Dear Moviegoers,

Local film programmer Rene Broussard will be adding to his film exhibition routine sometime soon - should fundraising plans work out.

According to a new post on his web site's homepage, his movie house Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge will manage scheduling and programming for a community event space that’ll sit next to the theatre.

This St. Claude Art Market, as listed by its developers The Meraux Foundation, will be made up of a “two-block stretch of vacant and underused properties along St. Claude Avenue,” and will feature “studios, galleries, artist residencies, and a theatre.”

“The Meraux Foundation has assembled the properties as a public interest project to accelerate the growth of the Old Arabi Cultural District. These properties are being leased to St. Claude Arts, which will operate the properties and sublease spaces to artists of all types to populate the campus.”

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The foundation references Arnaudville, LA’s arts and culture collectives, in the face of the Great Recession, as an example of how to revitalize struggling areas and neighborhoods with creative placemaking.

For Rene Broussard, this represents not just another avenue to grow Zeitgeist - our eccentric art-house alternative cinema - but to stretch his programming muscles some more. And while the construction works to completion, Zeitgeist has begun “fundraising to buy a large outdoor projection screen, stage lighting, and a new sound system,” making this a second/side venue for Rene, and an upgraded return to outdoor presentations, which he undertook just when theaters were allowed to slowly reopen during the COVID pandemic.

It’s not clear how much money will be needed for the space, but Zeitgeist membership programs and donation efforts are open and ready for collecting support.

Zeitgeist just celebrated its 35th year in operation this past November.

Sincerely Yours in Moviegoing,