The Shore Institute of the Contemporary Arts in Long Branch will host its Fourth Annual Art Auction to benefit SICA and the heavily damaged Contemporary Art Center of New Orleans (CAC).

The auction will be held on Friday, Nov.18, from 6:30-9 p.m.

The Cajun-flavored evening will begin with a Meet the Artists cocktail hour, featuring light fare and sounds of the bayou with local band Stringbean and the Stalkers, and will continue with the auction from 7:45 to 9 p.m.

Everyone will have the opportunity to bid on artworks by a group of prominent and local artists including many who have shown in past SICA exhibitions, as well as other items. Tickets are $40 ($30 for members). R.S.V.P. by Nov. 14 by visiting www.sica.org or calling (732) 263.1121.

SICA is located at 20 Third Ave. in Long Branch.

This special art auction celebrates SICA’s dedication to the arts at the Jersey Shore as well as bringing to the light the plight of the visual arts in flooded New Orleans.

SICA is donating a portion of the auction’s proceeds to CAC-New Orleans, an art center that shares SICA’s mission of bringing arts programming, exhibitions and more to the community.

Both centers need help to continue their missions as well as make essential repairs and improvements to their facilities in the upcoming months.

CAC-New Orleans was devastated by the recent hurricanes. The center lost much of its roof, suffered damage throughout the entire building and lost most of its storage due to flooding on the lower floors. Housed in an award-winning renovated warehouse, CAC-New Orleans is a multidisciplinary arts center that presents programs encompassing the visual arts, music, dance and drama. Established in 1976, CAC hosts as many as two dozen exhibitions in its 10,000 square feet of gallery space each year. CAC-New Orleans’ theatres give local and regional performers and theater companies access to the center’s facilities and services.

SICA was founded five years ago to establish a stimulating and creative environment in which to experience the contemporary arts, as well as increase the general public’s accessibility, awareness and appreciation of the contemporary arts in central New Jersey.

Since its doors opened over a year ago, SICA has drawn thousands of people to its art and music events, educational programs and its critically acclaimed exhibitions.