Studio BE by the tracks on Royal Street. (Jeremy Tauriac photo via Newcomb Art Museum)
New Orleans artist and international muralist Brandan “BMike” Odums will celebrate the opening of his latest exhibition, N̶O̶T̶ Supposed 2-Be Here, at Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane this Saturday, Jan. 18. This will be his first ever solo exhibition in a museum setting.
Odums is most known for his large-scale artwork; he is the artist behind the murals on the Lafitte Greenway, Buddy Bolden on Rampart Street and parts of the Toledano Wall Mural. Much of his activist art lives inside Studio BE near his alma mater, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.
Odums’ work usually appears in unexpected places, places where only intrepid graffiti painters would dare to go. His Project BE series in decaying, abandoned public housing complexes captured the city’s attention in 2013.
The exhibition on the Newcomb Art Museum website as follows:
N̶O̶T̶ Supposed 2-Be Here, which features brand new site-specific installations, as well as past work, is part retrospective and part futurescape. Addressing the question of who or what kind of art belongs in a museum, the show explores four different takes on inclusion and identity drawn across notions of art, race, place, and accessibility.
Announcing the show on Instagram, Odums said: “Trying to curb my enthusiasm. Not sure if I should say a lot or let the work speak.” You can find out what he decides by attending a talk by the artist during the opening reception on Saturday.
(via Instagram)
A free opening reception takes place from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday. From 4 to 5 p.m., there will be guided kids art activities inspired by the exhibition. The adult reception kicks off at 5 p.m. and will feature music by DJ RQ Away, an artist talk from Odums, and food and drinks by Chef Ashley Jonique until 8 p.m.
N̶O̶T̶ Supposed 2-Be Here was curated by Laura Blereau and will be on view until May 23.
