Last Updated: Friday, August 11, 2023 9:54 AM by Lauren Saizan
With so much to do in New Orleans, many forget that the city’s art scene is just as vibrant as the food and music. August is a special month for art lovers, with Museum Month offering access to dozens of museums for the price of one membership. Check out the highlighted exhibits below and search our calendar to find even more art in New Orleans.
Purchase one membership and get access to all participating museums for the month of August. Museum Month 2023 includes The Historic New Orleans Collection, Backstreet Cultural Museum, JAMNOLA, BK Historic House & Gardens, and more. Find the details for museum month here and enjoy staying cool this summer in NOLA.
Art & A/C from The Helis Foundation is back. Every Saturday during the month of August, Louisiana residents receive free admission to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans Museum of Art, and the Contemporary Arts Center. Beat the heat while checking out some new exhibits this month.
“Louisiana Contemporary,” presented by The Helis Foundation, is the Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s annual juried exhibition featuring work by contemporary artists from across the state. This year’s guest juror, Aleesa Pitchamarn Alexander, the Robert M. and Ruth L. Halperin Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford, has selected 45 works by 31 artists from a total of 790 submissions. Louisiana Contemporary will be on view at the O from August 5, 2023, through February 18, 2024.
On view during the 160th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, “Emancipation: The Unfinished Project of Liberation” visualizes what freedom looks like for Black Americans today and the legacy of the Civil War in 2023 and beyond. Highlighting the perspectives of contemporary Black artists, Emancipation features commissioned and recent works by Sadie Barnette, Alfred Conteh, Maya Freelon, Hugh Hayden, Letitia Huckaby, Jeffrey Meris, and Sable Elyse Smith. The seven installations span sculpture, photography, and paper and textile fabrications. The exhibit is on view at the Newcomb Art Museum from August 17 – December 8, 2023. Opening reception is September 7 from 6-8 p.m.
“Who lit the fire?” is the Contemporary Art Center's 10th Annual Gulf South Open Call, curated by Anita N. Bateman, Ph.D. The exhibition explores the liberatory ethos and productive frictions that undergird emergent strategies and shift our understanding of dissolution, revolution, and resolution against varied forms of supremacy. It opens on August 5 and run through October 8, 2023.
Lauren Saizan is a New Orleans native raised in the Gentilly neighborhood. In addition to being the editorial and online content manager for New Orleans & Company, she is also a member of Mélange Dance Company. Lauren has performed professionally in many venues across the city, including the Sydney & Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, the New Orleans Museum of Art, Longue Vue House & Gardens, and Marigny Opera House. When not writing or dancing, she can be spotted sipping the Blue Eyes tea at French Truck, attending a concert downtown, or visiting a local library.
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