As both a musician and photographer, Zack Smith believes that the world gets smaller as we celebrate our similarities and connect through our traditions and stories. Smith’s mostly large-format film photographs have the ability to bring subject and viewer closer together, and his custom environments foster intimacy. His photographs are on view at the New Orleans Jazz Museum in the exhibition Exit Stage Right: Zack Smith’s Festival Portraits, on view through the spring of 2022. 

These portraits include the late ChazFest in the Ninth Ward, HIP Fest, Festivals Acadiens et Créoles, the Ponderosa Stomp, and the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience, where he worked with Preservation Hall. The photographs show musicians, music fans, backstage workers and assorted hangers-on in quiet moments amid the frenzy of a festival.

“I’ve been seeing Zack Smith in many contexts for a couple decades,” said David Kunian, curator at the Jazz Museum. “These photographs show a mix of respect and irreverence. They show the people and musicians of a past festival world that has faded, but also the vibrancy of festivals today as they hint at the shape of future gatherings.”

In wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Orleans Jazz Museum’s mission transformed into providing support to local musicians and culture bearers comprising the city’s vibrant artistic community. “Zack Smith has been documenting the scene for more than twenty years,” says the New Orleans Jazz Museum Director Greg Lambousy. “As we look towards the future, it is important to appreciate the people and places that make New Orleans unique. Zack’s photographs capture the feeling of freedom that many of us have come to miss and hope to reclaim.”

The opening of the exhibit coincided with Sound Collage, an annual event celebrating the intersection of visual art and music through a mixture of musical performances, illuminated installations, digital sculptures and dance. 

“We are excited to see the city of New Orleans recovering and beginning to thrive,” said Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser. “Preserving and documenting the city’s culture is vital to its survival. We are proud to see the New Orleans Jazz Museum working to educate a new generation of musicians about the city’s rich artistic legacy.”

The New Orleans Jazz Museum is located at 400 Esplanade Avenue. The New Orleans Jazz Museum celebrates jazz in the city of its birth. Through dynamic interactive exhibits, multigenerational educational programming, research facilities, and engaging musical performances, the music New Orleans made famous is explored in all its forms. Partnerships with local, national, and international educational institutions enable the New Orleans Jazz Museum to promote a global understanding of jazz as one of the most innovative, historically pivotal musical art forms in world history.

In wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jazz Museum has provided much-needed relief to local musicians through its Balcony Concerts—a free weekly series bringing New Orleans music to both live and virtual audiences. Visit www.nolajazzmuseum.org for more information.