New Orleans, LA — Ogden Museum of Southern Art will host a free, public opening reception for the exhibition, Louisiana Contemporary, presented by The Helis Foundation, on Saturday, August 7 from 5 to 9 p.m., in connection with Fidelity Bank White Linen Night, an annual community arts event in the Arts District of New Orleans. This event will also serve as a ten year reunion for all current and former Louisiana Contemporary artists to gather, connect and celebrate.
Featured in the 2021-22 edition of Louisiana Contemporary, curated by Hallie Ringle, the Hugh Kaul Curator of Contemporary Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art, are 51 works by 39 Louisiana-based artists.
Artists include: Diana Abouchacra, Luke Alex Atkinson, Luis Cruz Azaceta, Christine Bagneris, Mac Ball, Hagit Barkai, Wendo Brunoir, Mary Bellorin, NH DePass,Tama Distler, Michael Eble, Maryam EL-Awadi, Kate Gordon, Charles Gudaitis, Jeremiah Johnson, Israell Johnson, Chris King, Faith Laurent, Shelby Little, Christy Lorio, Andrew Buckner Lyman, Kaori Maeyama, Kristin Meyers, Jacob Mitchell, Angel Perdomo, Dorthy Ray, Kenneth Scott, Jr., Kelsey Scult, Music by Sava Wolf, Rosalie Smith, Elliot Stokes, Maddie Stratton, Brandon Surtai, Trenity Thomas, Brandt Vicknair, John and Erin Wales, Bianca Walker, Thomas Walton, Johanna Warwick and Michael Whitehead
Ogden Museum of Southern Art first launched Louisiana Contemporary, presented by The Helis Foundation in 2012, to establish a vehicle that would bring to the fore the work of artists living in Louisiana and highlight the dynamism of art practice throughout the state. Since its launch, Louisiana Contemporary has presented 780 works by 489 artists. This statewide, juried exhibition promotes the contemporary art practices in the state of Louisiana, provides an exhibition space for the exposition of living artists’ work and engages a contemporary audience that recognizes the vibrant visual arts culture of Louisiana and the role of New Orleans as a rising, international art center.
“In 2012, Ogden Museum first presented its juried survey dedicated to artists living and working in Louisiana,” explains William Pittman Andrews, Executive Director of Ogden Museum. “Since then, the world has changed dramatically, and each year we have the privilege and pleasure of seeing this community of artists respond. Ogden Museum remains committed to sharing the work of these established and emerging artists, and by engaging jurors from other major museums and art institutions, supports a growing network of recognition for the vibrant, visual culture of Louisiana with the world.”
Prior to the evening reception, this year’s juror, Hallie Ringle, Hugh Kaul Curator of Contemporary Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art, will lead a free guided tour of Louisiana Contemporary, Presented by The Helis Foundation at 2 p.m. Artists from this year’s exhibition will also be present to contribute to the dialogue and offer further insight into their work. Free admission can be redeemed on-site, and tour participants should arrive between 1:30 and 2 p.m.
Opening night attendees can expect free admission from 5 to 9 p.m., music by DJ Heelturn and a cash bar. As is tradition, guests are encouraged to attend in white linen. Louisiana Contemporary artists – both past and present – are encouraged to RSVP to exhibitions@ogdenmuseum.org to receive a special gift.
In response to the recent COVID-19 spike and the city of New Orleans’ advisory, Ogden Museum is implementing required timed ticket reservations for Fidelity Bank White Linen Night. Everyone 2 and older must wear a mask while visiting the Museum, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status. Tickets can be reserved online at www.ogdenmuseum.org.
About Ogden Museum
Located in the vibrant Warehouse Arts District of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana since 1999, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art welcomes 85,000 visitors annually to experience and learn about the artists and art movements of the American South. It is home to a collection of more than four thousand works, making it the largest and most comprehensive repository dedicated to Southern art in the nation, with particular strength in the genres of Self-Taught art, Regionalism, photography and contemporary art. The Museum is further recognized for its original exhibitions, public events and educational programs, which examine the development of visual art alongside Southern traditions of music, literature and local craft. Museum admission is free on Thursdays for Louisiana residents, courtesy of The Helis Foundation. The Museum is located at 925 Camp Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130. For more information, visit www.ogdenmuseum.org.
About The Helis Foundation
The Helis Foundation, a Louisiana private foundation established and funded by the William Helis Family, advances access to the arts and focuses on community needs primarily within the Metropolitan New Orleans area. The Helis Foundation’s Diana Helis Henry and Adrienne Helis Malvin Art Funds make grants to sustain operations, to provide free admission to, to acquire significant art works on behalf of major institutions, and site artwork in public spaces within the Metropolitan New Orleans area. The Art Funds underwrite major initiatives and special projects such as Poydras Corridor Sculpture Exhibition presented by The Helis Foundation, Louisiana Contemporary at Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and The Helis Foundation Enrique Alférez Sculpture Garden. The Foundation also launched the first large-scale mural exhibit: Unframed presented by The Helis Foundation, a project of Arts Council New Orleans, which features a collection of seven murals in Downtown New Orleans.
Past projects include: Mickalene Thomas: Femmes Noires at the Contemporary Arts Center, Melvin Edwards: Crossroads at Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Prospect.3’s Basquiat and the Bayou presented by The Helis Foundation, Solidary & Solitary: The Joyner/Giuffrida Collection presented by The Helis Foundation, and Art of the City: Post Modern to Post Katrina.