GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT

By purposefully engaging contemporary artists to explore the concept of the American South through new lenses, we endeavor to inspire a creative and meaningful response in our audiences to the idea of this imagined and observed time and place. We hope to construct a pathway to improve our shared experience in the southern United States and beyond through increased understanding of a multiplicity of viewpoints and realities. Through the empowerment of and advocacy for women and artists of color in a national dialogue defining our American identity, we strive to correct misconceptions and incongruences and galvanize the singular capacity of art to elevate our human experience. 

Through these programs and interactions, and by maintaining a full staff as we have done to produce authentic quality programming, the Museum continues its mission to broaden the knowledge, understanding, interpretation and appreciation of the visual arts and culture of the American South while continuing to reach new audiences, expand its impact and provide much needed creative outlets and connections. Now more than ever, providing quality arts education is essential. The impact that the arts have on our community cannot be overstated and Ogden Museum strives to ensure equitable, high-quality arts opportunities.

EDUCATION SUPPORT

The mission of the Education Department is to create innovative programs designed to bring art and people together in order to explore the rich and varied cultural identities of the South. 

Recognized for a broad range of educational programming, Ogden Museum Education Outreach program offers the New Orleans community a wide variety of unique arts experiences and presents award-winning arts education opportunities to the area’s underserved schools. We are proud to offer 8 key educational outreach programs: Early Childhood Curriculum, Artist & Sense of Place Residency Program, Day with an Artist, Teen Internship and Historically Black College & Universities (HBCU) Internship, Museum Tours an Activities Program, Free Family Days, Teacher Nights, Workshops and Resources and the Volunteer Docent Program. In addition to our quality educational programs for children, the Museum also conducts educational and outreach programming for adults such as art making workshops, film screenings and panel discussions. 

CURATORIAL SUPPORT

The Museum opened to the public in 1999 and moved to its current location in 2003, presenting exhibitions, establishing educational programming and launching collaborative relationships with other local and national arts and educational institutions. The Museum is based upon the founding donation of more than 600 works from New Orleans philanthropist Roger H. Ogden’s private collection. The collection Roger Ogden assembled was one of the first to focus solely on Southern art, helping to identify and define the genre. Ogden’s collection helped to revive the forgotten works of great Southern artists and preserved an important aspect of Southern culture. The Museum is now home to the largest collection of Southern Art in the world, including 600 works from the Roger Houston Ogden Collection, there are over 4,000 objects in the museum’s collection today. The mission of Ogden Museum of Southern Art is upheld through exhibiting the permanent collection, changing exhibitions, events with live music from the American Southern region, publications and educational programming.

CHARLES D. URSTADT CHAIRMAN EMERITUS ACQUISITION FUND

This acquisition fund at Ogden Museum of Southern Art is named for Charles
D. Urstadt, who served as Ogden Museum’s Chairman from January 2018 to
December 2021. In December of 2021, Urstadt was elected Chairman Emeritus
and the Board of Trustees voted to establish the Charles D. Urstadt Chairman
Emeritus Acquisition Fund, which will accept contributions to be used in collection acquisitions, to broaden the knowledge, understanding, interpretation and appreciation of the visual arts and culture of the American South.