New Orleans Museum to Re-Open with a Tribute to the Arts

Contact:
Annie Schroeder
Public Relations Officer
504.606.4712

New Orleans, La. -- Six months after devastating Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Museum of Art will re-open its doors on March 3, 2006 with a grand tribute to the arts called “The HeART of New Orleans.”

The festivities begin with a ribbon cutting and press conference at 10:00 AM on Friday, and continue through Sunday, with an ArtMart featuring over 60 local artists. The weekend spotlights all aspects of art including the visual, performing, literary and culinary arts. The 3-day weekend is FREE TO THE PUBLIC and will be packed with music and dance performances, demonstrations, lectures and family activities.

The Museum re-opens with it’s newest exhibition, Seen in Solitude: Robert Kipniss Prints from the James F. White Collection. Kipniss describes his work as, “an endless range of feelings and thoughts evoked by the basic act of seeing, usually in isolation, and with a haunting intensity.”

Also being shown for the first time at NOMA is Inside the Congo: An Introduction to Field Research Archives of Frere Joseph Cornst. This collection of photographs and field notebooks offers extraordinary evidence of one mans earnest attempt to document the beauty and complexity of several African cultures.

The pristine and beloved Besthoff Sculpture Garden, adjacent to the Museum, opened on December 10^th to the eager public who once again can relax, walk the meandering footpaths and for a while, forget their Katrina worries. The Garden, just two years old and home to fifty-three sculptures, was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina’s wind and Hurricane Rita’s water. However, only one sculpture, Virlane Tower by Kenneth Snelson, had significant damage. This work of art has been moved to Seattle for repair and is the only sculpture not on view.

For the time being, the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Besthoff Sculpture Garden will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM. For more information on exhibitions, events, schedules, membership and how to contribute to NOMA’s Katrina Relief Fund log onto www.noma.org.