
- Identify who designs, sews, beads, welds, paints, and performs behind each Carnival form.
- Distinguish traditions
- Follow do not collapse krewe parades, Black Masking Indians, and rural courir into interchangeable Mardi Gras imagery.
- Follow the water
- Use maps and engineering displays to understand why flood depth and failure differed by neighborhood.
- Pause after testimony
- Choose build quiet time into the visit; personal accounts and recovered objects can be emotionally demanding for The Presbytère Louisiana State Museum hours and holiday closures apply.
Good to know
The Presbytère can close independently from other Louisiana State Museum properties. Confirm its own operating status and ticket availability rather than inferring access from Maps, another museum, or an old price.
Notice these
- Temporarily closed
- Mardi Gras cultural history
- Hurricane Katrina testimony