Disclosure: This post is sponsored by The Helis Foundation.
Art & A/C presented by The Helis Foundation is Back!
New Orleans just got a little cooler this summer with the return of Art & A/C presented by The Helis Foundation. Louisiana residents are invited to beat the heat and enjoy free general admission every Saturday in August to several of New Orleans’ cultural institutions, including Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Contemporary Arts Center, and New Orleans Museum of Art courtesy of The Helis Foundation. Whether a family outing, a day with your best friends, or a simple “me day,” Louisiana residents will have the chance to experience the latest galleries, exhibitions, and programs these spaces have to offer. Be sure to grab some swag and cold treats… now that’s COOL!
Art & A/C is an extension of Art For All, also funded by The Helis Foundation, which provides Louisiana residents free general admission on select days year-round to the above-mentioned institutions in addition to New Orleans Botanical Garden and Louisiana Children’s Museum. The Helis Foundation makes the arts accessible to the Greater New Orleans community and its visitors through these and other initiatives including Unframed, the first multi-mural exhibition of large-scale artwork in Downtown New Orleans, and Poydras Corridor Sculpture Exhibition, the south’s leading public rotating sculpture exhibition with 14 sculptures from esteemed local and international artists spanning Poydras Street between Convention Center Boulevard and South Galvez.
Art & A/C kicks off on August 5 and occurs every Saturday in August.
Beat the heat this summer and take advantage of these exhibitions:
Contemporary Arts Center:
Who Lit the Fire?
On view now – October 8th, 2023
The CAC’s 10th Annual Gulf South, curated by Anita N. Bateman, Ph.D. Open August 5th through October 8th, 2023.
UNTITLED (Invisible Identities)
On view August 5th – October 8th, 2023
UNTITLED (Invisible Identities) is an exhibition and abolitionist call to action challenging institutional practices of exclusion, invisibility, and extraction within the arts. Featuring the spellbinding work of twelve visual artists employed at the Contemporary Arts Center, UNTITLED (Invisible Identities) brings attention to the ways artists working at art institutions are rarely offered opportunities to exhibit their work or expand their artistic practice.
New Orleans Museum of Art
Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour
On view now – November 26th, 2023
Take a broad look at fashion history with an emphasis on the spirit of innovation and the diversity of the United States’s fashion heritage. The exhibition spotlights over 100 American designers and brands with garments from the 19th century to present day.
On Wednesdays year-round and Saturdays in August, Louisiana residents receive free general admission to the museum, courtesy of The Helis Foundation, and on those days, tickets to this special exhibition are $10 for Louisiana residents.
Ogden Museum of Southern Art
Louisiana Contemporary presented by The Helis Foundation
August 5, 2023 – February 18, 2024
The annual, statewide juried exhibition features 45 works by 31 Louisiana artists from 790 submissions whose works were selected by guest juror Aleesa Pitchamarn Alexander, Robert M. and Ruth L. Halperin Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University. Alexander will also select the recipient of The Helis Foundation Art Prize which is an unrestricted grant supporting artistic studio practice.
Alexander states, “I am thrilled to be selected as the 2023 juror for Louisiana Contemporary, a vital program that showcases the thriving talent and cultural strength of the region’s visual arts. I look forward to supporting Southern art in a meaningful way through a platform that can aid emerging talent and beyond.”
The exhibition debuted over 10 years ago and promotes contemporary art practices in the state of Louisiana, provides exhibition space for the work of living artists, and engages an audience that recognizes the vibrant culture of Louisiana and the role of New Orleans as a rising, international art center.
Learn more about The Helis Foundation and Art & A/C HERE!
