New Orleans is getting a joyful homecoming this fall. The Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) opens Nic[o] Brierre Aziz: Sweet Surrender on November 7, 2026, running through February 14, 2027 — the first institutional solo exhibition for an artist born and raised in New Orleans.
Aziz, who earned his M.F.A. in Sculpture from Yale University in 2025 and now lives and works between New York, New Haven and New Orleans, returns to 900 Camp Street in the Warehouse Arts District with a survey of ten years of work in performance, photography, sculpture and installation, curated by Allison K. Young. It is a full-circle moment for the CAC as it celebrates 50 years: Aziz once worked as a young gallery guard in this same building.
The title is playful and personal. “Sweet” nods to sugar and to pleasure and sensuality at the heart of art, while “surrender” celebrates accepting a creative calling and letting go of control. Expect wit, warmth and surprise — Aziz even mines his own archive of rejection and resignation letters — alongside works using cotton, sugar, molasses and water to connect Louisiana and Haiti with humor and imagination. At its heart, the CAC says, this is a show about love of community and art as personal and collective freedom.
Happy City News recommends pairing the visit with a Warehouse District afternoon. The CAC is open Wednesday and Thursday 11 a.m.–9 p.m. and Friday to Sunday 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Photo: Reading Tom via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
