Black & White Ball for Schoolchild Art

By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Writer

Friday, November 7th marks the New Orleans Museum of Art’s Odyssey Night at the Museum, a glittering Ball of Black Ties, formal gowns, and new collections amongst the White marble splendor of the City Park complex.

Yet, the proceeds of the Gala have a much less glittering, and yet for more important, purpose. The earnings go to make sure that thousands of New Orleans school children will have personal access to great art—and to the education programs necessary to understand what they are seeing.

According to NOMA’s Allison Gouaux, “This year, gala proceeds will strengthen and advance specific arts education programs at the museum. Last year, the New Orleans Museum of Art served 11,426 students, but our goal is to impact 25,000 school-age children and their families annually in the years to come—over half of all students enrolled in local public schools.”

“NOMA is at the forefront of the arts education movement in our country. The museum’s innovative programs make a difference in so many lives—from improving literacy and math skills, to sparking entrepreneurship and building stronger neighborhoods. The benefits are proven and widespread, but more youth need access to these programs in order for us to see lasting change.”

The object of the 48th annual Odyssey Ball is to raise the funds to expand the program across the region. “The benefits of arts education are proven and widespread, but more youth need access to these programs in order for New Orleans to see a lasting change,” said Susan M. Taylor, NOMA’s Director. “We hope to increase the conversation around the importance of art through the ‘Art Makes Me…’ initiative…and engage the entire New Orleans community in that conversation.”

In fact, for this year’s ball, local kids are the stars. As part of the Odyssey 2014 celebration, NOMA hosted a Student Art Contest and Exhibition which is an art contest for students in grades K-12 from Orleans and Jefferson Parishes. Winning artists in 1st through 3rd places plus two honorable mention works in four grade level categories will be included in the 2014 Student Art Contest and Exhibition at NOMA.

They will hold places of honor next to the new photorealism exhibit, where according to Gouaux, “the overall theme is Americana, so the collection features a broad range of engaging subject matter, from detailed cityscapes and portraits, to convincingly real close-ups of objects such as motorcycles, cars, toys, fruit, and flowers.”

Tickets are still available for Friday’s Odyssey Night at the Museum at NOMA.org.

This article originally published in the November 3, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.