This illustration critiques how the Essence Festival of Culture has shifted from a community-rooted celebration to a curated, commercial spectacle—marked by corporate messaging, exclusionary policies like the “Clean Zone,” and branding that sidelines local voices and the spirit of New Orleans. (Illustration by Gus Bennett for The Lens. Inspired by community critique and cultural resistance).
When Essence Communications rebranded its flagship event as the Essence Festival of Culture, it may have seemed like a harmless update. But in a city like New Orleans, where culture is lived—not marketed—that change said more than they likely intended. It marked a shift—away from something rooted and spiritual, toward something packaged, curated, and increasingly […]
