Friday Nights at NOMA opens the museum’s doors for many interesting activities throughout the year: live music, movies, children’s activities, and more. Regular admission prices apply—NOMA members are FREE—but there is no extra charge for programs or films. All galleries and Café NOMA remain open till 9 pm.

• 5 – 8 pm: Art on the Spot family activity table
• 5:30 – 8:30 pm: Music by Blato Zlato
• 6:30 – 8 pm: NOLA 4 Women present Extraordinary Women and the Founding of a Modern Museum panel discussion
• 7:30 pm: Small Talk: Ear to the Ground exhibition with Curator Katie A. Pfohl
• 8 pm: Small Talk: Mildred Thompson: Against the Grain with Independent Curator Melissa Messina
• 8:30 pm: Small Talk: Lina Iris Viktor: A Haven. A Hell. A Dream Deferred with Curatorial Fellow Allison Young

ABOUT BLATO ZLATO

Blato Zlato (“Swamp Gold” in Bulgarian) is a New Orleans-based Balkan band featuring dreamy three-part vocal harmonies and hard-hitting instrumentals. Formed in 2015, the band performs folk and composed music from the Balkans and Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on Bulgarian songs and dark, improvisational arrangements. Their debut album, Swamp Gold, was released in January 2017 and features traditional Bulgarian and Eastern European melodies interpreted through languid, dark arrangements and improvisational continuous transitions.

ABOUT NOLA 4 WOMEN PRESENT EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN AND THE FOUNDING OF A MODERN MUSEUM

This panel discussion brings together Susan Taylor, the Montine McDaniel Freeman Director of the New Orleans Museum of Art, with modern day philanthropists and representatives from philanthropic organizations for a discussion of how extraordinary women have helped shape NOMA’s collection and mission from its inception to the present day. Panelists include Bethany Bultman (speaking about her late aunt, Muriel Bultman Francis); Walda Besthoff, major donor and joint namesake for the Besthoff Sculpture Garden; and Phyllis Taylor, philanthropist and chair and president of the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation.

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ABOUT EAR TO THE GROUND

Working with natural elements like earth, wind, water and fire, the artists in Ear to the Ground show how nature can spur artistic innovation and spark new thinking about human culture and community. In their art, nature is not just as a resource to be protected or exploited, but rather a generative force with its own sentient power. Mining earth both as a material and a metaphor, the artists in this exhibition treat nature as a teacher: a model for negotiating the complexities of contemporary cultural life. Informed by a kind of elemental logic, their art envisions new ways we might relate to the natural world, as well as to one another.

ABOUT MILDRED THOMPSON: AGAINST THE GRAIN

Against the Grain marks the first solo museum presentation of the experimental wood works of the American artist Mildred Thompson (1936-2003) in more than thirty years. Made during the artist’s self-imposed exile in Europe, Thompson’s wood pictures are only recently being rediscovered and presented in the United States.

ABOUT LINA IRIS VIKTOR: A HAVEN. A HELL. A DREAM DEFERRED.

Lina Iris Viktor is widely recognized for her exploration of art’s connection to history, spirituality, and prophecy. Recasting factual and fantastical narratives surrounding America’s involvement in the founding of Liberia, Lina Iris Viktor: A Haven. A Hell. A Dream Deferred. explores a mythicized history of the West African nation.

Friday Nights at NOMA is supported in part by grant funds from the Azby Fund; Ruby K. Worner Charitable Trust; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation; and the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council.