UNO Ogden Museum of Southern Art Hosts Second Annual "Louisiana Contemporary"
For the second year running, the University of New Orleans' Ogden Museum of Southern Art celebrates Louisiana artists with "Louisiana Contemporary," a statewide juried exhibition now calling for submissions.
The elite show presented by Regions Bank will open on Whitney White Linen Night, Saturday, Aug. 3 and will remain on view at the Ogden through Sept. 22. Fast approaching its 10th anniversary, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, located at 922 Camp St., boasts the largest collection of Southern art in the world.
"Artists in Louisiana are a special breed. Whether they are born here or not, these artists have worked in a place that is both difficult and easy," said Louisiana artist Robert Tannen. "An ongoing annual exhibition for living artists in Louisiana at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art is the appropriate means to celebrate the work."
Designed to develop appreciation of the "vibrant visual culture of Louisiana and the role of New Orleans as a rising, international art center, Louisiana Contemporary promotes contemporary art practices in Louisiana and provides a space to show living artists' work, said Sue Strachan, spokeswoman for the Ogden.
This year's exhibition juror is Franklin Sirmans, curator of contemporary art and the Terri and Michael Smooke Department Head at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
Sirmans previously served as a curator of modern and contemporary art at The Menil Collection in Houston and curatorial advisor at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, an affiliate of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Notable exhibitions he organized include Face Off: A Selection of Old Masters and Others at The Menil Collection and Basquiat, which originated at the Brooklyn Museum and traveled to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Sirmans is also the artistic director of Prospect.3 New Orleans.
"His outstanding accomplishments at The Menil Collection, Dia Foundation, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art and his role as artistic director of Prospect.3 New Orleans gives him a comprehensive view of the literal 'state of the arts' in Louisiana that will be a great asset in the jury process," said Ogden Museum of Southern Art Director William Andrews.
The Southern state "has been the home to a number of world renowned artists such as William Woodward, Clementine Hunter, Enrique Alferez, Elemore Morgan Jr., Lynda Benglis, and Caroline Durieux, to name just a few," said Ogden Museum Board Chair Robert Hinckley highlighting Louisiana's long history of nurturing artistic creativity. "Louisiana Contemporary shares the state's best and brightest talents to a larger audience."
Last year's exhibition, which included work by University of New Orleans students and alumni, "set the table for what will soon be recognized as the premier annual venue for Louisiana's outstanding artists to exhibit their work, attracting art lovers from all over the country," said
Scott Howard, Regions Bank city president, who called the range and quality of work presented last year "extraordinary."
Any artist living in Louisiana is eligible to enter artwork for entry to "Louisiana Contemporary," and all media are eligible. A nonrefundable $35 fee is required, and artists may submit up to three entries; $10 for each additional entry in excess of three. Up to $3,000 in awards will be presented to participating artists, including a $1,000 Best of Show cash award.
