Time to put on your most off-the-wall costumes for the city’s trippiest art show—celebrating its 10th anniversary this month

Jason Andreasen remembers those early talks when Baton Rouge Gallery was considering a surreal art-themed event 10 years ago.

“There was a lot of discussion internally about whether or not this would work,” says Andreasen, the gallery’s executive director.

Would Baton Rouge embrace the lowbrow and often weird artwork the surrealism movement is known for? And would we also be down with partying around that artwork in trippy, ridiculous costumes?

The answer was most definitely yes, and the one-night event and exhibition was a success—not to mention a chance for locals to show off their kooky sides.

The next year, Surreal Salon grew into a month-long exhibition of juried art culminating in its costumed soiree. Every year since, the event has grown—not just in the entertainment or the attendees for the soiree, but in the number of art entries. Initially, the competition was just open to Louisiana artists, then to national artists and, this year, to submissions from across the globe in response to interest from international artists.

The 62 artists whose works were chosen for 2018 represent five countries, including the United States.

“It felt like a good time to expand the show,” Andreasen says. “In future years, hopefully people in other parts of the world become more aware of the opportunity here, and its reach continues to grow.”

Surreal Salon has drawn the attention of art magazine Juxtapoz, which has featured the event in its pages, and attracted national jurors such as this year’s Ron English, who is “easily one of the most recognized artists” in the trade, Andreasen says.

“When we started this thing, the idea was really trying to create an event that was as much fun as it was artistically substantive,” he says. “And now to be 10 years down the road and have some of the biggest artists in this movement be part of the show is just incredible.”

What to expect at the Surreal Salon Soiree

“You have around 65 pieces of art on display, but for that one night there are hundreds more pieces of art added to the show in the form of people’s costumes. You don’t come here and find a lot of store-bought costumes. People are pulling together items from their homes and working on them for months to turn them into something special.” 

—Jason Andreasen, Baton Rouge Gallery executive director.

This article was originally published in the January 2018 issue of 225 Magazine.