NEW ORLEANS — If you’ve ever visited Frenchmen Street on any given busy night, you’ve likely walked through the Frenchmen Art Market.
For years, it’s been a go-to for local art, unique crafts, jewelry and a wide variety of other vendors. It attracts large crowds of both tourists and locals.
This weekend (July 22-23) will be the final weekend that the popular art market will be next to the Spotted Cat on Frenchmen Street.
Kate Gaar, owner and creative director of the Frenchmen Art Market and The Garage, told WGNO that the art market was evicted by the owner after a long legal fight. The eviction wasn’t due to lack of payment, she said, but because the owner needs the space to use as a parking lot for another development.
Now, it’s moving to a new home at The Art Garage in the Bywater and, of course, celebrating the move with an eviction second line and party on Tuesday, July 25. The party starts at 619 Frenchmen St. at 7 p.m., and then second lines down to the Art Garage at 2231 St. Claude.
The Frenchmen Art Market opened as a pop-up market in April 2012 and became a permanent fixture on Frenchmen Street in August of the same year.
“Frenchmen has been our home for over five years, and we have loved being a part of this community,” said Kate Gaar, owner and creative director of the Frenchmen Art Market and The Garage. “With the move of the Frenchmen Art Market to The Art Garage, we are hoping to provide a unique and innovative complement to the already vibrant local art landscape, including the St. Claude Arts District, and thriving local nightlife.”
The Art Garage – named because of its historic use as an old auto body garage – offers a new, creative space with five roll up garage doors and large murals, including an overlooking balcony.