The Neighborhood Art Galleries
There are several art galleries and artist studios in the Faubourg Marigny and Bywater neighborhoods that offer interesting works worth exploring. Most of the artists in this area have not yet well-established themselves in the art world but nevertheless deserve viewing and their works remain affordable.
Of course, attention is emphasized on the art work displayed at V2nola and our sister venue, Venusian Gardens Art Gallery. However, the folks of the Venusian World strongly believe in supporting and promoting the talented artists in the neighborhood and encourage our guests to explore the neighborhood art venues nearby. A wealth of additional art galleries can be found in the French Quarter and the Central Business District (CBD).
Additionally, no visitor to New Orleans should miss viewing our outstanding art institutions including the Contemporary Arts Center, the Ogden Museum and the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Glasslight Studio & Venusian Gardens Art Gallery
2601 Chartres St (3 blocks away from V2nola)
Directions
Phone: (504) 943-7446
Hours: By Appointment Only
Glasslight Studio is a fully functional neon sculpture studio. Neon tubing is blown and processed on site where the artist expands on the traditional formats and techniques associated with the sign industry to open up new and imaginative expressions of the unique media that is neon. The focus of work produced at glassLight has always been on neon, mostly combined with blown, slumped and fused glass as well as aluminum and other media.
Venusian Gardens Art Gallery (VG) is a contemporary luminous art gallery that specializes in sculpture and interior design elements that incorporate light. The work on display at VG includes luminous modern art & sculpture but also artful luminous interior design elements including a wide range of interior and exterior lighting, tables, bathroom countertops, sinks and mirrors.
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA)
2800 Chartres St (4 blocks away from V2nola)
Directions
Phone: (504) 940-2787
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, or NOCCA, is the regional, pre-professional arts training center for high school students in Louisiana. NOCCA opened in 1973 as a professional arts training center for secondary school-age children. NOCCA puts on public events in the performing and visual arts and also puts on exhibitions at the 5 Press Gallery featuring work by NOCCA students, faculty, alumni, and visiting artists.
Dr. Bob’s Folk Art
3027 Chartres Street (7 blocks east from V2nola)
Directions
Cell: 504-905-6910 Office: 504-701-7297
Hours: 10a to 5p, Seven Days/ Summer: 10a to 4:20pm
Dr. Bob’s art can be found all over the Big Easy from inside businesses’ and residents’ homes to painted on the side of buildings. His collection includes stylized nature paintings, friendly caricatures of characters around the city,and his most popular work: signs urging people to “be nice or leave.” Some visitors, however, might not know that the artist behind those signs is as much part of New Orleans’s identity as the signs themselves. That’s right: Dr. Bob, the owner of the quirky shop Dr. Bob’s Folk Art, is one of the area’s main attractions, with many folks making a detour to the area just for a lively chat.
St. Claude Arts District
The Bywater neighborhood is home to dozens of alternative art spaces, many of which have banded together under the loose umbrella of the St. Claude Arts District (SCAD). From old candle factories to people’s living rooms, this burgeoning scene—centered around St. Claude Avenue and nearby streets—produces some of the most intriguing and innovative work in the city, with several major artists and arts organizations. In addition to galleries, several independent theater spaces have sprung up as well, offering venues for live performances, magic and burlesque shows, fringe theater, and more.
The following listings are not exhaustive but include some of the galleries that participate as part of the SCAD. The second Saturday of each month is opening night, when the galleries and venues host new shows and parties.
Second Story Gallery
2372 St Claude Ave, (4 blocks north from V2nola)
The gallery is located in a shared and connective space within The New Orleans Healing Center
Directions
Phone: (504) 952-8184
The Second Story Gallery strives to create a supportive platform for artists to engage the public with their ideas and works. Organized as a cooperative body, artists of The Second Story Gallery have collective agency in policy, programming, and membership. Gallery artists may work in a variety of media, in conjunction with the physical capacity of the exhibition area.
The Front Art Gallery
34100 St Claude Ave,
Directions
Hours: 12 to 5 p.m, Saturdays & Sundays
Public Openings are held Second Saturdays from 6:00 – 10:00 PM
A collectively-operated, artist-run space in New Orleans, the Front “engages and enriches the New Orleans community by providing accessible exposure to exceptional contemporary art with an emphasis on supporting innovative work by emerging artists through exhibition opportunities, a residency experience, and… has for the last twelve years upheld its mission of fostering the work of emerging contemporary artists through innovative exhibitions, lectures, screenings, performances, arts programming and career building programs which are free and open to the public.
Good Children Gallery
4037 St Claude Ave,
Directions
Hours: 12 to 5 p.m, Saturdays & Sundays
Public Openings are held Second Saturdays from 6:00 – 10:00 PM
Good Children Gallery is a pioneer artist-run space in the St. Claude Arts District aimed at enhancing
the cultural landscape of New Orleans. The space serves as a bellwether for artistic endeavors by
exhibiting engaging work from local, national, and international artists.
Antenna Gallery
3718 St Claude Ave,
Directions
Phone: (504) 298-3161
Hours: 12 to 5 p.m, Wednesday thru Sunday
Public Openings are held Second Saturdays from 6:00 – 10:00 PM
The Antenna Collective is an interdisciplinary group of artists, writers, makers, and innovators that collaboratively curate, exhibit, and maintain Antenna Gallery. It consists of a culturally and socially engaged group of New Orleans based artists who combine their energies and experiences for the cultivation of the New Orleans art community. The members exhibit work, and promote and host the creative pursuits of other national, regional and local artists. Annually in October.