New Orleans Museum Of Art

By Angela Ash

If you are anything like me, you may be a bit of a self-professed museum junkie.  There's nothing quite like walking up the steps for the first time, not knowing what wonders may await just behind the entrance doors (unless you cheated and peaked online). 

With so many adventures to explore while in New Orleans, you MUST add the New Orleans Museum of Art to the list.  It is inspiring, creative, a bit whimsical, and for any of you folks who thinks art is stuffy and boring, it is FUN! 

When you visit today, it is crazy to think that NOMA opened in 1911 with just 9 works of art, when now you are literally surrounded with well over 40,000 objects to alter your daily reality... even just for an afternoon. Just bursting full of art from places in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, this museum even finds space to accommodate the rising stars right here in Louisiana... presenting a sense of community pride.  After all, this is YOUR museum!  NOMA also boasts a fine collection of decorative art, photography, and plenty of odds and ends that may literally take your breath away. 

And in typical New Orleans fashion, your regular idea of a pretentious art museum must be turned on its head, with a visit to the FREE Sydney and Walda Besthoff Scukpture Garden.  Beneath a gorgeous canopy of live oaks, you can meander through the park to witness 64 sculptures that range from absolute brilliance to funky, fun conversation pieces. 

And does NOMA stop there?  Well, why stop a good thing, when visitors can take in the museum on Friday nights, when music fills the air, guest speakers come to visit, and the doors don't close until way after dark.  (Because is there anything more enlightening than a museum at dusk?) 

With plenty of children's activities to make this a fun place to learn about art, the next Picasso or Monet might be participating at a Family Art Workshop, or sketching with the Studio Kids program! 

And with the constant flow of traveling exhibits and growing galleries, there is always something new at the New Orleans Museum of Art, so be sure to always visit on each trip to New Orleans, or become a member, so that a daily walk through City Park may lead to Oceanic art, European tapestries, or a creative, beautiful moment in a quiet corner.

For additional information, visit the New Orleans Museum Of Art online, or call (504)658-4100.