Rachel Held

NOCCA Foundation

The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts Foundation (the NOCCA Foundation) is the nonprofit community support and advocacy organization for the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), Louisiana's arts conservatory for high school students.  NOCCA is a world-class educational institution that has been changing the lives of young people since 1973. Every year, this professional arts training center provides intensive instruction in Classical Music, Creative Writing, Culinary Arts, Dance, Drama, Jazz, Media Arts, Musical Theatre, Theatre Design, Vocal Music, Visual Arts, and academics to students from public, private, and parochial schools across Louisiana.  The NOCCA Foundation provides supplemental funding for NOCCA students and advocacy for NOCCA's world-class program. With the support of corporations, foundations, and individuals across Louisiana and the globe, the Foundation has helped turn NOCCA into a flagship arts training facility. Some of the Foundation's more notable endeavors include: a comprehensive Financial Aid program for NOCCA students; a year-round Artists-in-Residence Program; capital campaigns for NOCCA's current home and expansion projects like Press Street Gardens; concert, gallery, literary, and educational series for the general public; and oversight of venue rentals on campus by individuals, arts organizations, DMCs, and others.