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. January is a great time to visit a museum. Check out the highlighted exhibits below and search our calendar to find even more art in New Orleans.

“Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined” 

This major solo exhibition of work by Wangechi Mutu brings together nearly one hundred sculptures, paintings, collages, drawings, and films to present the breadth of the Kenyan American artist’s multidisciplinary practice from the mid-1990s to today. Catch it on view at the New Orleans Museum of Art from January 31 - July 14, 2024.

“CURRENTS 2023: A New Orleans Photo Alliance Member Showcase”  

“CURRENTS” is an annual exhibition at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art that highlights the diverse photographic work being created by New Orleans Photo Alliance members. The showcase is designed to give an overview of contemporary photographic practices and projects. “CURRENTS 2023: NOPA Members Showcase” is curated by Jacob Moscovitch, photo editor at The New York Times, and features 19 photographers. See it on view from December 15, 2023 - January 28, 2024.

“Gestures of Refusal: Black Photography and Visual Culture”  

New at the Contemporary Arts Center and in partnership with SEEING BLACK, “Gestures of Refusal: Black Photography and Visual Culture” is an exercise in the unconventional and the splendid—bringing attention to the ways that contemporary photographers wield the visual power of the camera to discern, behold, celebrate, and document people, places, events, collective memories, encounters, and other ever-present moments of Blackness that refuse erasure. Curated by Shana M. Griffin, Gestures of Refusal will feature five immersive installations and over 180 photographs and objects covering a spectrum of narrative styles, compositions, techniques, and approaches, showcasing the photographs of nearly one hundred contemporary Black photographers with ties to New Orleans from the 1950s to the present. The exhibit opens on January 6, 2024.

“A Mystic Brotherhood: Fraternal Orders of New Orleans”  

The Historic New Orleans Collection’s latest exhibit, “A Mystic Brotherhood: Fraternal Orders of New Orleans,” explores the sometimes-hidden history of fraternal organizations and how they helped shape today’s city. Visitors will meet many familiar names from New Orleans history as they survey the narrative, including William C. C. Claiborne, Oscar J. Dunn, and Homer Plessy—all lodge members—as well as learn about the many landmarks across the cityscape in which the history happened. See the exhibit from December 8, 2023 - May 10, 2024.