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A large crowd of people wearing white flows through Julia Street in New Orleans. mattmc89/Creative Commons

Your guide to the galleries and events at White Linen Night 2019

Julia Street’s 25th annual art walk will be held this Saturday

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As Julia Street approaches its 25th White Linen Night, the street couldn’t look any less like it did during its time as Skid Row in the 1970s.

Anchored by the 13 Sisters row houses, the street emerged as an affluent address within a bustling commercial district in the mid-19th century. As wealthier residents fled the Warehouse District for the neighboring Garden District and other suburbs, the industrial corridor endured a depression until the 1984 World’s Fair, when the city and developers targeted the area for a convention area and hotels. The street is now part of an Arts District that’s loaded with galleries and home to an annual street party that toasts to the arts scene—a party that has inspired several parodies, including the French Quarter’s Dirty Linen Night held the following weekend.

As new developments and luxury apartments continue to build around the neighborhood, there have been some casualties. Louisiana Products, a beloved neighborhood deli that first opened in 1985, survived the Warehouse District’s tony transformation in the 1990s and continued selling affordable plate lunches and sandwiches from its blink-and-you-miss-it storefront with a cigar box register, only to close in 2018.

The street also recently said goodbye to the Louisiana’s Children’s Museum, which closed its iconic big blue doors on July 27 as it prepares to move to a new campus in City Park.

Then there are new arrivals, like the Auction House Market food hall, an incoming Oprah-led restaurant anchoring the Julia apartments, and Two Saints, the city’s first co-living apartment building.

White Linen Night returns Saturday, August 3, at 5:30 p.m. Area galleries will open their doors, and the city’s party crowd, dressed to impress, will descend to squint at art. Here’s a guide to the art happenings and gallery shows to help navigate the sweaty masses.

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Ariodante Contemporary Crafts

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The gallery is presenting paintings from Krista Roche and Tanya Dischler, jewelry from Nancie Roark, and works by craft artist Gary Schiro.

Arthur Roger Gallery

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The gallery is showcasing work from Demond Melancon, Amer Kobaslija, Brandon Juan Surtain, and Leonard Galmon during four separate exhibitions.

Auction House Market

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The upscale food hall is hosting a “cooldown lounge” from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 for Contemporary Arts Center members and $50 for general admission, and include two drinks, snacks, air-conditioning, and restroom access, and admission to the White Linen Night after-party at the CAC.

Beata Sasik Gallery

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Sasik presents “All That Glitters,” an installation of her miniature abstract works.

Callan Contemporary

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Keysook Geum presents a showcase of sculptures made with wire, bead, and semiprecious stones and inspired by traditional Korean garments from the Joseon Dynasty.

Contemporary Arts Center

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The gallery space will reopen after a brief summer hiatus with its annual open call exhibition. In this year’s “Identity Measures,” curated by Jordan Amirkhani, 20 regional artists explore race, gender, ability, sexuality, and class.

An after-party will feature music from DJ RQ Away and “HI, DENTITIES,” a drag performance from Vinsantos and the New Orleans Drag Workshop. There will also be snacks and a cash bar. Tickets are $10 in advance, $20 the day of, and free to CAC members. Admission to the CAC is also free to Louisiana residents every Sunday.

Hall-Barnett Gallery

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The group show “Guess What…” is showcasing new and local artists exploring the South and modern living.

Jonathan Ferrara Gallery

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Jazz artist Tony Dagradi is displaying mixed-media works that encompass collage, found objects, books, and sculpture.

LeMieux Galleries

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The gallery is hosting a group show, “And Now for Something New,” a juried exhibition of new works. Jurors are Laura Richens, curator of the Tulane University’s Carroll Gallery, and Southeastern Louisiana University visual arts professor Dale Newkirk. The winner will receive their own show at the gallery in 2021. The winner will be announced at White Linen Night.

Luna Fine Art Gallery

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The gallery inside the Mercantile Hotel is showing work from alumni of the young artist program YAYA, including Jourdan Barnes, Kara Crowley, Paul Wright, and Quinton Gilmore.

M contemporary

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The gallery is presenting new work from George Alexander, Fredrick Guess, Hilario, Deborah Mansfield, James Strombotne, and Andrew Blanchard.

Martine Chaisson Gallery

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Donal Martiny is showing new paintings made using his hands and broom brushes on aluminum.

The National WWII Museum

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The museum’s exhibit “In Memory of What I Cannot Say: The Art of Guy de Montlaur” explores the life and work of the French army veteran, whose experience in World War II inspired his vivid abstract paintings.

Octavia Art Gallery

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New Orleans artist Regina Scully is presenting paintings and two-dimensional mixed-media works in “Regina Scully: The House I Live In.”

Ogden Museum of Southern Art

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The museum is presenting “Piercing the Inner Wall: The Art of Dusti Bongé,” featuring work from the Mississippi-born artist, and “Louisiana Contemporary,” presented by the Helis Foundation and the HBCU Art Showcase.

Robert Tannen’s lifeboat scupture

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The artist restored an orange lifeboat recovered from a movie prop warehouse in Slidell. He intends to display his 3-ton, 30-foot find (which now includes “NOLA” on the bow) on Julia Street’s 600 block for one night only during White Linen Night.

Soren Christensen Gallery

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A group show is featuring new and recent work from gallery artists including Rose Thome Casterline, William Dunlap, Melissa Herrington, Karen Scharer, and Brooke Shaden.

Stella Jones Gallery

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This gallery specializes in fine art from black artists. Its “Modern Masters of the African Diaspora” features works from Elizabeth Catlett, David Driskell, Hughie Lee-Smith, Samella Lewis, Gordon Parks, Michael Harris, Kevin Cole, Norman Lewis, and other artists whose work spans realism, abstract paintings, photography, and sculpture.

Ariodante Contemporary Crafts

The gallery is presenting paintings from Krista Roche and Tanya Dischler, jewelry from Nancie Roark, and works by craft artist Gary Schiro.

Arthur Roger Gallery

The gallery is showcasing work from Demond Melancon, Amer Kobaslija, Brandon Juan Surtain, and Leonard Galmon during four separate exhibitions.

Auction House Market

The upscale food hall is hosting a “cooldown lounge” from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 for Contemporary Arts Center members and $50 for general admission, and include two drinks, snacks, air-conditioning, and restroom access, and admission to the White Linen Night after-party at the CAC.

Beata Sasik Gallery

Sasik presents “All That Glitters,” an installation of her miniature abstract works.

Callan Contemporary

Keysook Geum presents a showcase of sculptures made with wire, bead, and semiprecious stones and inspired by traditional Korean garments from the Joseon Dynasty.

Contemporary Arts Center

The gallery space will reopen after a brief summer hiatus with its annual open call exhibition. In this year’s “Identity Measures,” curated by Jordan Amirkhani, 20 regional artists explore race, gender, ability, sexuality, and class.

An after-party will feature music from DJ RQ Away and “HI, DENTITIES,” a drag performance from Vinsantos and the New Orleans Drag Workshop. There will also be snacks and a cash bar. Tickets are $10 in advance, $20 the day of, and free to CAC members. Admission to the CAC is also free to Louisiana residents every Sunday.

Hall-Barnett Gallery

The group show “Guess What…” is showcasing new and local artists exploring the South and modern living.

Jonathan Ferrara Gallery

Jazz artist Tony Dagradi is displaying mixed-media works that encompass collage, found objects, books, and sculpture.

LeMieux Galleries

The gallery is hosting a group show, “And Now for Something New,” a juried exhibition of new works. Jurors are Laura Richens, curator of the Tulane University’s Carroll Gallery, and Southeastern Louisiana University visual arts professor Dale Newkirk. The winner will receive their own show at the gallery in 2021. The winner will be announced at White Linen Night.

Luna Fine Art Gallery

The gallery inside the Mercantile Hotel is showing work from alumni of the young artist program YAYA, including Jourdan Barnes, Kara Crowley, Paul Wright, and Quinton Gilmore.

M contemporary

The gallery is presenting new work from George Alexander, Fredrick Guess, Hilario, Deborah Mansfield, James Strombotne, and Andrew Blanchard.

Martine Chaisson Gallery

Donal Martiny is showing new paintings made using his hands and broom brushes on aluminum.

The National WWII Museum

The museum’s exhibit “In Memory of What I Cannot Say: The Art of Guy de Montlaur” explores the life and work of the French army veteran, whose experience in World War II inspired his vivid abstract paintings.

Octavia Art Gallery

New Orleans artist Regina Scully is presenting paintings and two-dimensional mixed-media works in “Regina Scully: The House I Live In.”

Ogden Museum of Southern Art

The museum is presenting “Piercing the Inner Wall: The Art of Dusti Bongé,” featuring work from the Mississippi-born artist, and “Louisiana Contemporary,” presented by the Helis Foundation and the HBCU Art Showcase.

Robert Tannen’s lifeboat scupture

The artist restored an orange lifeboat recovered from a movie prop warehouse in Slidell. He intends to display his 3-ton, 30-foot find (which now includes “NOLA” on the bow) on Julia Street’s 600 block for one night only during White Linen Night.

Soren Christensen Gallery

A group show is featuring new and recent work from gallery artists including Rose Thome Casterline, William Dunlap, Melissa Herrington, Karen Scharer, and Brooke Shaden.

Stella Jones Gallery

This gallery specializes in fine art from black artists. Its “Modern Masters of the African Diaspora” features works from Elizabeth Catlett, David Driskell, Hughie Lee-Smith, Samella Lewis, Gordon Parks, Michael Harris, Kevin Cole, Norman Lewis, and other artists whose work spans realism, abstract paintings, photography, and sculpture.