Roch and Roll: Explore The “Other” New Orleans Art Scene

While the Ogden, CAC, and NOMA undoubtedly offer a stellar array of new exhibitions – from the old masters to the latest national names in contemporary art, and Julia and Magazine streets proffer many great new voices on the scene, New Orleans’ art also seeps into some lesser-known corners of the city. Step outside the French Quarter and through the Marigny to find a burgeoning arts district in the St. Roch neighborhood. The St. Roch corridor of galleries present an edgier, more do-it-yourself atmosphere, often eschewing white walls in favor of installations that utilize the gritty atmosphere in which they reside. There are a number of galleries to explore. Here’s just a sample of what a day of gallery hopping on “the Roch” can bring.

Like so many New Orleans transplant stories, the Sidearm Gallery was born after a visit turned into permanent residence. New York-based performance artist Scotty Heron came to our fair crescent city in 2003 and enamored with the city’s charm, decided to stay. He bought a shotgun – once used as a Chinese laundry and a security/handgun training company – and turned it into the Sidearm Gallery. Sidearm hosts exhibits and art shows and serves as a venue for the upcoming Fringe Festival.

Anyone who has been charmed by those strange man-dressed-as-bunny sculptures knows the work of Alex Podesta. Podesta is but one of the many artist members involved in The Front, an artist run collective, fostering the development of contemporary art in the city of 
New Orleans through exhibitions and community-based projects. Other voices in the project include: 
Kyle Bravo, 
Lee Deigaard, 
 Rachel DeTrinis, 
 Andrea Ferguson, 
 Dave Greber, 
 Rachel Jones & Julie Pieri, 
 Morgana King & Jenny Leblanc, Stephanie Patton, Claire Rae, Megan Roniger, and Jonathan Traviesa.

The Good Children Gallery is a collectively organized artist-run space that aims to enhance the contemporary art landscape of New Orleans. Good Children aims to promote emerging artists and combines local voices with national and international work. Apropos to the times, their current exhibition features site-specific installations that deal with wetland loss in south Louisiana.

Utilizing six, previously abandoned homes in the St. Roch area, KK Projects presents site-specific installations wherein the artists who exhibit are asked to integrate the space into their work. Past installations have included a Bed-In, Knead, and a giant sugarcane maze (offsite). KK Projects founder, Kirsha Kaechele and a host of friends, have recently completed the Eifel Project in a site on St. Charles.

And there are more galleries to be had. So take an open mind stroll through the St. Roch district. You never know what you might discover.

Side Arm Gallery
1122 St. Roch Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70117

The Front
4100 St Claude Ave
New Orleans, LA 70117

Good Children Gallery
4037 St. Claude Ave.,
New Orleans, LA 70117

KK Projects
2448 N Villere St
New Orleans, LA 70117

Tagged as: Art, CAC, Contemporary Arts Museum, exhibitions, Fringe Festival, galleries, GoNOLA, Good Children Gallery, independent, KK Projects, New Orleans, New Orleans Fringe, New Orleans Museum of Art, NOLA, NOMA, Ogden, St. Roch Neighborhood, The Front, The Sidearm Gallery