Discover Lafayette Acadiana Center for the Arts’ Sam Oliver, Executive Director, and Taylor Davis, Board President
The Acadiana Center for the Arts’ Sam Oliver, Executive director, and Taylor Davis, Board President, join Discover Lafayette to discuss the AcA’s 50th anniversary approaching, the superb programming they offer our community, and discuss upcoming events.
The Acadiana Arts Council, the organization that later evolved into the Acadiana Center for the Arts (AcA), was established in 1975. It began as a regional arts organization focused on promoting and supporting the arts throughout Acadiana. Over the years, the Council expanded its vision and programming, eventually leading to the creation of the AcA as its permanent home on November 1, 2010.
The AcA, at its core, is the Arts Council for the region, that offers Lafayette and the Acadiana region something you would expect in a larger metropolitan area: incredible performances from all over the world, high production quality shows, and the promotion of local and regional artists. It is a space for visual arts, performing arts, music, dance, and theatre. It is also a gathering place for social events, debates and forums for political occasions, and civic presentations that benefit the entire community.
Sam has served as Executive Director for six years. You can hear our original interview with Sam here where we discussed his educational background and what led him to serve the AcA. Taylor has served on the board the past ten years and was first exposed to the AcA at its first show ever which brought Lyle Lovett to Lafayette. Taylor says his service is “a labor of love,” and he and his wife, Yvette regularly go out to see and enjoy live music.
The James Devin Moncus Theater offers a superb sound system that was upgraded this year, with a seating capacity of 304 seats, “and there is really not a bad seat in the house!”
It’s a great time to join or renew your AcA membership as you receive early bird access to tickets for 2025’s in-demand performances before they open for sale to the general public. Yearly memberships begin at $35 a year with higher levels for those who want to support the organization at a higher level.
The AcA’s 2025’s Louisiana Crossroads series will showcase performers such as Steve Khan, Louis Michot, and C.J. Chenier celebrating the 100th birthday of Clifton Chenier. Scott Mulvahill, a Nashville based singer, songwriter and bass player, will be leading a full album length playthrough of Paul Simon’s Graceland album, which featured Acadiana artists with Zydeco and accordion music. George Porter Jr. will round out the year.
January 2025 will be kicked off with a two-night concert “The Roots of Fire Live,” bringing local Cajun and Creole together live on stage to perform, Other big name acts will include Lucinda Williams, Andrew Duhon, Ruthie Foster, and Kat Higgins,
Several perks are being offered to enhance your AcA experience. Parking is always a challenge downtown, so the AcA is introducing free parking with a ticket at the parking lot across from Chase Tower on Jefferson Street. If you’re planning dinner and drinks after a show, the AcA has partnered with downtown restaurants such as Vestal and Pop’s Poboys who are doing pre-show discounts on meals. The Aca has also partnered with restaurants such as Pamplona and Ton’s Downtown who will stay open later on show nights to offer post-show cocktails,
In order to ensure a lineup of performances which pleases its patrons, the AcA put out a survey asking for the types of acts desired by the community. Putting together a 50th anniversary season “had to be not just good, but something that our audience and our supporters really resonate with. We actually put out a survey where we said to members of ACA, tell us what you want to see”, Sam Oliver said.
In honor of the upcoming 50th anniversary of AcA, on December 7, 2024, the Pelican Ball will honor five people who have made an impact over the course of its existence. One of the founders of the Acadiana Center for the Arts, Janet Begneaud, was an active participant in the original Arts Council in 1975, and will be recognized for her early work in creating the organization while a volulnteer with the Lafayette Junior league, which was which was very involved in the founding. Begneaud has remained involved throughout the past 50 years as a member and a board.
Sharon Moss, a generous philanthropist and supporter of the arts in Lafayette will also be honored, along with Todd Mouton, who founded the Louisiana Crossroads series 24 years ago as an educational forum. Cathy Webre and Jody Nederveld, who played big parts in the creation of the Downtown Development District and the Downtown Cultural District, with the streetscaping of Jefferson Street, the planting of beautiful cypress trees and creative placemaking work through the 80s and 90s will also be honored.
A highlight of the Pelican Ball each year is the auctioning off of two special pelicans: one is pre-decorated and the other, known as “the Ghost,” will be available to the highest bidder. The blank pelican is always very desirable because it offers the opportunity to have a pelican custom-made by an artist to suit the winner’s dream of what their pelican should represent.
Artie was purchased in 2023 as a Ghost Pelican through the Acadiana Center for the Arts by Annie and Joe Spell and then commissioned by Tides Medical’s Sarah Marr.
According to Tides Medical’s Facebook Page, “Artie, in his wisdom, is a pelican of many talents and curiosities. He meditates daily, enjoys the harmonica, is pursuing a master’s in philosophy, and winds down with an ice-cold IPA at the local microbrewery. We are so proud to house him at our headquarters to inspire all who see him to “ride the wave that is life.”
There are currently 89 Pelicans on Parade showcased around town. The idea originally began to recognize the schools where the AcA’s programs were active, and students participated in decorating them. Soon, business owners and people around the community said, ‘I want a pelican.’ So the AcA introduced the pelicans as something that businesses could sponsor as a way to provide support for the AcA’s art and education work. The annual Pelican Ball is the only venue where you can access the opportunity to bid on your own pelican.
Admission to the Pelican Ball on December 7 is $125 per ticket. Dress is black tie optional, but “dancing shoes are mandatory!”
Besides the Pelican Ball, the AcA hosts two yearly signature events: Gulf Brew in October and a Spring Jazz Brunch hosted at the beautiful home of Kip and Carolyn Schumacher. Throughout each year, there are 100 events held at the AcA..
The Louisiana Music Museum is a big project in the works, with construction to begin in 2025. It will be located immediately next door to the ACA in the Lafayette Hardware Store, the oldest commercial building in downtown Lafayette which is listed on the National Historic Register. The project commenced in 2021 and significant progress has been made on the design. Jane Vidrine was recently hired as the Director. A capital campaign to raise $10 million is underway.
Sam says, “This project is about telling the story of Louisiana’s music and musicians who have made an impact on the whole world through melodies that resonate throughout the world. But today, there is really no home to share these stories. So we want to build a place to connect people back to this place and our culture, to have a place where people can visit and go further and find something new. To really help the local person understand the impact of our culture and be proud of it. We want to tell these stories from the lens of Acadiana and talk about those connections and the story of community, the people and places, traditions, struggle and strife, joy and celebration, and how music is an essential part of all those things.”
“I would really like to communicate how important our cultural economy is to this community. Festival Acadiens, Festival International, all the many festivals that we have. This is not just fun and games. This is our economy. We talk about oil and gas or medical economies. But the cultural economy is so unique to Louisiana. When we talk about the Louisiana Music Museum, this is going to be a big conversation of how we can share our cultural economy with the world,” says Taylor Davis, Board President of the AcA.
AcA brings equitable access to the arts through year-round education and outreach activities and aims to build a more sustainable cultural ecosystem for future generations in Acadiana across an eight-parish region that includes Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, and Vermilion Parishes. Arts in Education is one of the most significant contributions AcA makes in our community, touching the lives of 40,000 children in 89 schools throughout Acadiana and education committee.
PACE (Primary Academic and Creative Experiences) assists schools in teaching the arts and teaching other academic areas through the arts. Each year, AcA’s team of Teaching Artists provide lessons in 546 preK–3rd grade classrooms on a weekly basis. Teaching Artists conduct arts integrated classes that advance state standard curriculum in Science and Social Studies through engaging activities rooted in visual art and dance. PACE is based on the idea that children learn in a variety of ways.
Speaking on the importance of the AcA providing access to arts education to 40,000 children each year, Sam Oliver says, “Only with that access can you create that spark that can turn into a real fire of passion, but it could not be possible at all without that exposure. So we’re not there to provide the the air for the fire, the oxygen for the entire life. But we are there to help provide the spark.”
ACA teaching artists who are professional artists in a variety of disciplines such as visual arts, music, dance, theater go into those schools and teach. These lessons offer courses that those schools couldn’t otherwise offer due to limited budgets.
The Student Arts Expo is a one day festival each Spring where the AcA brings in students to perform or exhibit their visual artwork. It is the premier arts event in where you can get a glimpse of all of the best artworks created by the students educated by the AcA Teaching Artists each school year.
The public can walk in to tour the AcA and check out its exhibits for $10 general admission. One great exhibit currently up through January 2025 is the George Loli exhibition. A well-kept secret is that you can go the Lafayette Parish Public Library and check out passes to the AcA, as well as to Vermilionville, the Science Museum, and the Hillard Museum.
For more information, visit https://acadianacenterforthearts.org/