A Good Gallery Walk in the Warehouse District

Julia Street in the Warehouse District is a major center of New Orleans's contemporary arts scene, and for art enthusiasts a day on (and just off) Julia is a requirement.

The street is lined with galleries, specialty shops, and modern apartment buildings, and the greatest concentration of them stretches from South Peters Street to Camp Street.

Start your walk on Camp and St. Joseph streets. Whet your appetite inside the airy, contemporary, stone-and-glass-walled Ogden Museum of Southern Art (925 Camp St. 504/539–9650), which houses the largest collection of Southern art anywhere. Across the street, the multidisciplinary Contemporary Arts Center (900 Camp St. 504/528–3805) hosts performances, concerts, and lectures, and runs stimulating and eclectic exhibitions by local and foreign artists. Pop in if there's an exhibition, and then continue on your way down Camp to Julia Street. Turn left on Julia to see five gallery and studio spaces in the single block between this corner and St. Charles Avenue.

At Camp and Julia streets you'll find Gallery 600 Julia (600 Julia St. 504/895–7375), in the first of the Thirteen Sisters addresses that make up the historic Julia Street Row. Gallery 600 shows a mix of contemporary and historical paintings depicting Louisiana scenery and life, from wetlands wildlife to New Orleans cityscapes.

A longtime champion of the visual arts scene in New Orleans, Arthur Roger maintains a world-class gallery (432–434 Julia St. 504/522–1999) that occupies two adjacent Julia Street addresses behind gleaming glass-walled facades. The gallery is a leader in representing prominent local artists and works from around the globe, and is an influential presence in the national art scene.

In the next block you'll find contemporary work with a political edge and a public conscience at Jonathan Ferrara Gallery (400a Julia St. 504/522–5471).

Next door, the lofty whitewashed brick-and-glass space inside Søren Christensen (400 Julia St. 504/569–9501) provides a gorgeous backdrop for always-excellent exhibitions, largely featuring contemporary painting but sometimes photography and sculpture.

Keep heading toward the river to LeMieux Galleries (332 Julia St. 504/522–5988), where contemporary Southern artists are the stars; drawings, paintings, photography, and sculpture from throughout the region are showcased here.