Graphic panels jazz up New Orleans

Take a walk on Canal Street between the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and the French Quarter in New Orleans, and instead of touring boarded-up buildings sagging from hurricane-force winds you’ll see vibrant, inspiring art. The Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA), Fairfax, Va., recruited 42 volunteer member companies and affiliates to develop 100 large-format graphic panels to temporarily enhance storefront facades.

SGIA members demonstrated both generosity and the value of large-format graphics in helping a community dress for success. One super graphic installation covered 2,420 square feet of the historic Audubon building with glowing, colorful visions of New Orleans’ past and future. “SGIA is proud of our volunteers for overcoming challenges and demonstrating the true ingenuity and potential specialty imaging can bring to an urban environment,” says SGIA president/CEO Michael Robertson. For more coverage and images of SGIA’s Canal Street Initiative, visit www.sgia.org/new_orleans/index_complete.cfm.