As the heat index rises and everyone tries to beat the heat this August, The Helis Foundation will team up with some of New Orleans’ largest art institutions and the WVUE-TV (Fox 8) meteorological team to provide free admission during their “Art & AC” event. When the meteorologists at Fox 8 say the temperature has hit 95 degrees, The Helis Foundation is granting free admission to New Orleans Museum of Art, Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Contemporary Arts Center on the following day.
This marks the third year of The Helis Foundations’ award-winning initiative, which saw more than 5,500 guests visit the featured museums over a span of eight days in 2018. “The Helis Foundation’s mission is to help advance access to the arts, and ‘Art & AC’ is a fun, unique way to open these museums to all Louisiana residents,” said Jessie Haynes, The Helis Foundation’s Managing Director.
The Helis Foundation is a local philanthropy organization founded and funded by the William Helis Family. “Art & AC” is an initiative enacted by the organization’s Diana Helis Henry and Adrienne Helis Malvin Art Funds–the branch of the foundation which makes grants to sustain operations, provides free admission to arts centers and acquires artwork for significant institutions in the New Orleans area.
Every week during the year, The Helis Foundation gives free admission to Louisiana residents at leading institutions, such as New Orleans Museum of Art every Wednesday and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art every Thursday. In addition, the Art Funds also underwrites some of the city’s major projects, including Prospect.3’s Basquiat and the Bayou, Lynda Benglis’ The Wave of the World in City Park and Solidary & Solitary: The Joyner/Giuffrida Collection organized by the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, among many others.
At any of the “Art & AC” events, attendees can expect art exhibitions, free sunglasses, fans, water bottles and–as if all of that wasn’t good enough–the sweet relief of air condition. For more information concerning The Helis Foundation and the “Art & AC” event, visit the organization’s website, here.
