Art and nature in harmony
NOMA is committed to the health and safety of our community. Please see safety guidelines below.
Admission is free. Donations are appreciated.
Open seven days a week
Summer Hours (April–September) 10 am–6 pm | Winter Hours (October–March) 10 am–5 pm
Wheelchairs may be used throughout our barrier-free property and are available upon request.
Image: Elyn Zimmerman’s Mississippi Meanders bridge is illuminated at dusk.
The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden occupies approximately eleven acres in City Park adjacent to the museum. Atypical of most sculpture gardens, this garden is located within a mature existing landscape of pines, magnolias, and live oaks surrounding two lagoons. The garden design creates outdoor viewing spaces within this picturesque landscape. Originally conceived in 2003, the Sculpture Garden doubled in size in 2019 and has grown to include more than 90 sculptures. READ MORE
Sydney and Walda Besthoff are the namesake visionary founders behind a world-renowned sculpture garden for New Orleans.
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Architects, landscape architects, lighting designers, and arborists were among the contractors who made it all possible.
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See highlights of the Sculpture Garden in a virtual tour produced in partnership with the Google Arts & Culture Initiative.
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You can play a role in the historic expansion of the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden by making a gift to support the project.
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Relive the excitement of the grand opening of the Besthoff Sculpture Garden expansion in May 2019.
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Bronze
Pablo Casals’s Obelisk, a towering accumulation of welded bronze cellos, dominates the waters of a lagoon in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Standing over twenty feet tall, the Obelisk, built in homage to the world-renowned Spanish-Puerto Rican cellist and human rights activist Pablo Casals, is an imposing example of monumental sculpture by French-born artist Arman.
The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art offers detailed entries on 64 artworks in the original 2003 garden, as well as a bibliography and overview of the garden’s founding. 192 pages, hardcover. Edited by Miranda Lash. $49.95
Music in the Garden (or in this case, the front of the museum) with @markcolemanfunkblues on the Piano Truck 
Music in the Garden with @brettgardnermusic and the @cigarboxserenaders 
SILENT AUCTION IS NOW OPEN 
Bid now on original works—including a featured painting by @saskiaozols—and one-of-a-kind experiences in support of Art in Bloom Presented by First Horizon Bank!
Swipe to browse works by:
Saskia Ozols @jamesmichalopoulos @friendandcompany @huntslonem @harounigallery I. Ozols saragooteeart Tim Trapolin @visitnatchez @demondmatsuo
One of the most anticipated springtime events in New Orleans, Art in Bloom Presented by First Horizon Bank showcases spectacular floral designs created by garden clubs, floral designers, and creative talents from New Orleans and beyond.
Funds raised during Art in Bloom support NOMA and the Garden Study Club of New Orleans.
Click the link in our bio to see all works and place your bids today.
This year’s cohort of Creative Assembly residents at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) includes eight artists from various disciplines. Launched in 2021, NOMA’s Creative Assembly residency promotes community engagement by welcoming artists to collaborate throughout the year with the museum’s permanent collection, special exhibitions, and programs.
“We are thrilled to see this year’s Creative Assembly Cohort hit the ground running, finding inspiration in NOMA’s collection and exhibitions,” said Susan M. Taylor, The Montine McDaniel Freeman Director of NOMA. “As one of the largest fine arts museums in the Gulf South, we are honored to serve as a space for discovery and innovation for the artists who are defining our current moment.”
Members of the 2024–25 Creative Assembly Cohort are:
Poet Andy Young (@andyyoungpoet)
Dancer and choreographer Caleb Dowden (@__sheba)
Filmmaker and visual artist Carl Harrison Jr. (@carl_harrisonjr)
Musician, spoken word artist, and harpist Cassie Watson Francillon (@cassandharp)
Painter, drawer, and ceramic artist Horton Humble (@hortonhumble)
Clay, metal, and fibers artist Jer’Lisa Devezin (@_jerlisa_)
Collage artist LaVonna Varnado-Brown (@arijino.artistry)
Poet Nikkisha K. Napoleon
OPENING SOON 
"New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations"
On view at NOMA starting April 4, the exhibition spotlights the work of four contemporary artists working in cities across West Africa: Chief Ekpenyong Bassey Nsa, Sheku “Goldenfinger” Fofanah, David Sanou, and Hervé Youmbi.
The first presentation of its kind, "New African Masquerades" offers a rare look into contemporary West African masquerade by contextualizing the works of individual artists within a range of social, economic, and religious practices and examining their networks of viewership and exchange.
Made from materials including wood, cloth and fabrics, sequins, feathers, gourds, raffia, and cowry shells, the ensembles on view represent a wide variety of masquerade practices and societies.
Organized in partnership with the Musée des Civilisations noires (@mcndakar) in Dakar, Senegal, the exhibition will be also be presented in a parallel form for African audiences—marking the first time an exhibition will be presented in such a way in North America and Africa.
Click the link in our bio to learn more.
— Hervé Youmbi, "Tso Scream Mask" and "Tso Scream Leopard Mask
at the Nka’a Kossié society succession ceremony at Fondati Chieftaincy, Saturday, December 3, 2022. Photo by Hervé Youmbi. Courtesy of the artist and Axis Gallery, New York, New York, and West Orange, New Jersey.
Happy hump day! 
Camels, which evolved in North America before migrating to Asia and Africa, were domesticated over 3,000 years ago and became essential to human civilization.
By the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), they powered trade along the Silk Road, linking China to Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.
More than being transport animals, camels symbolize endurance, prosperity, and cross-cultural exchange, carrying materials, ideas, and artistic traditions across vast landscapes.
This 7th-century funerary figure reflects this history, embodying movement and connectivity. The robustly sculpted camel strides forward, heavily laden with saddlebags, flasks, and bolsters, symbolizing commerce and human interaction.
The rider, clad in foreign attire distinct from traditional Chinese dress—a thick-collared jacket, pantaloons, and leather boots—sits comfortably on a fringed fur rug, his chubby cheeks and contented smile hinting at the prosperity of Silk Road travelers.
Click the link in our bio to learn more about this work in NOMA`s permanent collection from Simeneh Gebremariam, Curatorial and Programs Assistant.
—: "Bactrian Camel with Rider Holding a Small Animal," Tang Dynasty, 7th Century. Gray earthenware, molded, carved, and applied with traces of cold-painted color. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. R. Randolph Richmond, Jr. 2009.61.a, b.
: Third floor, Chinese art
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