Nous – The New Orleans Foundation for Francophone Cultures – is a nonprofit supporting the revitalization of Louisiana's heritage cultures, focusing on Cadien (Cajun), Creole, and Indigenous communities.

WHAT WE DO

• Welcome visitors to our gallery space, where we present our original exhibitions.

• Produce films, publish books, and record albums through our independent label, Nous.

• Administer a fund to offer scholarships, grants, and professional programs for the communities we serve.

VISION

• Create Louisiana’s first museum specifically dedicated to French and Creole — with a contemporary lens.

• Create a sustainable source of funding for the communities we serve as a way to invite them to embrace their own culture.

• Reinforce New Orleans’s cultural offering for both domestic and international visitors (20 million a year in the French Quarter alone) and offer additional services in French.

OUR ORGANIZATION

Nous Foundation, Inc. (dba ‘The New Orleans Foundation for Francophone Cultures’) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in the State of Louisiana. Our headquarters are in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans (602 Toulouse St).

As a nonprofit, we are administered by a Board of Directors (10 members), representing the communities we serve. Our team, based at 602 Toulouse St, manages our day-to-day operations.

We receive our funding from public and private institutions and patrons. All donations we receive are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Learn more about ways you can support us.

HISTORY

Scott Tilton and Rudy Bazenet cofounded Nous in 2020 after they successfully launched and spearheaded the initiative that saw Louisiana join the International Organization of the Francophonie in 2018. Scott and Rudy wanted to create a contemporary hub for Louisiana’s heritage cultures — and they drew their inspiration from the cultural centers they saw in Paris.

In five years, Nous has emerged as a leading cultural organization in Louisiana. We have so far curated one original exhibition a year, including Haiti-Louisiana (2024), which went on to be presented at the United Nations in NYC, and Musique(s) (2025), curated with the support of the Library of Congress. We have also produced six short films, which got us invited to the Cannes Film Festival in 2024. We are also pleased to have directly reinvested $750,000 back into our community, through our programs with prestigious institutions such as Fulbright, and our estimated economic impact amounts to $2 million.

In 2025, we established a collaboration with the Historic New Orleans Collection to form part of their broader French Quarter campus. Le meilleur reste à venir.

PARTNERS

• Locally, we work closely with museums (Historic New Orleans Collection, Historic BK House & Gardens), universities (Tulane, Loyola, Xavier, Dillard), immersion schools, and French-language schools (Union française). 

• Nationally, we are fortunate to have established relationships with prestigious research organizations, such as the Library of Congress, Fulbright, and universities (including Harvard, NYU, and UVA).

• Internationally, we have collaborated with the French, Canadian, and Swiss governments, along with the International Organization of the Francophonie and the United Nations.