Gloria Callais remembers watching her brother, John Bartholomew Bienvenu, paint watercolor canvases of the Irish countryside during a trip they once took to that country.
Bienvenu, of St. Martinville, died in 2012 at the age of 62. The University alum was a psychologist who also taught courses at his alma mater, in subjects like horticulture and art.
Art was his true love, Callais said.
“He just loved all kinds – movies, plays – but the painting came after he retired. He just became more and more interested in it. He kept wanting to learn all he could. He would go to all of these places like Mexico and Ireland,” Callais said.
In homage to her brother, Callais’ generosity has helped establish the John Bartholomew Bienvenu Lecture Series.
The annual lecture, symposium or panel discussion will be hosted by The Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum.
True to Bienvenu’s wide-ranging interests, the series will encompass a range of subjects and themes, said Lance Harris, interim director of the University Art Museum.
“It will explore topics related to the museum field or art in any of its forms. We want to offer programs that are going to appeal to a diverse audience and reach a wide range of people,” he said.
Harris would like the first installment of the John Bartholomew Bienvenu Lecture Series to take place in late Spring 2014.
“A newly appointed committee will meet later this month to start discussing ideas and planning,” he said.
The series will add to a range of exhibits, programs and tours at University Art Museum, which houses a permanent collection of 18th through 21st century European, Asian and American art.
The museum’s 11,000 square feet of gallery space also hosts changing exhibitions of regional, national and international art.
Two such exhibitions will be in place from Sept. 14 to Dec. 14, with an opening reception from 6-8 p.m. on Sept. 13 at the museum.
“Intimate Science” will explore the natural and physical world, according to information at the University Art Museum’s website.
“A Continuous Mark,” will feature the work of two artists, Huguette May and Kathleen Elliot, who employ several different mediums.
The new lecture series is one of several key initiatives on which Harris, who joined the university Art Museum in February, is working.
He also will coordinate: completing the accreditation process with the American Alliance of Museums; launching the museum’s new fundraising group, the Hilliard Society, expanding cooperative programming with University students and faculty; strengthening programs and educational opportunities for area K-12 students and building relationships with museum supporters, donors and volunteers.
For more information about the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum, log on at hilliardmuseum.org.