Photos that document disappearing Black-owned bars lounges in New Orleans, abstract compositions made with jewelry and toys, and a mixed-media installation are all among The Hilliard Art Museum – University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s spring exhibitions.
So, too, are a couple of exhibits with ties very close to home. The Hilliard University Art Museum will showcase a collection of will showcase a collection of prints produced by visiting artists to UL Lafayette's Marais Press with assistance from students. Another Hilliard exhibit in place this spring will showcase works selected from the museum’s permanent collection.
A description of each of the exhibits in place this spring is below.
- “Twenty Years of Marais Press: Imprinting a Campus and Collection,” will provide a retrospective of work produced at UL Lafayette’s printmaking studio in Fletcher Hall. The selections honor the apprentice-based learning mode at the press. It has hosted over 200 visiting artists from across the world who come to work and mentor students. The exhibit will end Aug. 20.
- “Deep Look: Selections from the Permanent Collection” will provide a look at some of the Hilliard Art Museum’s finest works. The exhibition is also intended to showcase the museum’s new educational and interpretative strategies, which include additional labels, prompts, and language designed to enable deeper insights for visitors. It will run through June 30.
- “L. Kasimu Harris: Vanishing Black Bars & Lounges” will feature Harris’ photographs that illustrate the disappearance of Black-owned bars and lounges on St. Bernard Avenue in New Orleans’s 7th Ward. The gathering spots were mainstays of the community, places for refreshment and camaraderie, and hubs for cultural expression. The exhibit will be in place through July 30.
- “Shawne Major: Schema” will highlight the artist’s layered abstract compositions. Her pieces are made with materials such as lace, jewelry, plastic toys and other baubles. The works serve as metaphors for how culture and belief systems are constructed by people. The exhibit will be in place through Jan. 7, 2023.
- “Talking to Death: An Allegory for Sculpture” is a multi-media installation by Trevor Gould. He examines sculpture in the 21st century as artists move into non-genre specific studio practices. The installation is indicative of a broad trend by artists to work in a manner that is not easily defined. It ends July 9.
Hilliard University Art Museum features 11,000 square feet of gallery space and is the largest exhibition space between Houston and New Orleans. It houses a collection of 18th- through 21st-century European, Asian and American art. In addition to its permanent collection, it offers changing exhibitions of regional, national and international art.
The museum is at 710 E. St. Mary Blvd., on the UL Lafayette campus.
Admission to Hilliard University Art Museum is $7.50 for adults, $6 for adults over age 62, $4.50 for students between the ages of 5 and 17, and free for children younger than 5 years old. UL Lafayette students, faculty and staff members can visit the museum for free with their University ID cards.
To learn more about the museum, exhibits, artists and programs, visit hilliardmuseum.org or call (337) 482-2278.
Photo caption: Five exhibitions that collectively showcase photographs, mixed media, prints produced by visiting artists to UL Lafayette's Marais Press with assistance from students (above), abstract compositions, and works selected from the museum’s permanent collection are in place this spring at the Hilliard Art Museum – University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Submitted image