The Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art are free to Louisiana residents today, thanks to yesterday’s scorching temperatures. The Helis Foundation and Fox 8’s “Art & A/C” initiative lets locals into three of the city’s museums the day after temperatures hit 93 degrees or higher. Yesterday hit the nail on the head, so our overheated home can celebrate today.
“August is not only one of the hottest months for New Orleans throughout the year, it’s also National Museum Month,” Helis Foundation managing director Jessie Haynes explained on the initiative’s website. “After the success of ‘Art & AC’ last year, we couldn’t think of a better way to offer a refuge from the heat for Louisiana residents than to open up our world-class institutions, free of charge, when temperatures hit 93 degrees.”
Typically, the Contemporary Arts Center would also open its doors for the event. That particular museum is closed on Tuesdays, however. If the art isn’t enough to get you to the Ogden or NOMA, you should know that free snowballs from Imperial Woodpecker will be on offer, as well as hand fans and bottled water.
For more on the CAC, check out our coverage of White Linen Night from an equally hot evening earlier this month.