We’ve got your weekend: Lectures, meet-ups, new exhibits, quilts, and film

Image of the Opportunity Quilt that will be raffled off at the upcoming GSQA quilt show. It’s queen size, pieced and appliqued, made by members, entitled “Dancing Garden.”

Wednesday, April 11/Williams Research Center (410 Chartres Street): Sometimes hearing about music is just as wonderful as hearing music, and on Wednesday you can do both. The Historic New Orleans Collection is presenting the 19th annual Bill Russell Lecture—“The Life and Music of New Orleans Legend George Lewis.” Dr. Michael White will present this year’s lecture, and he will be joined by the Original Liberty Jazz Band, who will perform selections from the George Lewis repertoire. Admission to the lecture is $25 per person and reservations should be made in advance (call 504-523-4662) since seating is limited. The lecture and concert begin at 6:00 PM and go until 7:30 PM.

Wednesday, April 11/Glitter Box (1109 Royal Street): Glitter Box is always being creative with the meet-ups and this Wednesday is no different. They are kicking off a new monthly event series, Dish & Dish! Dish & Dish is about having engaged, informed conversations about issues that affect women and using this as an essential aspect to effective social justice work. Organizers from their monthly nonprofit collaborations will select readings that relate to the work they do (articles, essays, poems) and lead an open discussion the topics covered. They want to create a space for the community to come together and further the dialogue with this series, and there were be food and libations as well. This is potluck style, so think about what you can throw together and share. It all begins at 6:00 PM on Wednesday night (goes until 8:00 PM), and you can get full details here.

Thursday, April 12/Old No. 77 Hotel (535 Tchoupitoulas Street): Mmmm…Mmmm…our two favorites–fod and art–are merging together this Thursday. Celebrating the cultural infusions that have informed the distinct flavor of New Orleans for 300 years, the creative palates behind the Compère Lapin – Chef Nina Compton and bar maven Abigail Gullo – have stepped out of the kitchen and away from the bar to curate The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery and Where Y’Art’s latest collaborative exhibition in the Warehouse District hotel. Opening Thursday, April 12, Art of Flavor: Part One will explore the distinct flavor of New Orleans in the abstract sense, dishing Compton and Gullo’s interpretations of the Crescent City this time not by menu, but by its artists. The exhibit is open from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM, and it is free and open to the public. For more information, check out Old No. 77’s website.

Friday, April 13/Newcomb Art Museum (Newcomb Circle, Tulane University): Art curators are joining forces! Presented in partnership with A Studio in the Woods and Pelican Bomb, Empire, is an immersive art installation created by Los Angeles-based artists Fallen Fruit (David Allen Burns and Austin Young) that will be on display from April 13-July 7. This show uses the vast archives and special collections at Tulane University as the material to create a complex visual narrative of New Orleans and its history of transnational trade and cultural rituals with myriad artifacts, recontextualizing them in the museum. For full details on the show, make sure to check out the art museums website.

Friday, April 13/Northshore Harbor Center (100 Habor Center Blvd): Quilters will be coming together when nearly 400 quilts will be on display at the 17^th Biennial Gulf States Quilting Association Show this Friday and Saturday. Two New Orleans men will give a demonstration of their work, and one of the entry categories is Modern, the newest trend in quilting. In addition, attendees are welcome to sit down for a few minutes at a machine and sew for charity. The theme for the show is “Dancing Garden,” admission is $7 (or $10 for a two-day pass/children under 12, $4), and it will start at 10:00 AM and go until 5:00 PM. For more information, you can check out the quilting information here.

Saturday, April 14/Staple Goods Gallery (1340 St. Roch): Not only are people pairing up this weekend to bring you great art, but so are objects. Staple Goods Gallery has their opening of Confab, which is an exhibition of multiple ceramic objects meant to seen in relationship. They work together the way a linear articulation such as a sentence or musical arrangement has basic individual components that are unified through purpose and form. The works come from William DePauw, who has held the position of Professor of Practice and Ceramics Lab Tech in the Newcomb Art Department since 2006. The opening on Saturday is from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM, and you can find out full details here.

Saturday, April 14/Crescent City Boxing Gym (3101 Erato Street): Continuing the conversation about people and color, New Orleans, and what the future holds, Fari Nzinga (curator of The Rent is Too Damn High!) will be hosting the “Woke Film Screening.” There will be films, conversation, and ideas about the future shared. There is a suggested donation of $10, the screening will run from 2:00 PM until 5:00 PM, and you can get full details about the event here.

Saturday, April 14/Contemporary Arts Center (900 Camp Street): The teenagers are taking over the CAC, and it’s going to be beautiful. The Teen Exhibition, entitled “How Do You Create a Portrait of a City? opens on Saturday, April 14 from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM and runs through May 14, 2018. Curated and presented by the CAC Teen Board that is made up of high school students from all over the Greater New Orleans region, the exhibition asked young artists to consider the question, “How Do You Create a Portrait of a City?” Their responses came in the form of paintings, films, photography, sculptures, and writing. This youth-curated show features work by emerging local artists and offers a unique moment of reflection on the relationship between young people and the cities they call home. The exhibition is free and open to all.