Acadiana Center For The Arts

Education and outreach - aca and lpss partnered up on many events. The in media res exhibition, inspired by louisiana poet laureate darrell bourque's poetry, drew 10,500 visitors and included hands-on workshops for 5th-grade students. On october 16, 2023, aca collaborated with alice boucher elementary and northside leaders to paint a crosswalk, celebrating two decades of supporting north lafayette schools. The creole nutcracker was staged on november 30, 2023, offering 2,000 students an immersive arts experience. Aca also hosted a successful insiders salon on april 23, 2024, bringing together innovators and young professionals to explore the arts' role in community-building. The student arts expo on april 13, 2024, showcased over 1,000 students' work, with 6,000 families attending. Additionally, aca expanded its summer camps for at-risk youth, providing arts education to foster, unhoused, and migrant children.

Community development - aca launched several major initiatives to support regional culture and the creative economy. The let culture lead campaign, announced in september 2023, aims to establish a museum celebrating louisiana's musical legacy and expand arts in education. The december 2023 pelican ball raised funds for local arts projects, while the artspark program, supported by leda and the nea, awarded 50,000 to local artists in 2024. The state of the arts panel in may 2024 explored the economic impact of local artists, and the ceramics now exhibition, which opened in june 2024, showcased acadiana's diverse pottery traditions. These efforts highlight aca's ongoing dedication to cultural enrichment and creative growth in acadiana.

General programming