After capturing hearts at Jazz Fest 2024, New Orleans-based visual artist Margie Tillman is back for this year’s festivities with an evocative new collection that reflects personal growth, transformation, and radical vulnerability. Known for her richly symbolic works and storytelling through color and pattern, Tillman’s 2025 showcase at Jazz Fest is her most intimate and powerful yet.
“This body of work feels like a new beginning,” Tillman says. “These pieces come straight from my personal sketchbook — a place I’ve always protected. But I’m ready to share them with the world now.”
Painted in acrylic on canvas and wood panels, her new works explore the layered experiences of motherhood, the sacredness of female connection, and the wisdom carried across generations. Central to the collection are themes of the Divine Feminine, spiritual unity, and resistance to outdated notions of femininity. Her signature style — bold symmetry, intricate patterns, and interconnected forms — is now joined by emotionally charged elements like flowing, braided hair linking her subjects and deliberately exaggerated hands and feet that challenge limiting portrayals of womanhood.
“There’s a deeper level of meaning in every piece this year,” she explains. “Everything I’ve created is rooted in symbolism — in connection and strength.”
Tillman draws inspiration from beloved illustrators like Tomie dePaola and Southern visionary artist Walter Anderson, blending those influences with her lived experiences as a working artist, designer, and educator in New Orleans. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, she has worked with local legends like Gogo Jewelry and Stronghold Studios, painted Jazz Fest signage since 2010, and designed for major productions like HBO’s Treme, Disney’s Imagination Movers, and even Trader Joe’s greeting cards.
Her talents also took center stage at Super Bowl LIX earlier this year, where she played a key role in the art department — building and painting sets used by on-air commentators and halftime show broadcasters. That same blend of creativity and collaboration carries into her role as an Adjunct Professor at Tulane University’s School of Architecture and the Built Environment, where she teaches “Visual Communication for Advocacy,” helping students merge art with activism.
Back home in New Orleans, Tillman’s work continues to ripple through the community in public murals and collaborations. Her recent mural at Ayu Bakehouse on Frenchmen Street has become a local landmark.
“Working with Margie was a dream,” says the team at Ayu. “The final mural is stunning—full of warmth, soul, and intention. It feels alive. She brought it to life with such care that we were truly moved.”
From murals to classrooms, TV sets to festival tents, Margie Tillman’s work radiates joy, honesty, and the connective tissue that binds us — especially women — together. At a time when shared truth and creative expression matter more than ever, her return to Jazz Fest is not just an exhibition — it’s an offering.
Find Margie Tillman at Jazz Fest 2025
Tent K
Weekend One: April 24–27, 2025
Featuring original works and never-before-seen paintings that explore motherhood, sisterhood, and soulful storytelling.
