About the O

The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, University of New Orleans, brings together the largest and most comprehensive collection of Southern art in the world, creating an unprecedented national repository of works that tell the story of Southern art, history and culture - its past, present and future. The Museum's much-anticipated Grand Opening signals an important milestone for the growing national recognition and understanding of Southern visual art. With its opening, the Museum will offer a platform for the appreciation, study, and understanding of a body of visual art born of the rich heritage of the South, integrating Southern art into the mainstream of American art.

The South has evolved dramatically over the past 20 years. Now, in the early 21st century, the Ogden Museum will preserve and explore the art and culture of the South, offering a place to study the distinct flavor and south of Southern work, tracing its legacy and exploring the visual influence of the South on American culture.

Long the dream of Roger Ogden, one shared by William Goldring, the Chairman of the Museum's Board of Trustees, Dr. Gregory O'Brien, Chancellor of the University of New Orleans, and others who have worked diligently for this project, the opening of The Ogden Museum of Southern Art in the Warehouse Arts District of New Orleans is a significant evolutionary step in the advancement of Southern art and culture. Now is the time for the next stage in the evolution of Southern art, building upon the dedicated work of so many, especially over the last two decades, moving this body of work to a new level of regional and national recognition and understanding. It is time to expand the levels of recognizing the importance of Southern art, and how it reflects the complex culture and history of the South. And it is the time to advance and expand existing efforts to integrate the best of Southern art with the best of the national and international art world.

The question has been asked of us many times... What is Southern Art? The Ogden Museum answers this question with a full spectrum of works, including paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, glass, wood and craft. Critical themes of Southern art and culture are revealed along the way - the importance of place, the strong sense of family and community, the concept of history and memory that mold identity, and the idea of celebration and the very spirit of the region.

The Ogden Museum's definition of what constitutes Southern art is broad. Artists, from professionally trained to self-taught, are deemed Southern by birth, residence or relationship, or by the theme of their art. While artists from across the South have focused on the region, some important European artists have done significant work in Southern cities such as Charleston and New Orleans. They are included in the Ogden Museum's definition of Southern art as well.

The Museum is also home to the Goldring Woldenberg Institute for the Advancement of Southern Art and Culture, a platform that will link the visual arts to culture and the humanities, connecting literature, music, history, food, sociology and other disciplines of the South's rich heritage. The Goldring Woldenberg Institute is the home for the Museum's technology, films and publications. In addition to the Goldring Woldenberg Institute, the Museum Shop has presented us with the unique opportunity to offer the Center for Southern Craft and Design, whereby artists and artisans will be given a

We are distinctly proud to be located in New Orleans as this exciting time in the city's history, as the city administration seeks to celebrate the "New New Orleans." We are honored to have been the first museum in Louisiana to be designated an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, an honor we now share with our neighbors, the National D-Day Museum. We are proud to be located in the historic Warehouse District, an area of the city that is quickly growing into a true arts and cultural destination, not just for New Orleans, but for Louisiana and the South.

We are proud of what we have accomplished in recent years, particularly through the 26 exhibitions presented at our temporary home on Julia Street in the heart of the city's gallery district. We are pleased to have been a part of the formation of a museum consortium, working in partnership with the other cultural institutions in New Orleans.

A Museum without walls, we have also brought the world of art to the metropolitan New Orleans community and beyond through our educational programming. So, ultimately, we have become more than a museum well before opening our doors to the public.

More than a museum, this innovative and unique center celebrates Southern spirit, offering visitors the opportunity to rediscover the visual treasures of the South. It celebrates art that speaks to time and place, art that stretches from the past into our future, and reflects the visual heritage and vitality of the American South.