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Sharon Litwin Obituary

1941 - 2016
Sharon Litwin, Tireless Advocate for the Arts and New Orleans Culture
Sharon Litwin, a personable and unfailing advocate for New Orleans culture and community, died on June 24 of pancreatic cancer. She was 75.
At the time of her death, Ms. Litwin was president of NolaVie, an online cultural news magazine she co-founded in 2011, and chairman of the board of Partnership for Action, an organization she created to advocate for local quality-of-life issues. Her substantial career began as a producer at WYES-TV, where she garnered Press Club and CPB/ PBS awards for such documentaries as "Free Men of Color" and "Gospel," as well as "Opportunity: A Program for Women," a series designed for women re-entering the job market.
Ms. Litwin next worked as a reporter for The States-Item and, later, The Times-Picayune. In an interview, she said she covered everything from garage sales to schizophrenia, although her main interests were culture and women's issues. She then served for a decade as Assistant Director for Development at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), leading a $23 million capital campaign that yielded three new wings and upgrading of the museum's original historic building. During her time at NOMA, she conceived and marketed two major exhibitions, featuring Monet's late paintings from Giverny and Degas in New Orleans, that generated international coverage and record-breaking attendance. Ms. Litwin also spent 12 years with the Louisiana Philharmonic Symphony, where she was the Executive Director and then the Senior Vice President for External Affairs. Her tireless work brought back the musician-owned orchestra after Hurricane Katrina, partially through grants she obtained from the Mellon and Knight foundations.
As co-editor for 30 years of the Zagat New Orleans Survey, Ms. Litwin was one of the first regional editors hired by Tim Zagat, and a contributing writer for newspapers and magazines nationwide.
A civic leader, Ms. Litwin was a co-founder and past president of the Contemporary Arts Center and the Committee of 21, a group of professional women; past president of the Mental Health Association of Metropolitan New Orleans; and a past board member of the Arts Council of New Orleans. She was a co-founder of Cultural Communication, the first community-organized cultural cable channel in the U.S.; the Crescent City Farmer's Market; and the ECOnomics Institute, devoted to sustainable small farmer agriculture.
Ms. Litwin created NolaVie in the wake of changing priorities in legacy journalism, believing that many unique, quirky stories about New Orleans life and people would be lost in the upheaval. The site has generated more than 3,000 stories by more than 300 writers, and has created content partnerships with local institutions, universities and various arts and community organizations. Ms. Litwin continued during her illness to cover her community, through interviews for WWNO public radio and her "Culture Watch" column at NolaVie.com. She requested that donations be made to NolaVie in her memory.
A public Memorial Service will be held in New Orleans at 1 p.m. August 21 at the Pavilion of the Two Sisters in City Park.

Published by New York Times from Jul. 23 to Jul. 24, 2016.
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2 Entries

May the God of all comfort give you the strength and ability to endure the difficult days and weeks ahead. Jesus comforting words at John 17:3 gives us hope in knowing that we can see our love ones again.

bvd

July 25, 2016

I am sorry to hear about the loss of your loved one.
May the love and compassion of God, be with the family and friends, during and after these difficult times.

July 24, 2016

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