NEW ORLEANS – On Friday, Nov. 12, the New Orleans Museum of Art will host Odyssey 2021 presented by IberiaBank | First Horizon. Now in its 55th year, the gala event raises funds to support NOMA’s exhibitions and educational programs. Event co-chairs are Katherine and Tony Gelderman and Jennifer and Dennis Lauscha.
The evening kicks off with the Patron Party from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., and continues with the gala from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Entertainment is presented by Élan Artists, featuring local band Blue Rhythm. Guests will enjoy cuisine from Ralph Brennan Catering & Events. Odyssey 2021 will be less formal than years past; guests are encouraged to wear cocktail attire in addition to black tie.
“The bank has a long-standing partnership with NOMA, and we appreciate the arts and culture that the museum provides for the community and visitors,” said Megan Eustis, community relations director for IberiaBank. “We’re looking forward to celebrating and being together at Odyssey Ball 2021.”
This year’s celebration centers around Symbols of Communication, the monumental plaster relief mural by Enrique Alférez which lines the walls of NOMA’s newly renovated Lapis Center for the Arts. One of New Orleans’ most influential artists, Alférez completed the mural in 1967 for the lobby of the New Orleans Times-Picayune Building. Symbols of Communication celebrates the universal desire to share stories through language, an expression of the humanity and power of the written word.
Odyssey 2021 also features NOMA’s fall special exhibition, Dawn DeDeaux: The Space Between Worlds, a comprehensive museum exhibition for the pioneering multimedia artist Dawn DeDeaux. One of the first American artists to connect questions about social justice to emerging environmental concerns, the exhibition is organized around a series of immersive installations that span DeDeaux’s entire 50-year career.
