Now in its second week, the 2026 Jazz and Heritage Festival features numerous artist friends and clients of The Ella Project in the Contemporary Crafts, Congo Square African Marketplace, and the Louisiana Marketplace sections that will open to the public on Thursday April 30^th. Here is a preview of the work of Karen Ocker, Chester Allen, and Erica Swanson:

Erica Swanson established her Etsy store EricaLeeArtNOLA in 2015, offering a mix of paintings, pottery, and mixed glass and has sold her artwork and pottery at various local night art markets, Freret Fest, Po Boy Fest, and New Orleans Clayfest. In conversation, Swanson shares how her foundational experiences as an art vendor at the annual Christkindlmarkt at the Deutsches Haus and the Crescent City Blues BBQ Arts Market, both managed by Ella Project’s Gene Meneray, set a standard for well-organized and supportive infrastructure for artist-vendors.

This past Mardi Gras Day was especially memorable for photographer Joshua Lee Nidenberg, known professionally as Joshua Lee. It was the day he took his millionth photograph, as he says “for no apparent reason.”

Lee is a prolific photographer who specializes in the things he loves: images of New Orleans and Louisiana. His more than 20 collections of work include Carnival, Jazz Fest, architecture, food, and so much more. His website calls the images “focused on the Louisiana you remember.”