The Frenchmen Art Market is closing, but a new location is in order

The Frenchmen Art Market will move on from the street that is its namesake after one last weekend. A second line from the current Frenchmen Street location to its new home at the The Art Garage on St. Claude Avenue will mark its transition on Tuesday, July 25.

“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 Frenchmen Art Market opened at its original location in April 2012 and moved to its permanent home next to the Spotted Cat a few months later. The space has hosted a variety of local and visiting artists, who have sold their paintings, sculptures, jewelry and more to New Orleanians and tourists alike. The Art Garage will feature many of the same artists that set up shop at the Frenchmen Art Market, and unlike its predecessor the Art Garage’s operating hours will not be dependent on the weather. The location will be open from 8pm to 1am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

The reasons for the Art Market’s closure were not made clear in a press release, but a Facebook post by the space reads, “This is the Frenchmen Art Market’s last weekend to be open. We continued to pay our rent but decided to second line out when the sheriff arrives.”

The Art Market’s move comes over a year after organizers announced their intention to relocate to the nearby French Market in the French Quarter, though those plans never came to fruition. That idea was floated after developer Gregor Fox told vendors in the Frenchmen Art Market that he was seeking to create an “events venue” in the so-called Trash Palace, a warehouse space located behind the Frenchmen Art Market. Fox said that the Art Market would eventually have to go, as the space was needed as an entrance and parking area for the forthcoming project.

This Tuesday’s second line will kick off at 8pm and will end with a party at the Art Garage complete with beverages and a DJ. The route for the procession will  be Frenchmen to Royal, Royal to Esplanade, Esplanade back down Frenchmen to Dauphine, Dauphine to Elysian Fields, and Elysian Fields to St. Claude.