NEW ORLEANS – The City of New Orleans announced no new Artist A permits will be issued in 2015 to sell art on Jackson Square. City code sets the maximum number of Artist A permits at 200 that are renewable each January. Since all 200 Artist A permits have been renewed, there are no remaining Artist A permits available to new applicants. The deadline to renew an Artist A permit was Monday, Feb. 2.
City code requires artists who sell art on or in the vicinity of Jackson Square to obtain an Occupational License and Mayoralty Permit from the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Revenue. Eligible permits are either Artist A permits to sell art on and in the vicinity of Jackson Square or Artist B permits to sell art only in the vicinity of Jackson Square. While a maximum of 200 Artist A permits may be issued, there is no limit for Artist B permits.
Once the deadline to renew Artist A permits had passed, the City had planned to utilize a new, more efficient lottery system to decide which qualified applicants would receive the remaining Artist A permits. Because all 200 existing Artist A permits have been renewed, additional Artist A permits cannot be issued.
Artist B permits are processed throughout the year. Any person wanting to apply for an Artist B permit for the first time must submit an Artist B application in person at the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Revenue located in City Hall at 1300 Perdido St., Room 1W15, New Orleans, LA 70112. Applications must be on file for at least 30 days before they can be processed. All artist permits are up for renewal each January.
