Art and Soul

Beads will be flying around town for Mardi Gras tomorrow night, but a different sort of celebration is on tap at the Warehouse. A new exhibit, "Arty Gras," opens at the gallery with king cake, a jazz band and a cash bar.

After Hurricane Katrina, Beth Baldwin, the curator of the exhibit and a resident of Southeast Washington, went on the New Orleans craigslist site to see how she could help. She saw a posting by a Chicago gallery that offered exhibition space to artists displaced by the hurricane. Despite not having any curating experience, she wanted to make the same thing happen in D.C. As a result of her efforts -- and those of the Warehouse -- upwards of 90 works by more than 40 New Orleans artists will be on display. Twenty percent of the proceeds from works sold will go to a Habitat for Humanity fund earmarked for the Gulf Coast.

The opening party is Tuesday from 7:30 p.m.-11 p.m. at the Warehouse. If you can't make the gala, the exhibit will be up until March 19.

--Julia