An old Freret favorite will be back on the block soon. This spring, the former Breezy's is set to be reborn as Gasa Gasa. The collective's founders talked to Sarah Esenwein about the new space.

The Contemporary Arts Center wrapped up a monthslong search for a new executive director today, naming Neil Barclay as the new head at Camp and Julia. Before taking the top job at CAC, Barclay worked as a senior consultant for a California-based firm that provides management expertise to cultural organizations known as Arts Consulting Group.

Painter Bill Iles reigns in Southern terrain to controlled, comprehensive and complex works. His oil paintings depict forest scenes of Southwestern Louisiana, inspired by the land around Lake Charles and Dry Creek, the small town where he was born.

by Brad Rhines

While the four Oscar nominations are certainly impressive, don’t expect Hollywood to tame Court 13, the New Orleans film collective responsible for Beasts of the Southern Wild. On March 8, less than two weeks after this year’s Academy Awards, the group will return home to showcase their unique vision at the Contemporary Arts Center in the exhibition Beyond “Beasts”: The Art of Court 13.

When James Michalopoulos was approached to create the 2013 Jazz Fest poster, he of course accepted. Trading architecture for portraiture, the renowned New Orleans artist momentarily set aside his celebrated shotgun house illustrations to portray Aaron Neville of the Neville Brothers, an exemplar of New Orleans soul and R&B, who also happens to turn 72 years young today.

Art takes to the streets this Mardi Gras as pop-ups replace Popeyes on New Orleans billboards from January 21 to February 18. Expose: New Orleans’ International Billboard Art Exhibit is set to showcase 13 national and international artists all on billboards above parade routes and near Super Bowl traffic areas for optimal artist exposure.  

Jim Richard’s “Make Yourself at Home,” on view at the New Orleans Museum of Art through February 24, 2013, remains one of the best shows of the year. A modernist journey through the colorful interiors of homes filled with a mix of high art, tchotchkes, and period furniture, Richard’s twelve-work exhibit showcases his deep knowledge of contemporary and historical art alongside refined technical skill, and pokes a little fun at modern art in the meantime.

by M.D. Dupuy

This weekend’s Second Saturday celebration will fill St. Claude with new visual art exhibitions, but the real party is hidden from the main thoroughfare in the St. Roch neighborhood. Homespace Gallery (1128 St. Roch) is celebrating theirir fifth anniversary, and all are welcome to enjoy brass, cocktails, street food, and 40 local and national artists on display.   

Before snapping that perfect family photo for the Christmas card, check out the professionals. New Orleans turns its lens on the arts as the 7th annual PhotoNOLA kicks off Thursday, Nov. 29, and runs through the weekend.

Emma Boyce takes a look at an Ogden Museum exhibit that showcases an artist's reckoning of Catholic beliefs through the use of symbols gleaned from outside of a church.