Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NATCHEZ — A new contemporary art gallery will open its doors Friday with an artist exhibition, reception and ceremonial ribbon cutting with the Natchez Adams Chamber of Commerce.

The Natchez Adams Chamber of Commerce will be celebrating the official opening of Conde Contemporary with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting at 6 p.m. Friday at the gallery at 334 Main Street.

Natchez Adams Chamber of Commerce President Debbie Hudson said gallery owner Stacy Conde and her husband, Andres Conde, who is a native of Cuba and featured artist at the gallery, moved to Natchez from Miami in March.

“They could move anywhere and yet they chose to be here,” Hudson said. “… They are a great plus for our community.”

The couple had been planning to transition their art gallery from Miami to Natchez since 2017 to be closer to family in the area, Stacy said, adding the COVID-19 pandemic gave them just the push they needed to get out of the big city.

“We had planned to move to Natchez in 2017 and in 2018 we bought a house here,” Stacy said. “We had the gallery in Miami and the Natchez Project kept getting pushed back because things were going so well. … After a couple of months of our gallery being shuttered, we focused on our online space. As sales continued, it showed us that our physical location became less and less important. So we were able to fulfill our dream and come to Natchez.”

Conde Contemporary’s exhibition on Friday will showcase works by long-term Conde talents, including José Bedia, Ernesto Capdevila, Andres Conde, Françoise de Felice, Darian Mederos, César Orrico, Luis Rodriguez Noa, Pablo Santibáñez Servat, Kevin Sloan, Marion Sulkin, Enrique Toledo, and Luis Enrique Toledo del Río.

In addition to the local gallery space and online store, Stacy said a goal of Conde Contemporary is to launch a teaching-artist residency program and bring international artists to Natchez to host lessons.

Stacy said after the grand opening, Conde Contemporary would be open to visitors from noon until 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

For more information, visit their website at www.condecontemporary.com, email info@condecontemporary.com or call 601-392-2259.