We’ve got your weekend: It’s almost all really really free!

Event Pick of the Week: Jose-Maria Cundin’s Open Letter to the Benevolent Order of Bucolics Anonymous

Apocryphal Aztec Portrait of Hernan Cortes, oil on canvas, 63″ x 95″, 2019

When: Saturday, March 7 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM

Where: Callan Contemporary (518 Julia Street)

Why: Uhh, did you read that title? In case you need more convincing, check out the “what” below. 

What: In his eighth solo exhibition with Callan Contemporary, internationally renowned artist José-María Cundín debuts a suite of new oil paintings that evoke the traditions of Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and absurdist humor. He imagines the paintings as emissaries to a future in which a society of nature lovers has banded together in the wilderness to escape the trappings of technology. Away from the cities, he predicts, men and women will rediscover the “innocent nobility and awesome regenerative qualities” of the countryside and build a more authentic way of life. Yes, please! 

Now for the rest of the WEEK(end)

Fourth Annual Female Filmmaker Festival is this weekend at Art Klub. (Photo provided by: Art Klub)

Wednesday, March 4/New Orleans Museum of Art (1 Collins Diboll Circle): If you know us — or know us in this virtual way — you know that we love free experiences. One of our favorite adventures that doesn’t require you to shell over any bills are the free days at the New Orelans Museum of Art. Hint: They’re on Wednesdays, and you can see Alia Ali: FLUX, the first major museum presentation of the work of Yemeni-Bosnian artist Alia Ali. It’s on view until August 2, and it considers how politics, economics, and histories collide in fabric patterns and techniques. Focusing on wax print fabric—a form with roots in Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Javanese, Dutch and African traditions—FLUX captures the way textiles move and migrate across different cultures. Textiles and freebies…do we need to say more? 

Thursday, March 5/Molly’s at the Market (1107 Decatur Street): It’s media night at Molly’s, which means you can mix your favorite cocktail of liquor and news. Those who are in radio, journalism, writing, or the general world will be heading to Molly’s at 7:30 PM to talk shop and make connections. These Media Nights take place each month, and you can find out more details here. 

Saturday, March 7/2221 St. Claude Avenue: Are you interested in free things? Food, clothing, items and knowledge? Are you interested in exchanging these gifts? If so, then you want to get yourself to the first Really, Really Free Market and Common Knowledge Rebirth happening at Cats Claw, a new resource space and hangout at 2221 St. Claude (adjacent to Fairgrinds). Feel free to bring gently used clean clothes, shoes and items for exchanging. Take as little or as much as you want. While you’re giving and getting these free items, you can also get involved in Common Knowledge – A Cooperative Education Exchange birthed from the former New Orleans Free School. If you have something to teach or a desire to learn something then head that way. The market begins at 2:00 PM, and you can find out more details here. 

Sunday, March 8/2621 Chippewa Street: You know you’re in New Orleans when you get invited on a public forum to an individuals house to enjoy an art salon. And guess what? That’s what’s happening right now. This arts salon, featuring clarinetist, Canadian, and all-around good bro Liam Hockley, will begin around 6:30 PM on Sunday. While Hockley is the feature, other performances will be taking place throughout the night, so go with an open mind and open ears. Oh, and there will be booze and light snacks available. 

Sunday, March 8/Art Klub (1941 Arts Street): We know that females are fierce. We also know that film is fierce. Art Klub puts them both together with their Fourth Annual Female Filmmaker Festival, in honor of International Women’s Day! Originally founded by Meryl Murman, the 2020 Festival is curated by New Orleans visual artist and filmmaker Courtney Egan. They will have more than 20 wildly imaginative short films made exclusively by Louisiana-based female, womxn, and feminine-identifying filmmakers! You can joing them for a pre-screening reception with the filmmakers, and after the screening for a filmmaker Q&A. It all begins at 5:00 PM, and you can check out the details and full schedule here. 

Monday, March 9/Marigny Opera House ( 725 St Ferdinand Street): The Louis Moreau Institute for New Music Performance, now in its sixth season, is presenting two concerts during its 2020 festival, featuring Institutional Artists Georgia Bourderionnet, Nicholas Davies, Wesley Ducote, Francesca Ferrara, and Lena Vidulich. The first concert of the festival will feature soloist Jonathan Z. Harris in the Louisiana premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ monodrama, Eight Songs for a Mad King. The concert begins at 7:30 PM, and you can get tickets, which are $20, here.