BATON ROUGE, LA.- Our Louisiana, on view until January 14, 2024, explores Louisiana’s history and culture through objects from LASM’s permanent collection. Featuring artwork in a variety of media by Louisiana-born and Louisiana-based artists, the exhibition is divided into the categories of Nineteenth Century Art; Modern Art; Contemporary Art; Baton Rouge Art; and Self-Taught Art, Folk Art, and Craft. Organized by the Louisiana Art & Science Museum and curated from its collection, Our Louisiana is on view on the first floor of the main gallery.

“We are excited to present Our Louisiana to our community,” stated Serena Pandos, LASM President & Executive Director. “This exhibition will not only resonate with residents of our beloved state, but will also educate and engage out-of-town visitors on the gumbo of culture that is uniquely ‘Our Louisiana.‘ As a museum, our duty is to care for the objects held in our collection, and to tell the story that these objects hold—to preserve our rich natural and cultural inheritance, both tangible and intangible.”

Pandos continues, “With this exhibition, treasures from the LASM vault were carefully selected to include works by 31 different artists from our region whose work, in some way, expounds upon the significant connection between art and science. We hope people will find it as profound and meaningful as we do, and we encourage folks to come out (safely) and see what there is to see!"

Featured in the exhibition are works by Louisiana legends including Conrad Albrizio, John James Audubon, Fritz Bultman, Elizabeth Catlett, Michael Crespo, Caroline Durieux, Lin Emery, Knute Heldner, Ida Kohlmeyer, Paul Ninas, Edward Pramuk, Hunt Slonem, and Margaret Stones.

“I am still in awe of the connections that each of these works of art share,” stated Lexi Adams, LASM Curator. “Each object and artist has contributed to the development of art in our state. As I previously served as LASM’s Collections Manager for more than five years, I am intimately familiar with these works. Seeing them displayed together for the first time in this context is a great moment for the Museum's collection. We hope that visitors come back again and again to view this exhibition, returning to their favorite artwork and discovering something new and inspiring each time.”

LASM has been a collecting institution since its founding in 1962. The growth of the collection has been guided by the service of members of the Board of Trustees, particularly the Board Collections Committee, and the efforts of the staff. The objects in the permanent collection have come to the Museum’s care through donations, bequests, and purchases.

Our Louisiana will be presented at LASM as part of an ongoing strategic initiative to provide public access to LASM’s permanent collection, which is comprised of more than 4,000 objects. Exhibition objects will rotate periodically.

“We are developing programming that we will present in conjunction with this exhibition,” continued Adams. “There are so many opportunities for visitors of all ages to learn from these objects—previously under lock-and-key in the collections vault—through workshops, hands-on activities, lectures, and more. Stay tuned for more information!”

In the coming months, an immersive virtual tour of Our Louisiana will be added to LASM 360 at virtual-lasm.org/lasm-360.