Artspace — Attraction in Shreveport

From spidery-rooted botanicals and impressionistic portraits by regional artists to a gigantic steamboat as pirate ship as imagined by Wolfbat (Dennis McNett) and aggressive cardboard caricatures created by Wayne White, this 4-level art emporium typically has a wide range of art on its walls and floors.

Daytime parking is by street meters or by a large, free lot owned by adjacent Methodist church. Admission is free, though some music-and-food-filled receptions may have a cover charge.

Gift shop features jewelry and fabric pieces by regional artists.

One reason that Artspace Shreveport is so visually appealing is that it is a huge historic storefront restoration. The gleaming wood floors and gigantic walls are a striking canvas for art.

There's also a cafe - which at the moment it is being relocated downstairs. At any rate, local cooks work hard at presenting cool sandwiches and hot soups at lunch.

Creative director of Artspace is artist and filmmaker William Joyce (Academy Award for the short, The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore, creator of animated features such as Robots, 2005, Meet the Robinsons, 2007, Rise of the Guardians, 2012). Films and sketches by Joyce and his collaborators - he is founder of Moonbot Studios - are regularly...

I expected more from this place. The concept is great, and the art is awesome to look at. I usually eat at the diners downtown as they are closer to my office than getting in my car and driving. I ordered the turkey ruben and their version of chicken tortilla soup. The ruben was very lackluster; it seemed as if they just threw the stuff together on the sandwhich and put in on the press. I can deal with that, but the soup is what convinced me to not go back. There was a total of 3 tortilla chips with the soup to crumble up for the soup. In addition, they apparently did not debone the chicken for the soup well, because in two seperate bites of a cup of the soup, I bit into cartilage. I will admit, the service was friendly though, which is what brought this review up to...

The Critical Mass show for 2025 had many gorgeous pieces, and the Winner's Showcase upstairs, featuring both visual and literary works was REMARKABLE. However, the updated facility was showing age and wear and tear. There were loads of paint splatters on the gorgeous wood floors, and an active water leak puddling on two floors, way too close to the delicate art. Their elevator was out of commission, and only one entry door open, extolling visitors to use the "lef" one, hand-scrawled on torn paper. Title cards had fallen to the floor Where covid decals were still present. It was a great show though, just deserving...