Japan has a long and colorful history of dining communally outside, with a culture of intricately painted boxes specifically made for the enjoyment of food in the fresh air with friends and family.

In a way, solo art exhibits are always self-portraits. At least they ought to be. Whatever the medium or subject matter of the artwork, it should somehow represent the essence of the artist.

Black history is American history. And no playwright captures that history better than August Wilson, best known for his “Century Cycle,” a 10-play collection that depicts each decade of the 2…

In this series, Lagniappe presents a different work each week from the collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art, with commentary from a curator.