Who We Are
Who We Are
Vision and Mission
Vision
We believe in the transformative power of the arts. We aspire to create an educational community that nurtures and challenges young people to become more curious, kind, empathetic, engaged, and willing to grapple with complex problems in order to create a just, sustainable, and joyful world.
Core Values
Artistic Foundation, Professional Attitude, Gift of Critique, Ensemble, & Individual Voice
Mission
NOCCA’s mission is to provide a world-class, pre-professional arts education for every young person in Louisiana with the curiosity, creativity, talent and motivation to pursue a life in the arts as they realize the best possible versions of themselves and their futures.
NOCCA DNA Values
-
Building a strong artistic foundation means cultivating in students:
• A passion and dedication for artistry and scholarship
• A strong technical foundation
• Artistic intelligence.
These goals encompass developing effective habits of training; time management; honing skills
and concepts; developing a heightened aesthetic perception and ability to recognize beauty,
form and resonance; and an appreciation of the ability to understand and communicate human
experiences that resonate across audiences. -
Students enter on a professional path at NOCCA through committing to:
• Respect for materials, craft, one’s own talent and the talent of colleagues
• Embracing the rigors of process and high expectations
• Honest, direct, and gracious communication, especially when navigating challenges
• Integrity about the sources and production of their work.
Student motivation is reinforced continuously by the expectation that students will learn to be
professional artists during their time at NOCCA. -
As a defining practice across all arts and academics at NOCCA, critique means:
• Valuing learning and growth through feedback
• Sharing one’s artistic perspective using professional and technical vocabulary
• Offering feedback with honesty and sensitivity to help others grow
• Receiving feedback with a growth mindset
• Internalizing and applying feedback effectively -
Collaboration is at the heart of creative learning and enterprise. A commitment to ensemble
means:
• Teamwork
• Contributing to the success and growth of others
• Finding joy and inspiration in shared creative and intellectual experiences
• Respectfully engaging diverse voices
• Fostering belonging and a sense of community. -
Advancing young artists’ greatest asset means a commitment to:
• Developing practices that enhance creativity
• Nurturing and refining one’s perspectives and artistic expression
• Cultivating critical thinking skills and life-long curiosity
• A willingness to take risks
• Forming a strong sense of purpose as an artist.