FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Miriam Taylor
Ogden Museum of Southern Art
504-539-9604
mtaylor@ogdenmuseum.org

 

THE OGDEN MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN ART ANNOUNCES
LOUISIANA CONTEMPORARY PRESENTED BY THE HELIS FOUNDATION
Opening Reception August 5, 2017 during Whitney White Linen Night

 

NEW ORLEANS - July 18, 2017

 

The Ogden Museum of Southern Art is pleased to present its sixth annual Louisiana
Contemporary Presented by The Helis Foundation.

 

Established in 2012, this statewide, juried exhibition promotes contemporary art practices in the
state of Louisiana, provides exhibition space for the exposition of living artist's work, and
engages a contemporary audience that recognizes the vibrant visual culture of Louisiana and
the role of New Orleans as a rising, international art center. The 2017 juror is Shantrelle P.
Lewis, a native of New Orleans and former director of the McKenna Museum, Lewis is a 2014
United Nations Programme for People of African Descent Fellow and 2012-13 Andy Warhol
Curatorial Fellow.
In 2017, 84 artists were chosen from 280 applicants. All artists currently live and work in
Louisiana.

Accepted artists for this year's Louisiana Contemporary Presented by The Helis Foundation
include 2016's Best of Show winner, Luis Cruz Azaceta, as well as the following artists: Sarah
Amacker, David Armentor, Luis Cruz Azaceta, Brian Barbieri, Peter Barnitz, Aron Belka, Thom
Bennett, Michele Blevins, Lily Brooks, Andrea Brown, Laurie Alan Browne, C+J, Eliseo Casiano,
Tim Cavnar, Aaron Collier, Anita Cooke, Dean Dablow, Michelle Dashev, Thomas Deaton,
Chance DeVille, Amy Diaz, Kristen Downing, Michael Eble, James Flynn, David Gamble,
Mitchell Gaudet, Maja Georgiou, Spencer Gregory, L. Kasimu Harris, James Henderson, Ana
Hernandez, Miro Hoffman, Stephan Hoffpauir, Peter Horjus, Stephen Hoskins, Debra Howell,
Rob Hudak, Susan Ireland, Rush Jagoe, Kristina Knipe, Therese Knowles, D. Lammie-Hanson,
Craig LeBlanc, Logan Ledford, Robyn LeRoy-Evans, Charles Lovell, Jonathan Mayers, Rebecca
McGirney, Katie McMullin, Kristin Meyers, Ti-Rock Moore, Sarah Nelson, Dale Newkirk, Jessica
Normington, Karen Ocker, Chris Pavlik, Trent Pechon, Carol Peebles, Jason Prather, Marina
Reed, Devin Reynolds, Jacqueline Roche, Herb Roe, Natasha Sanchez, Robert Santopadre,
Rhenda Saporito, Ryan Sartin, Christopher Saucedo, Grant Schexnider, Vitus Shell, Joseph
Shores, Julie Silvers, Abigail Smithson, Barry Sons, Brian St Cyr, Jessica Strahan, Andrew
Stubbs, Melissa Taylor, Oliver Thelin, Jose Torres-Tama, Miguel Viteri, Vincente Weber, J.
Caroline Youngblood, and Luba Zygarewicz.

Members of the museum and accepted artists will enjoy a private opening reception on August
4, 2017. A free opening reception for the public will be held during Whitney White Linen Night on
August 5, 2017 from 5:30 to 9:30; DJ G-Cue will provide entertainment and specialty drinks will
be available for purchase at bars throughout the museum. Louisiana Contemporary Presented
by The Helis Foundation on view at the Ogden Museum through October 15, 2017.

About the Louisiana Contemporary Juror, Shantrelle P. Lewis:
Shantrelle P. Lewis served as co-curator for the 2016 Brighton Photo Biennial (UK) and
independently curated exhibitions for the Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago);
Lowe Art Museum (Miami); Museum of Contemporary Diasporan Arts (Brooklyn); Museum of
the African Diaspora (San Francisco); and Silver Eye Center for Photography and Film
(Pittsburgh).

Her career in arts administration began at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, and
she later served as Director and Curator for the McKenna Museum (New Orleans) and the
Director of Exhibitions and Public Programming at the Caribbean Cultural Center African
Diaspora Institute (New York).

Lewis' work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, BBC, New
York Magazine, The Art Newspaper, Art Net and Huffingtonpost.
Since 2011, Lewis has been immersed in researching ties between the Dutch Caribbean and
the African Diaspora at-large. Currently, she is directing and producing, The Black Dutchman, a
documentary about the Dutch blackface tradition Zwarte Piet and Black identity in the
Netherlands for which she received a 2015 Kindle Project Award. An excerpt of the film was
included in ReSignifications exhibition curated by Awam Amkpa in Florence, Italy in
collaboration with Black Portraiture[s]. Lewis was recently named co-curator of the 2017
international Read My World Festival (Amsterdam). Forthcoming is her first title, Dandy Lion:
The Black Dandy and Street Style, to be published by Aperture this spring.

About the Ogden Museum:
Located in the vibrant Warehouse Arts District of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana, the Ogden
Museum of Southern Art holds the largest collection of Southern art and is recognized for its
original exhibitions, public events, and educational programs which examine the development of
visual art alongside Southern traditions of music, literature, and culinary heritage to provide a
comprehensive story of the South. Established in 1999 and in Stephen Goldring Hall since
2003, the Museum welcomes almost 80,000 visitors annually, and attracts diverse audiences through its broad range of programming including exhibitions, lectures, film screenings, and concerts which are all part of its mission to broaden the knowledge, understanding,interpretation, and appreciation of the visual arts and culture of the American South.

The Ogden Museum is open daily from 10AM-5PM with extended hours on Thursdays from 6-
8PM for Ogden After Hours. Admission is free to Museum Members and $13.50 for adults, $11
for seniors 65 and older, $7.25 for children ages 5-17 and free for children under 5.
The Ogden Museum is free to Louisiana Residents on Thursdays from 10AM-5PM courtesy of
The Helis Foundation. The Helis Foundation is a Louisiana private foundation, established by
the William Helis Family. The Art Funds of the Helis Foundation advance access to the arts for
the community through contributions that sustain operations for, provide free admission to,
acquire works of art, and underwrite major exhibitions and projects of institutions within the
Greater New Orleans area.

The Museum is closed Martin Luther King Day, Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras, Thanksgiving Day,
Christmas Day and New Years Day.

The Museum is located at 925 Camp Street, New Orleans Louisiana 70130. For more
information visit ogdenmuseum.org or call 504.539.9650.