New Orleans gets a joyful homecoming for one of its own this fall. Great Scott! The Life/Work of Carol Scott opens November 7, 2026, at the Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans, 900 Camp Street, and runs through March 9, 2027, in the First Floor Gallery.
The landmark solo exhibition brings together more than 40 past and current works across various media, celebrating Scott’s significant contributions to visual art in New Orleans. It is the first full retrospective of her work presented at a major New Orleans cultural institution — a long-awaited chance to see a whole career in one place.
Now in her eighties, Scott has worked as a sculptor, painter and poet, and helped elevate colored pencil to a fine art form. A New Orleans native, she earned her MFA from the University of New Orleans, studied sculpture under noted local artist Angela Gregory, and as a young woman also studied under John Kennedy Toole, author of A Confederacy of Dunces. She founded the art program at the University of Holy Cross in 1987 and was named Professor Emerita there in 2018.
Scott has created more than 600 works, taken part in more than 300 exhibitions — including the London Biennale in 2025 and the Chianciano Biennale in Italy in 2024 — and published two books of poetry and art. Her work is held in the New Orleans Permanent Art Collection, and the Colored Pencil Society of America has recognized her with national honors. Happy City News invites art lovers to make a date on Camp Street and give this New Orleans original the celebration she deserves.
Photo: Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans
