Shrine for the Haunted Tune 2026

An Assemblage Workshop in Honor of Ghostly Ditty-makers

in New Orleans, Louisiana.

New Orleans, Louisiana
May 6-13, 2026

Let’s create an honorarium to music—a visual song to celebrate the instruments that once gave joy to our ears. This is no ordinary tribute, though. This is New Orleans, where even silence carries a rhythm, and every faded note lingers in the shadows just a little longer than it should.

Over the years, I’ve collected a curious mix of discarded instruments—trumpets that no longer toot, violins with stories carved into their cracked backs, piano keys stained by time. Their melodies may have faded, but their presence remains. In fact, I’d argue that some instruments never really go quiet. Especially here.

In this workshop, we’ll take broken musical relics and retune them—not to play, but to speak. Using the art of assemblage, you’ll transform battered banjos, lonely oboes, trumpet bits, and violin husks into sculptural shrines. Think altar meets jukebox. Think music you can see… and maybe feel.

After all, in this city, ghost stories and music dance toe to toe:

• On Lover’s Bridge, they say a violinist died waiting for a love that never returned. Now his bow whispers in the wind, and shadowy lovers are seen embracing by moonlight.

   

• At the Hotel Monteleone, a phantom pianist still plays after the Bayou Bar has closed, often summoning a tuxedoed man and two silent women who vanish down the hallway.

   

• And at the Andrew Jackson Hotel, a tour photo once captured two glowing orbs hovering over a figure that looked suspiciously like a violinist mid-performance.

Coincidence? Maybe. But in New Orleans, music never dies—it just changes key.

Extra Credit: If your creation manages to make even the faintest sound, you’ll earn four gold stars, a smiley face, and possibly a round of applause from this world and the next. Not required—but the spirits are known to appreciate a good comeback tune.

New Orleans, the birthplace of Jazz, the best place to eat in the United States, and the very epicenter of celebration is calling you to her sleepless streets. Hotel St. Marie, where we’ll be staying in the French Quarter, is a mere four blocks from Jackson Square and a block and a half from Preservation Hall. You’ll step out of the hotel directly into the heart of New Orlean’s thriving Arts scene, the streets alive with music. You’ll be surrounded by world-class restaurants and four blocks from the mighty Mississippi River. When we’re not in the workshop, we’ll tour the Bywater district and visit the StudioBe Art Collective and Dr. Bob’s Studio. We’ll tour JamNola, an interactive art experience, in their new location on Frenchman St., and do a ghost tour of the French Quarter. We’ll finish the tour on a boat in the mysterious swamps of New Orleans, followed by a delicious seafood boil in the park. Costumes and impromptu parades have been known to happen. Prepare to create, explore, and celebrate!

Wednesday, May 6
Arrival Day: Everyone will be arriving at different times so there is nothing specific scheduled today.

Thursday, May 7
We’ll spend today in the Bywater area of New Orleans visiting StudioBe Art Collective and Dr. Bob’s Studio.
After a delicious BBQ lunch we’ll do a junk shop crawl.
In the evening we’ll gather for a welcome reception at the gallery of circus banner artist, Molly McGuire.

Friday, May 8
Workshop Day with Michael. Spend the day art making in the studio.
Costume up for our evening Ghost Tour and After-party.

Saturday, May 9
Workshop Day
After the workshop we’ll head to the super cool interactive art experience that is JAMNOLA in their new Frenchman St. location.
In the evening we’ll enjoy some live Jazz on Frenchman St.

Sunday, May 10
Workshop Day
Free Night with optional group activities like a cemetery tour or Voodoo museum.

Monday, May 11
Final Workshop Day–Critique
Free night

Tuesday, May 12
We’ll spend our last day together on a Jean Lafitte Swamp Tour and then enjoy an all out Louisianna seafood boil meal.

Wednesday, May 13
Departure Day – Head home filled with the high energy only New Orleans can conjure.

• Itinerary is subject to change

• Airfare is not included.  When searching for airfares the New Orleans code is MSY.

• Included: Workshop, hotel for 7 nights, guided tours, welcoming reception, and seafood boil.

• Alcoholic beverages are not included.

Price

Single                    $3,995
Shared Double  $3,300
(price if sharing room with another person taking the workshop)
Tag along             $2,495
(Someone sharing a room with a Single-paying workshop taker but not taking the workshop. Price includes everything except the workshop.)

Deposit
$750 non-refundable deposit to secure your spot
Remaining balance due March 1, 2026

Cancellation Policy
$750 deposit will be forfeited for cancellation.
No refunds (unless we are able to fill your space) after March 1, 2026.
If the workshop is canceled you will receive a full refund.

Hotel Information
Hotel St. Marie
827 Toulouse St
New Orleans, LA 70112
http://www.hotelstmarie.com/

Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is strongly recommended.  Check out Rick Steves for recommendations and advice on types of coverage.
www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/trip-planning/travel-insurance

To Enroll
Click here to register!

Complete and submit the form to reserve your spot. Mija will then contact you regarding payment options. If you have any questions email Mija at mija.matriz@gmail.com

MICHAEL DEMENG

Michael is an assemblage artist from Vancouver, Canada who exhibits and teaches throughout the world.  He has written three books exploring his methods, Secrets of Rusty Things, Dusty Diablos, and the Art Abandonment Project, published by NorthLight Books.

In his art, he addresses issues of transformation. Discarded materials find new and unexpected uses in his work; they are reassembled and conjoined with unlikely components, a form of rebirth from the ashes into new life and new meaning.  Often using myths and legends as source material, Michael use his assemblages as metaphors for the evolutions and revolutions of existence: from life to death to rebirth.  These forms are examinations of the world in perpetual flux, where meaning and function are ever-changing.

JON LABROUSSE and MIJA MATRIZ

Creativity flourishes with good company. And DEEP ENERGY.

Mija and Jon are creators and connectors. We are passionate about our potential for human expression and collaboration. We have a vision for a more connected world, a more celebratory world, a world that delights in the challenges and rewards of cooperation.  A world we ALL want to live and participate in.

We’re both artists, ourselves. Mija is a mixed media visual artist. Jon is a poet and musician. And we have a gift for holding space for artistic exploratoin and development.

We’re striving to build an International Art Collective that honors every creative who is willing to bet on themselves, who feels moved to thrive in community.

Our tours offer a perfect balance of creative time, and exploration time. You’ll grow and learn, as an artist. We all will. Your Creative Community can expand with us.