This Locally Owned Louisiana Art Supply Store Turns A Former Church Into An Artist’s Playground
An art store inside an old church is unusual enough.
Putting the custom frame shop where the baptismal pool once sat takes the story somewhere much stranger.
The renovation kept uncovering surprises. Workers peeled away old stucco and found a terra cotta screen hiding behind it.
Once exposed, daylight could reach a wall of stained glass again. I love when a building starts revealing secrets nobody planned for.
Meanwhile, the sanctuary picked up a completely new vocabulary. Paint. Pigments. Charcoal. Canvas by the yard. Wooden arches still curve overhead while art supplies fill the space below.
This Louisiana shop did more than move into an old church. It gave the building a second act, and some of the most interesting details are still hiding above the shelves.
An Old Church Found A Brand-New Calling
Few shops can claim a past as layered as Mo’s Art Supply & Framing in New Orleans. The building originally served as the Chinese Presbyterian Church of New Orleans, a congregation established in 1882.
The sanctuary was completed in 1963, combining midcentury modern architecture with traditional Chinese design elements.
The congregation remained here until 1997. Later, the property housed other congregations, including Zion Christian Faith Church and Life Church.
Mo’s Art Supply pursued the property in 2018, beginning its transformation into a creative retail space. By 2019, the converted sanctuary was welcoming artists and hosting demonstrations.
The business itself began in 2003 and has grown into a locally owned operation serving artists across Louisiana.
What makes the New Orleans location special is how carefully the architecture and retail experience come together.
Shelves of paints, brushes, and drawing materials fill the former sanctuary, while original architectural features remain visible overhead.
The building’s spacious interior accommodates professional art supplies alongside gifts, framing services, and materials for beginners.
Its transformation also preserves an important connection to the city’s Chinese American history. Where a congregation once gathered, artists now browse materials and exchange creative ideas.
Look Up, Because The Ceiling Deserves Your Attention
Stained glass, wooden arches, and a vaulted ceiling survived the transition from church to art store. The most remarkable architectural detail, however, waits near the front of the building.
During renovation, workers removed stucco and uncovered an original terra cotta screen.
The screen stands before a large stained-glass wall, allowing filtered daylight to enter the former sanctuary. There’s even more history behind that design.
Architect Edward M.Y. Tsoi, a Chinese immigrant who established an architectural practice in New Orleans, designed the sanctuary. He combined elements of traditional Chinese architecture with American midcentury modernism.
A distinctive moon gate forms part of the entrance design. Its cast-iron pattern incorporates a Chinese character associated with longevity. Blue and red stained glass adds color behind the exterior screen.
Inside, the original choir loft has found another use as a staff break area, retaining an architectural feature from the church’s earlier years. The high ceiling gives the art supplies an unusually spacious setting.
Natural light, curved structural details, and colorful materials create a striking combination, especially when the afternoon sun reaches the stained glass.
The Former Baptismal Pool Has A New Purpose
A custom framing workshop where the baptismal pool once stood might be the most unexpected detail inside Mo’s Art Supply.
The New Orleans framing department officially opened in November 2020, giving the former church another practical use.
Today, the store offers custom framing for artwork, photographs, drawings, and other pieces that deserve careful presentation.
Options include traditional and contemporary frame mouldings, matting, and different types of glass.
Archival materials are used to help preserve finished pieces, with acid-free framing among the department’s established practices.
A delicate drawing might suit a simple wooden frame, while a larger painting can be displayed with a more substantial design.
Matting offers another opportunity to bring attention to a work’s colors, texture, or composition.
The framing department serves artists preparing pieces for their homes, exhibitions, or personal collections.
It also provides a convenient next step for anyone who has completed a project using materials purchased elsewhere in the store.
The former baptismal area now helps people prepare finished artwork for display, giving another part of the church an entirely different purpose.
Painters Should Clear Their Schedule For This Aisle
Oils, acrylics, watercolors, and painting mediums fill an important part of the store. Painters working in different styles can explore professional supplies without relying entirely on online shopping.
Golden acrylic paints and mediums have been among the featured product lines.
The store has also hosted demonstrations involving Holbein paints, Daniel Smith watercolors, and R&F oil paint sticks. Those product demonstrations introduce different textures, techniques, and ways of applying color.
Muralists and street artists have additional choices. The New Orleans store has carried the full Montana Gold and Montana Black spray-paint ranges.
Artists working on canvas can find stretched surfaces, painting panels, and canvas sold by the yard.
Large rolls are useful for anyone preparing custom-sized paintings or decorative projects. Brushes, palette tools, easels, and mediums help complete the equipment selection.
The variety also supports mixed-media projects, where paint might be combined with paper, ink, or other materials.
For Louisiana artists creating large-scale decorations, the business has previously supplied wide canvas, metallic finishes, colored paper, and specialized coatings.
Sketchers And Paper Lovers, This Corner Is Yours
Paper people tend to be particular, and for good reason. The surface beneath a pencil or brush can change how a finished drawing looks.
Mo’s Art Supply carries drawing papers, sketchbooks, graphite pencils, charcoal, pastels, and specialty pens.
Traditional graphite pencils provide different levels of softness, allowing everything from delicate outlines to deep shading.
Charcoal offers another approach, particularly for expressive figure studies and larger drawings. Colored pencils, markers, and ink supplies introduce additional possibilities for illustration and design.
The business has previously featured Sakura pens, Rembrandt pastels, and professional fountain pens among its art materials.
Watercolor artists can explore different papers and compact painting supplies for working away from a studio.
Specialty papers have also been part of the selection, including hand-marbled Italian sheets used in decorative projects and bookmaking.
Someone creating handmade books, cards, or mixed-media artwork can find inspiration beyond ordinary notebooks.
And with stained glass filtering daylight into the former sanctuary, there’s already an interesting subject nearby for anyone carrying a sketchbook.
Gift Shopping Gets Delightfully Weird Here
Not everything inside this converted church is intended for painting on canvas.
Mo’s Art Supply also carries design-focused gifts for homes, studios, and creative people.
The selection extends beyond conventional drawing tools, offering unusual stationery, decorative items, and practical accessories.
Handmade papers and attractive notebooks make useful gifts for anyone who enjoys writing, sketching, or collecting stationery.
Specialty pens offer another option, particularly for people who appreciate traditional writing instruments. Art materials can become gifts too.
A small watercolor set paired with suitable paper introduces someone to painting without requiring a complete studio. Children can explore colorful pencils, markers, crayons, and other beginner-friendly supplies.
The business has previously offered creative kits designed for different ages, combining several materials for individual projects. Those combinations make it easier to give someone the opportunity to try a new activity.
The store’s broader emphasis on design means everyday objects can share shelf space with more specialized artistic tools.
Inventory changes as new products arrive, giving shoppers different items to explore throughout the year.
A Shop That Shows Up For Local Artists
Mo’s Art Supply began with a mission extending beyond selling paint and brushes.
The business emphasizes local access to professional materials, practical artistic knowledge, and connections among creative people.
Its community involvement includes partnerships and donations supporting arts education and cultural organizations throughout Louisiana.
Among the organizations it has supported are NOCCA, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, KID smART, and the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts.
The business also sponsored Top Mob: A History of New Orleans Graffiti, an exhibition at the Ogden Museum. Demonstrations provide another way of connecting artists with materials.
In November 2019, the New Orleans location hosted a day of painting, printmaking, marbling, and bookmaking demonstrations.
A later event in March 2024 introduced R&F oil paint sticks and their possibilities for different painting techniques.
Such gatherings allow artists to explore unfamiliar supplies and learn about their applications. Creative work also appears on the building itself.
A colorful mural completed in 2021 contributes to the store’s visual identity and complements the architecture of the former church.
Save A Weekday For Your First Visit
Sundays are off the table, so plan ahead. Mo’s Art Supply NOLA is closed that day.
The store opens Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., providing six days each week for browsing and shopping.
You’ll find it at 2525 Bienville St in New Orleans, one block from North Broad Street in Mid-City.
The former church is recognizable through its architectural features, particularly the terra cotta screen and stained glass near the entrance.
Inside, professional paints, drawing supplies, papers, canvases, and design-oriented gifts occupy the converted sanctuary. Custom framing is available at this location, with choices suited to different styles of artwork.
The store also has other branches in Covington and Baton Rouge, each with its own selection and setting.
Anyone visiting specifically for a particular specialty material can confirm its availability before traveling.
Art students may also ask about student purchasing benefits, which the business has offered through previous programs.
For visitors exploring Louisiana’s creative businesses, the New Orleans location provides an unusual combination of retail shopping and architectural history.
