JONATHAN FERRARA GALLERY is pleased to announce the 20th Annual NO DEAD ARTISTS International Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Art. For the twentieth anniversary of this important exhibition, the duration has been extended to coincide with the kick off of the New Orleans arts season with the opening reception in conjunction with Whitney White Linen Night on Saturday 6 August, 5:30-9:30pm which will see over 50,000 guests in the Arts District New Orleans. The exhibition will be on view from 3 August through 17 September 2016, with another First Saturday Gallery Opening on 3 September, 6-9 pm. Several of the selected artists will be present at each of these receptions.
 
The NO DEAD ARTISTS exhibition was founded by Ferrara in 1995 to give a voice to emerging artists. The exhibition's name is derived from the old adage that artists never achieve success until they are dead. NO DEAD ARTISTS turns that notion on its head and gives emerging artists their first break in the art world. In the 90's, the exhibition was open only to New Orleans-based artists and subsequently grew to include artists of Louisiana. In 2010, the exhibition expanded to become a national juried exhibition open to artists from the entire US, and finally in 2014 the exhibition went international.
 
Now in its 20th iteration, the exhibition has been a springboard for numerous artists leading to national press coverage, recognition, gallery representation and acquisitions by museums and other prominent collections. Each year gallery owner Jonathan Ferrara invites a panel of renowned arts professionals and collectors to select the newest creative talents. Past jurors have included Prospect.1 Founder and Curator Dan Cameron, Museum Director Billie Milam Weisman, Collector and Philanthropist Beth Rudin DeWoody, MacArthur Fellow John Scott, Whitney Trustee and Ballroom Marfa Co-founder Fairfax Dorn, NOMA Director Susan Taylor, artist Tony Fitzpatrick, Director of the Andy Warhol Museum Eric Shiner, Director of the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas and Founder and Artistic Director of the VOLTA Fair Amanda Coulson, Dishman Art Museum Director Megan Koza Young, ArtBridge Curator Jordana Zeldin, Collector and MoMA Board Member Lawrence Benenson, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Director Bill Arning, Brooklyn Museum of Art Board of Directors Stephanie Ingrassia, and Collector, Hedge Fund Partner and Prospect New Orleans Biennial board member Nick Mayor and director and owner of Art Market Productions Max Fishko.

For the 2016 edition, three renowned arts professionals served as the NO DEAD ARTISTS jury :::

ANASTASIA JAMES - Associate Curator at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco

FRANKLIN SIRMANS - Director of Perez Art Museum, Miami and Artistic Director of Prospect.3 Biennial, New Orleans

LESTER MARKS - Named Among Top 200 Collectors World Wide by artnet, Houston

Of the approximate 2,500 artworks submitted to this jury by over 500 artists worldwide, only thirteen artists were selected to have their work exhibited at JONATHAN FERRARA GALLERY.