The City of New Orleans recently announced that it will hold a lottery for qualified artists to obtain permits necessary to sell art in Jackson Square in the French Quarter on Saturday, April 11.

City code requires artists who sell art on or around Jackson Square to obtain an Occupational License and Mayoralty Permit from the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Revenue.

The Bureau of Revenue will conduct the public lottery for new “Artist A” permits Saturday, April 11, at 10 a.m. at City Hall, 1300 Perdido St., Room 1W15. The lottery is only open to qualified applicants and must be attended in person. Candidates must enter City Hall at the Perdido Street entrance.

Those eligible to obtain a Jackson Square “Artist A” permit are qualified applicants who either have a current Pirates Alley “Artist B” permit or have an application on file for a Jackson Square Artist Permit on or before February 2.

Those who have met the qualifications and are interested in participating must apply in-person from Monday, March 30, through Thursday, April 9, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. at the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Revenue office located on the first floor of City Hall, 1300 Perdido St., Room 1W15. All applicants must present a valid photo ID. All Pirates Alley permit holders who seek to upgrade to a Jackson Square permit must also present their current “Artist B” permit.

For questions regarding the Annual Jackson Square Artist Lottery, email Todd Ecker, Revenue Agent at [email protected] or Wendell McCall, Assistant Collector of Revenue at [email protected].

For more information, contact the Bureau of Revenue Application Unit via phone at (504) 658-1630, (504) 658-1621 or (504) 658-1694, or via email at [email protected].

Reread this 2010 article about New Orleans street performers by OffBeat publisher Jan Ramsey here.