Every day when the lunch bell rings, I leave Grace King. No, I’m not skipping. I’m dual enrolled at New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA) as a level III visual arts student. NOCCA is Louisiana’s arts conservatory for high school students. It offers intensive classes in dance, media arts, music (classical, jazz, vocal), theatre arts (drama, musical theatre, theatre design), visual arts and creative writing. All students must pass an audition to be admitted.
To me, NOCCA doesn’t feel like high school. We are allowed to have cell phones, and there aren’t any uniforms, yearbooks, dances or sports teams. The campus is spotless, modern and located in the eclectic Marigny neighborhood right next to the French Quarter. NOCCA is always buzzing with activity, from musical theatre students singing in the halls, to media arts students filming or construction on the new culinary arts building.
I owe much of my growth as an artist to the teachers at NOCCA. I am pushed to work thematically, conceptually and given a lot of freedom when it comes to subject matter. NOCCA has exposed me to a broad range of mediums I wouldn’t experience in a normal high school art program, such as bronze casting or developing medium format film.
This past summer, through scholarships from NOCCA, I was able to attend the pre-college program at the Maryland Institute College of Art. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I lived in a dorm for a month, went to museums in New York City and Washington D.C., painted nude models and pulled a few all-nighters working on paintings. By the end, I didn’t want to leave.
If you’re a junior or younger and serious about an arts discipline, you should apply. NOCCA is tuition free and transportation is available. The deadline is March 5, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask me, or check out NOCCA.com.