Arts: Best Bets – Art Melt gets ready to melt away the Red Stick

If anyone has doubts about the vibrancy of the local art scene, Art Melt will surely melt them away. As Baton Rouge’s biggest art event, Forum 35’s popular Art Melt is set for July 14 in and around the Shaw Center downtown. It’s the largest juried multi-media art exhibit in the state and features music from Twin Killers and others, arts and crafts on Third Street, food trucks and, of course, a stellar collection of art inside the Shaw Center. For more information, go to ArtMelt.org.

July 7 The first Sunday of the month means free admission to the LSU Museum of Art, the Louisiana Art & Science Museum and the USS Kidd.

July 21 The Missoula Children’s Theatre Camp takes its tour to the Manship Theatre with a performance of The Secret Garden. Shows start at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. $10. Go to manshiptheatre.org for more.

Until July 22 The Tale of Two Cities exhibit at LSU’s Museum of Modern Art closes this month. It features the gorgeous black and white photos of Paris and New York by famed photographers Eugčne Atget and Berenice Abbott. In conjunction with the photography exhibit, a collection of dresses and accessories from the LSU Textile and Costume Museum is also on display, showcasing designs from New York and Paris dating from 1910 to 1950. That collection will be on view alongside Tale of Two Cities until July 22.

July 28 Baton Rouge Gallery continues its summer series Movies & Music on the Lawn, featuring silent-era films focusing on the future, with Aelita: The Queen of Mars. Improvisational music ensemble The Incense Merchants will perform a never-before-heard score during the film. The event begins at 8 p.m. and is $5 for non-gallery members. Bring a blanket, but don’t worry about popcorn—the gallery is providing unlimited free popcorn to attendees.