Gambit's 2020 Museum Preview

PR OM OT I ON AL C ON T E N T PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE NATIONAL WWII MUSEUM

MUSEUM 2020

PREVIEW

PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE SAZERAC HOUSE

I

n 2020 we encourage you to make a resolution to visit more museums this year. There are many shows, events and exhibits across the Gulf South region to help you easily achieve this goal. At the Lake Pontchartain Basin Maritime Museum, you currently can view the remains of a ship that sunk in 4,000 feet of water nearly 200 years ago. Starting on March 13, the New Orleans Museum of Art will exhibit 70 of the finest examples of Asian art from Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller third collection in “Buddha and Shiva, Lotus and Dragon.” And at the Museum of Trade, Finance & the Fed, you can nab a packet of shredded money while discovering the historic events and people in New Orleans that shaped the banking system.

PHOTO BY CARVEN BOURSIQUOT OF CARVEN CREATIVE MEDIA

We hope you enjoy this special promotional section that highlights the unique and interesting local institutions that store collections of art and artifacts that showcase our past, present and future.

New Orleans Museum of Art The New Orleans Museum of Art is committed to uniting, inspiring, and engaging diverse communities and cultures through the arts. World-class exhibitions, a renowned permanent collection and sculpture garden, and year-round programming allow NOMA to fulfill our mission of creating community. Visit noma.org to view our calendar of innovative exhibitions, programs and events, including seasonal family festivals, lectures, concerts, and hands-on workshops for all ages.

Here’s some of what you can look forward to in 2020: Buddha and Shiva, Lotus and Dragon: Masterworks from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection at Asia Society On view March 13 - June 7, 2020 Nearly seventy of the finest examples of Asian art in the United States, collected by John D. Rockefeller 3rd and his wife Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller between the 1940s and ‘70s, will be showcased in an exhibition on loan from the Asia Society Museum. The extraordinary range of bronzes, ceramics, and metalwork reveals great achievements in Asian art spanning more than two millennia.

New Photography On view April 17 - September 13, 2020 Elliott Jerome Brown, Jr., Esther Hovers, Dionne Lee, and Guanyu Xu are both products and critics of a new era in photography in which the ways we collect, catalog, and then use the information in photographs has shifted dramatically. Their work engages with contemporary practices of making, compiling, and presenting photographs to address issues of identity and power, while questioning those practices at the same time.

Dawn DeDeaux: The Space Between Worlds On view October 16, 2020 - January 31, 2021 Dawn DeDeaux: The Space Between Worlds is the first comprehensive museum exhibition for the pioneering multimedia artist Dawn DeDeaux. Since the 1970s, DeDeaux’s practice has spanned video, performance, photogra-

1 Collins Diboll Circle New Orleans, LA 70124

504-658-4100

P H O T O B Y C A R V E N B O U R S I Q U O T O F C A R V E N C R E AT I V E M E D I A

phy, and installation to create art that exists at the edge of the Anthropocene. Anticipating a future imperiled by the runaway population growth, breakneck industrial development, and the looming threat of climate change, DeDeaux has long worked between worlds of the present and the future.

Members make so much possible at NOMA. Starting at the Friends & Family level, members enjoy reciprocal membership benefits

www.noma.org

at hundreds of museums throughout North America. Other benefits include a discount in the NOMA Museum Shop, invitations to members-only exhibition preview receptions, member discounts on program registration and event tickets. For more information about NOMA membership, visit noma.org/ join, call 504-658-4130, or email membership@noma.org. Celebrate your love of art by joining NOMA today.”

The Sazerac House

101 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

504-910-0100

PH OTO CO U RTE SY T H E S A Z E R AC H O U S E

The Sazerac House, a spirited experience that explores the history of New Orleans through its cocktails, is located at the intersection of Canal and Magazine Street, just a few hundred yards from the original 1850 Sazerac Coffee House—the site where the Sazerac Cocktail was first introduced and the company was born. Cutting-edge, immersive exhibit technology throughout the experience allows guests to take self guided tours as they dive into the French Quarter in the 1800s, take a seat at a simulation of the original Sazerac House café tables, chat with virtual New Orleans

bartenders about their signature drink recipes based on their favorite flavor profiles and learn how to build drinks from the famous Mr. Boston guide.

Highlights of the Sazerac House are its three story tall bottle wall featuring signature Sazerac brand spirits and the distillery exhibit, complete with a 500 gallon capacity custom built still. The still produces about a barrel of Sazerac Rye Whiskey a day and its beautiful gleaming copper column is viewable from two stories through a glass front facing Canal Street, making it a prime attraction in downtown New Orleans.

Visitors can also learn about and view production and bottling of the famous Peychaud’s Bitters, one of the key ingredients of the Sazerac Cocktail, the official cocktail of New Orleans.

In addition to exhibit space, the Sazerac House provides state of the art meeting and event space, with a capacity of up to 400 guests.

Private events can include tastes of the spirits portfolios of the Sazerac Company with cocktail experts.

Additional events, including Drink and Learns, food pairings and a variety of other topics are also held periodically. Tickets to these events can be purchased for a nominal fee.

www.sazerachouse.com

And for those that want to take a memento of their experience back with them, the Sazerac House offers a retail shop with apparel, bar tools, exclusive gifts and even some of the spirits shown in the displays.

Admission to the Sazerac House is complimentary, and guests who are age 21 years or older can enjoy sampling stations with a variety of Sazerac products or cocktails, varying by day of the week and the season. Although tours are self guided, reservations should be made in advance at www.sazerachouse.com. Tickets to the private events can also be purchased online.

The Historic New Orleans Collection The area’s premier history museum, The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC) preserves and presents the city’s storied past at the heart of where the city’s story began. Within the walls of more than a dozen buildings in the French Quarter, visitors can immerse themselves in more than three centuries of our history-and there’s no charge for admission.

A staff of more than 100 dedicated professionals untangles the complex legacies of vibrant, multicultural communities past and present.

They examine the violent clashes that brought changes to politics and equality, the origins of cultural phenomena from Mardi Gras Indians to oak-lined avenues, and other compelling chapters in our local narrative.

These stories are presented in engaging exhibitions, beautifully crafted original books, and lively programs.

Born out of a shared love of history, THNOC was established

by Kemper and Leila Williams, two preservationists who purchased property in the French Quarter in the late 1930s, when the neighborhood was partially slated for demolition.

THNOC has continued the couple’s legacy for more than 50 years, championing the French Quarter as the city’s cultural epicenter.

Many of the buildings under THNOC’s care are real-

520 and 533 Royal St. 410 Chartres St. New Orleans, Louisiana 70130

(504) 523-4662 OPEN TUESDAY-SATURDAY, 9:30 A.M.-4:30 P.M., AND SUNDAY, 10:30 A.M.-4:30 P.M.

life artifacts. This includes the recent addition of a 36,000-square-foot exhibition center that incorporates the historic restoration of the Seignouret-Brulatour building and the contemporary Tricentennial Wing.

In the new exhibition center, a thematic exploration of the French Quarter tracks the progress of the neighborhood from its importance as a meeting ground for indigenous peoples to its current-day status as a tourist mecca. Along the way, elegant paintings, furniture, and silver sets allow visitors to picture the grandeur of Creole mansions, while a segregation barrier in a streetcar display speaks to the social struggles of a not-sodistant era.

Museum-goers can take can take a break to enjoy historically inspired fare at Café Cour and visit The Shop at the Collection, which carries items based on museum objects and crafts from local artisans.

Those looking to embark on their own journeys of discovery can do research at THNOC’s Williams Research Center, which is also free to enter and available online at hnoc. org/research.

The Historic New Orleans Collection is open Tuesday through Sunday, and admission is free. Visit www.hnoc.org for details current offerings.

PH OTO CO U RTE SY TH E H ISTO RIC N E W O R LE AN S CO LLEC TIO N

www.hnoc.org

The National WWII Museum

945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130

504-528-1944

The National WWII Museum offers a compelling blend of sweeping narrative and poignant personal detail about the American experience in World War II. Through immersive exhibits, multimedia experiences, and an expansive collection of artifacts and first-person oral histories, the Museum takes visitors inside the story of the war that changed the world. Beyond its galleries, the Museum offers new ways to connect to history and honor the WWII generation with its online digital collection, public programs, special exhibits, and more. On March 5, the Museum will open all-new special exhibit Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II, which tells the story of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, known as the “Ghost Army.”

A top-secret unit formed during World War II, the 23rd elevated battlefield deception to an art form in order to mislead enemy forces. Future famed artists such as fashion designer Bill Blass and painter Ellsworth Kelly were part of the unit, waging war with inflatable tanks and vehicles, fake radio traffic, sound effects, and even phony generals. This carefully selected group of artists, engineers, professional soldiers, and draftees— armed with nothing heavier than .50 caliber machine guns—fooled Adolf Hitler’s armies, saved thousands of lives, and played an important part in Allied victory. Activated on January 20, 1944, the 23rd was the first mobile, multimedia, tactical deception unit in US Army history.

The unit had an authorized strength of 82 officers and 1,023 men under the command of Colonel Harry L. Reeder. Once the war was over, the soldiers were sworn to secrecy, records were classified, and equipment was packed away.

Except for a newspaper article

PH OTO CO U RTE SY T H E N AT I O N A L W W I I M U S E U M

right after the war, no one spoke publicly about the deceivers until a 1985 Smithsonian article.

Though knowledge of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops was then public, it was still officially classified until the mid-1990s.

Visitors will uncover stories about the 23rd and their deception

operations across Europe through artifacts such as artwork, uniforms, an inflatable tank, and more.

Ghost Army will be on display in the Senator John Alario, Jr. Special Exhibition Hall, located on Hall of Democracy’s first level, on view through September 13, 2020. Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II is

nationalww2museum.org

exclusively sponsored by E. L. Wiegand Foundation.

Plan your journey into WWII history today! For more information or to buy tickets, visit nationalww2museum.org.

Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum “Bringing Louisiana’s Maritime History to Life,” is the driving mission of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum and Research Center.

Located on the banks of the scenic Tchefuncte River in Madisonville, embark on a historic journey of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, the lower Mississippi River Valley, and the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. History and culture come to life through hands-on exhibits and programs available to the general public, school field trips, and private group tours. Two sessions of Junior Engineers Camp take place every summer in both June and July and offer creative, fun, STEAM based activities for kids ages 8-11.

Museum exhibits feature a Bayou Scene with examples of native plants and animals, a reproduction of the Pioneer submarine, a life-size steamboat replica, displays of waterways, model ships, lighthouses, and historic boats. Step back in time with dioramas depicting 18th century life on the bayou or of the Jahncke Shipyard that once stood where the museum now stands. The Augmented Reality (AR) Sandbox is an interactive exhibit about watersheds and allows users to shape real sand, which is augmented in real time by an elevation color map, topographic contour lines, and simulated water.

Named after the pipeline

133 Mabel Dr.

Madisonville, LA 70447

985-845-9200

that led to its discovery, the Mardi Gras Shipwreck Exhibit is on display for a limited time.

Discovered 10 miles off the coast of Louisiana in 2002, the 200 year old wreckage was recorded with more than 1,000 artifacts retrieved. A collection of these artifacts, as well as information about the wreck will be available for viewing until March 30, 2020.

The Museum’s newly remodeled Event Room and dock are available to rent for weddings, baby showers, and private events, along with the historic 1880’s lighthouse keepers’ cottage that was relocated to the museum grounds from the Tchefuncte River Lighthouse.

As a non-profit organization, the museum relies on raising funds within the community to invest in the development of future museum expansion.

The next fundraising event will be the “Draw Down” Raffle on March 28 with ticket holders having a chance to win $5,000!

The 5th Annual Anchor Classic Golf Tournament will follow on May 15 and take place at Carter Plantation, a member of the Louisiana Audubon Golf Trail. Each October, the LPBMM hosts the Madisonville Wooden Boat Festival with thousands of people attending the two-day event. Proceeds for all of these events directly support the LPBMM to benefit future generations of maritime enthusiasts.

PH OTO CO U RTE SY L AK E P O NTCHARTR AI N BA S I N MAR ITI M E M U S E U M

www.lpbmm.org

German-American Cultural Center and Museum

519 Huey P. Long Ave. Gretna, Louisiana

504-363-4202

museum is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.

In 1836, German immigrants founded the West Bank town of Mechanikham that would become Gretna. Honoring those founders is the mission of the German-American Cultural Center and Museum at 519 Huey P. Long Avenue in Gretna.

The center interprets the German immigrant contribution to Louisiana’s history. Its museum exhibits depict the colonial experience, immigration, the world of work, culture, religion, and the “culture in crisis” during the two world wars.

A special exhibit of historic photographs is now on view, “From Mechanikham to Gretna: German Families, Events and Landmarks.”

Several photographs document the Great Crevasse of 1891, when the Mississippi River broke a Marrero levee, flooding Gretna. From a 1920s fire parade, to corner stores, to an 1880s view of William Tell Hall, which served as the Jefferson Parish Courthouse, the images tell stories about life on the West Bank.

For more information, call 504-3634202, or visit www.gacc-nola.com

Founded 20 years ago by citizens, governmental leaders and the National Park Service, the free

P H OTOS CO U RTE SY G E R MAN -A M E R I C A N CU LTU R A L C E NTE R A N D M U S E U M

www.gacc-nola.com

Museum of Trade, Finance & the Fed

525 St. Charles Ave. New Orleans, LA 70130

504-593-5857

P H OTO CO U RTE SY M U S E U M O F TR AD E , FI NANACE & TH E FE D

Visit the free museum at the Fed System’s oldest branch.

Explore New Orleans’ rich history of trade and finance. Discover historic events and people that shaped the banking system; the evolution of money from fur pelts to bank notes;

the origins and purposes of the Federal Reserve. Grab our map for a self-guided financial history walking tour of nearby landmarks, and don’t leave without a packet of shredded money! Open weekdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

www.frbatlanta.org/about/tours/nola

Confederate Memorial Hall Museum Memorial Hall is Louisiana’s oldest museum, displaying artifacts and memorabilia of Civil War veterans. Opened on January 8, 1891, the anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, this military museum tells the story of the Civil War soldier through exhibits that displays the weapons, uniforms, and small personal items. Memorial Hall currently has a special exhibit entitled “The Will to Fight” which explores the life of the common soldier, North and South.

929 Camp St.

New Orleans, LA 70130

504-523-4522

P H OTO CO U RTE SY CO N FE D E R ATE M E M O R IAL HALL M U S E U M

confederatemuseum.com

Louisiana Children’s Museum

15 Henry Thomas Dr

Music Box Village

New Orleans, LA 70124

4557 N. Rampart St. New Orleans, LA 70117

504-523-1357

PHOTO COURTESY MUSIC BOX VILLAGE PH OTO CO U RTE SY LOU ISIANA CHILDREN ’ S M USEU M

Float in a bubble, run a grocery store, jam in a band and walk through a cloud. There’s a bajillion things kids can do at Louisiana Children’s Museum.

Open six days a week, the museum features five interactive,

educational galleries for children and families focused on literacy, health and wellness, environmental education and arts and culture. For information about daily programs and hours of operation visit lcm. org/planyourvisit.

Visit the Music Box Village this Spring! Our sonic sculpture garden in the Bywater opens every weekend for playtime and exploration. In February, brass bands from across the U.S. converge to play alongside New Orleans stalwarts. Our Mardi Gras Art

www.lcm.org

www.musicboxvillage.com

Southern Food & Beverage Museum

New Canal Lighthouse Museum

1504 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

8001 Lakeshore Dr.

New Orleans, LA 70113 | 504-569-0405

PHOTO COURTESY SOUTHERN FOOD & BEVERAGE MUSEUM

Visit the Southern Food & Beverage Museum for unique displays on Southern cuisine and culture.

On view now until March 5th: Talk About Good II at 40, an exhibition on Junior League of Lafayette’s classic cookbook on its 40th anniversary featuring the artwork of George Rodrigue. Learn more at www.southernfood.org www.southernfood.org

Market lands on the 9th with over 45 vendors. February 13th, celebrate the 4th Annual Masked Ball, featuring Big Freedia, on the theme “Sirens of Salvage.” Memberships, Season Tickets and Event Calendar at musicboxvillage.com.

New Orleans, LA 70124 | 504-836-2215

PHOTO COURTESY NEW CANAL LIGHTHOUSE MUSEUM

In addition to telling its own unique story, the New Canal Lighthouse Museum is also a scientific and environmental education center!

The lighthouse is home to exhibits, a hands-on laboratory for kids and adults, and events ranging from intimate talks to massive volunteer litter pick-ups.

Available for event rentals! www.neworleans.com/listing/ new-canal-lighthouse/13532/

Ogden Museum of Southern Art

Bayou Country Children’s Museum 211 Rue Betancourt

IMAGE CREDIT MELVIN EDWARDS. ANGOLA. 1992.

WELDED STEEL. 11 ¾ X 10 ¼ X 12 IN. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND ALEXANDER GRAY ASSOCIATES, NEW YORK; STEPHEN FRIEDMAN GALLERY, LONDON.

Opening at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art February 8 and on view through July 5 is Melvin Edwards: Crossroads, exhibiting Edward’s dynamic welded steel works and planar, geometric installations that propel viewers inside the artist’s singular vision of abstraction.

Peer into Edwards’ world of twisting, sinuous metal and you will find a place of possibility, an environment where found objects expand-both formally and conceptually-beyond the boundaries of their given form. This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of presenting sponsor, The Helis Foundation.

Come See the South at the O!

Learn more at ogdenmuseum.org

Thibodaux, LA 70301

(985)446-2200

PH OTO CO U RTE SY B AYO U C O U N T R Y CHILDREN’S MUSEUM

Visit Bayou Country Children’s Museum! Children learn as they play on a full-size sugarcane harvester, spot waterfowl from a duck blind, toss beads from a Mardi Gras float, climb aboard a shrimp boat and a 2-story oil platform, and even experience a severe weather simulation and fire simulation in Safety-ville!