Gibbes Museum of Art announced New Orleans artist Démond Mélançon as the 2024 winner of the 1858 Prize for Contemporary Art of the South.

Melancon is a self-taught artist who works only with needle and thread to sew glass beads onto canvas. He began this practice in 1992 after becoming involved in the black masking culture of New Orleans.

Today, in his role as Grand Chef, Melancon is known for creating massive costumes adorned with intricate hand-sewn beading that reveal a collective visual narrative.

For his contribution to a new perspective on Southern art, Melancon will receive a $10,000 cash award and will be recognized at the 1858 Society’s Amy P. Coy Forum on February 7, 2025. Additionally, works by art will be chosen by the Gibbes curatorial team, in collaboration with Demond, for exhibition in the museum’s galleries Modern and Contemporary Mary Jackson Gallery for the duration of the year following the announcement.

“We are proud to honor Demond and his unique glass bead creations, which are shaping the future of contemporary art,” said Angela Mack, president and CEO of the Gibbes Museum of Art. “Established to honor a living artist whose work contributes to a new understanding of the arts in the South, the 1858 Prize was awarded to 16 Southern artists. This year, we are honored to highlight Demond’s talent and look forward to seeing his continued contributions to the art world. »

Melancon’s works often reflect untold stories from the past, honoring black subjects historically excluded from the artistic canon while challenging stereotypical representations of black identity.

“Changing the way people perceive Southern art changes the narrative of my community,” he told the Post and Courier.

Melancon is excited that his work is “paving the way for the next generation” of contemporary artists and his New Orleans community. Its mission to tell often untold stories doesn’t stop in New Orleans either.

During his many visits to South Carolina, he found that Charleston felt “like a second home.” A visit to the International African American Museum, in particular, led him to launch one of his latest projects, inspired by the Amistad Takeover, a revolt led by African slaves aboard a ship the taking him to a life of slavery on a sugar plantation in Puerto Principe, Cuba.

A costume is never truly finished, according to Melancon, who admitted that even once a piece is finished, “I can always add something to it.” And “beadwork is constantly evolving,” because the stories themselves continue.

Melancon’s work has been featured in notable exhibitions, including those at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art in Charleston, and the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art in Brooklyn, New York. His art is part of several prestigious collections, such as the International African American Museum and the Toledo Museum of Art. In 2023, he was honored as a Joan Mitchell Fellow by the Joan Mitchell Foundation.

“I want people to realize that this is more than an art form, it’s a bold nation and culture,” he said.

Recognition like the 1858 award allowed Melancon to give back to local artists in his own community through his involvement on the board of directors of the New Orleans Tourism and Culture Fund.

His first solo exhibition, “Demond Melancon: As all means are necessary”, is still on display at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, 161 Calhoun St. until December 7.