New Orleans’ expanded sculpture park – sights to behold
- The additions to the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Garden, at New Orleans Museum of Art, covers 2.4 hectares and includes 27 sculptures
- New works include Katharina Fritsch’s giant skull, Frank Stella’s oversized metal star and a trippy mirrored labyrinth by Jeppe Hein
What is it? A newly expanded sculpture garden – 2.4 hectares (six acres) have been added to an existing two – at the New Orleans Museum of Art (aka Noma), in Louisiana, in the United States. Along with 27 recently acquired and commissioned works of art, the US$15 million extension includes an indigenous planting scheme and a lagoon system designed to store excess rainfall (a concern since 2005, when Hurricane Katrina laid waste to this part of the world) and improve water quality through natural filtration. You’ll find the garden in the lower tip of the 525-hectare New Orleans City Park.
Who are Sydney and Walda? Local philanthropists who donated most of the sculptures on display. They are “known as connoisseurs of modern and contemporary sculpture”, according to the Noma website.
Why visit? The garden is proof that, together, art and nature form an irresistible duo. It provides a tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle of The Big (not so) Easy, and possesses a display of sculpture – 90-plus pieces by artists living and dead – unlike anywhere else in the US. Oh, and admission is free.
What can’t be missed?
