FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW ORLEANS – June 5, 2023
On Saturday, June 10, 2023, Ogden Museum of Southern Art will host the annual Magnolia Ball, celebrating the museum’s current exhibition, Knowing Who We Are: A 20th Anniversary Exhibition, showcasing the development of visual arts in the South from the 19th century to the present. This year’s Magnolia Ball chairmen are Carlos Carmona & David Pine, Horton Humble, Kristina Larson and Claire Elizabeth Thriffiley.
Featuring after-hours access to the museum’s galleries, live entertainment from the city’s top musicians and DJs, complimentary dishes and desserts from some of your favorite local restaurants, full open bars and a silent auction featuring over 100 Southern artists and businesses. The silent auction is on view at Ogden Museum through Sunday, June 11 and open to all for bidding in support of the Museum and the artists and vendors who receive a portion of the final sales. Magnolia Ball has become a highly anticipated annual social event that helps support the Museum’s educational mission and award-winning educational programming.
Entertainment for the evening includes Vegas Cola Band, Kumasi Afrobeat Orchestra, Free Therapy by Cubs the Poet, LeTrainiump, C’est Funk, Delores Galore, Phlegm, live painting by Kara Crowley, The Glitter Buffet Experience with Elektra Cosmetics, Krewe de Fleurs, Photobooth from Moon Over NOLA, Trixie Minx Productions and digital art projections by Breanna Thompson and Krewe of Vaporwave.
Silent Auction Artists Include: Alia Ali, David Armentor, Carrie Beene, Rachael Berg, Muffin Bernstein, Farah Billah, Jessica Bizer, Natalie Blanton, Sesthasak Boonchai, Jerry Cabrera, Abbey Caruso, Kate Clark, Lyla Clayre, Aaron Collier, Anita Cooke, Moira Crone, Cubs the Poet, Bessie Antin Daschbach, Karen deClouet, William Dunlap, Ida Floreak, Ryan Gianelloni, Ansley Givhan, Anne Guillot, Kimberly Ha, Josh Hailey, Joey Hartmann-Dow, Jaelyn “Yaya” Hill, Sarah House, Kathy Hughes, Casey Langteau Johnson, Meghan Johnson, Maisha Joshua, Christina Juran, Mia Kaplan, Grace Kelly, Molly Kimball, Sasha Kopfler, Emily Lovejoy, Ann Dinwiddie Madden, Richard McCabe, David McCarty, David McPherson, Juliet Meeks, Carmen Menza, Cora Nimtz, Jennifer Odem, Mary Jane Parker, Chris Pate, Fabian Perez, Jacob Reptile, Glynnis Ritchie, Kathy Rodriguez, Natasha Sanchez, Laura Scariano, Cynthia Scott, Jennifer Shaw, Nathalie Simon, Nellrea Simpson, Mary Singleton, Alex M. Sorapuru, Maddie Stratton, Ryan Strok, Breanna Thompson, José Torres-Tama, Jonathan Traviesa, Carlie Trosclair, Paige Valente, John Isiah Walton, Irvin Washington, Katie Dumestre Yaquinto, Katie D. Yaquinto, Sean Yseult and Daniella Zalcman.
Silent Auction Vendors Include: Art & Eyes, Bellingrath Wealth Management, Boomtown Casino & Hotel, Brandi Couvillion, Chez Clay Ceramic Studio, City Park Conservancy, Cocktail & Sons, Coutelier, Dancing Grounds, Diamonds Direct, Dirty Coast, Ficus Ceramica, Flower Power NOLA, Home Malone, JAMNOLA, Kendra Scott, Kyra Hodes, Lauren Rouatt Ceramics, Loft18, Magnolia Studios, Magnolia Yoga Studio, Mark Derby/Derby Pottery & Tile, Martin Lill – Hands in Clay, Martin Wine Cellar, MIMOSA Handcrafted, Museum Store Package, New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute, New Orleans Opera, New Orleans Steamboat Company, No Era Design, No Rules Fashion, NOLA Couture, NOLA Yoga Loft, Oxalis Apothecary, Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans, Romney Studios, Small Change Finery, Smoke Perfume, Southern Art Sauce Co., Štúdium, Suzanne and Angelique Juneau, Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans, Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza, The Red M Studio, The Sazerac House, Trashy Diva and Wicks NOLA Candle Company.
Magnolia Ball is sponsored by The Helis Foundation, St. Charles Avenue and The Times-Picayune/NOLA.com. Benefactors for the event are Manolito, Charles D. Urstadt & David Bernard and Michael Wilkinson.
Tickets are available at ogdenmuseum.org/magnoliaball and silent auction items can be viewed online at bidpal.net/magnoliaball.
About Knowing Who We Are: A 20th Anniversary Exhibition
Knowing Who We Are tells the ever-changing story of the South through the evolving permanent collection of Ogden Museum of Southern Art. This exhibition examines the development of visual arts in the American South from the 19th century to the present. In doing so, it shifts focus from antiquated stereotypes of region, period, style and subject to address a contemporary understanding of varied histories reflecting broader inclusivity and representation. The multi-floor installation explores the contributions of artists who were transformative yet largely unrecognized – all in consideration of the indomitable presence of place, often an all-consuming and monolithic lens through which art produced in the South is perceived.
Ogden Museum opened to the public in the newly completed Goldring Hall in 2003, with a founding donation by Roger Houston Ogden of over six hundred works. Since then, the Museum has continued to collect – embracing the growing acknowledgement of the importance of Southern Art and expanding to over four thousand works of art that empower the Museum to look toward the next decade. For over 20 years, Ogden Museum has established its pioneering role in shaping our narrative while celebrating the diversity, complexity and vibrancy of the region – in physical and cultural spaces.
Drawing inspiration from Ralph Ellison who said, “knowing where we are has a lot to do with our knowing who we are,” this exhibition provides a portrait of place that challenges conventional notions of Southern identity. With a geographic region spanning from Baltimore to Miami to El Paso, Knowing Who We Are celebrates the true diversity of the region – its histories, cultures and proximate traditions – offering a view of Southern identity that is more fully representative of its people. This exhibition traces how artists in the American South – with every developing art movement – responded with a characteristic blend of tradition and innovation, while vigorously and authentically questioning the complicated and often tragic history, in both perception and reality, of the region.
Knowing Who We Are: A 20th Anniversary Exhibition is made possible by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
About the Ogden Museum of Southern Art
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. Among its recent exhibitions are Piercing the Inner Wall: The Art of Dusti Bongé (2019), New Southern Photography (2018-2019), The Whole Drum Will Sound: Women in Southern Abstraction (2018), and Solidary & Solitary: The Joyner/Giuffrida Collection, presented by The Helis Foundation (2017-2018), and Spell, Time, Practice, American, Body: The Work of RaMell Ross (2021 – 2022).
The Ogden Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. with extended hours on the third Thursday of every month from 6 – 8 p.m. for Ogden After Hours. Admission is free to museum members and $13.50 for adults, $11 for seniors 65 and older, $6.75 for children ages 5-17 and free for children under 5.
The Museum is located at 925 Camp Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130. For more information visit ogdenmuseum.org or call 504.539.9650.