The Hilliard Art Museum at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette unveils Spring Awake, a dynamic 2025 opening season featuring three captivating exhibitions. This highly anticipated showcase includes a rare presentation of Acadiana artists from the museum’s permanent collection, marking their first public display in over a decade. Expanding engagement opportunities for UL Lafayette students, museum members and the wider community, Spring Awake introduces dynamic new programs, including artist conversations, an opening celebration, Family Fête, a special documentary screening, PICNIC, a new spring fundraiser on the Hilliard lawn, plus additional collaborative programming with the Center for Louisiana Studies throughout Spring 2025.
Kick off the season at the Spring Awake opening celebration on Friday, March 14, free with admission, with an immersive evening featuring an artist talk with Kevin Brisco, Jr., dance performances, live music, open bar and light bites. Be among the first to experience Tides, Time and Terrain: Floyd Sonnier and the Evolving Cultural Landscape, a landmark exhibition exploring Louisiana’s cultural resilience. Museum members will enjoy exclusive early access from 5 to 6 p.m. before the general public opening at 6 p.m.
Spring Awake Exhibitions:
Tides, Time and Terrain: Floyd Sonnier and the Evolving Cultural Landscape
Opening March 15
Tides, Time and Terrain examines Louisiana’s deep-rooted cultural identity through the work of celebrated artist Floyd Sonnier and 41 regional artists from the museum’s collection, including never-before-exhibited photography by artist George Rodrigue. Works by Debbie Fleming Caffery, Tina Girouard, Elemore Morgan Jr. and Sr., Francis Pavy, Keith Sonnier, James "Son Ford" Thomas, and Leo Touchet appear alongside 19th-century portrait masters Jean Joseph Vaudechamp and Adolph Rinck. Through striking visual pairings, the exhibition highlights Louisiana’s capacity to endure, adapt, and thrive—where shifting tides, changing times, and evolving landscapes shape a culture that remains uniquely its own.
Kevin Brisco Jr.’ Take Place: A Home in Four Movements
Present-June 5, 2025
A compelling solo exhibition by emerging Texas-based artist Kevin Brisco Jr., that explores home as both physical architecture and a landscape of memory. Through masterful manipulation of light and shadow, Brisco reveals the paradoxical nature of domestic spaces as both sanctuary and source of anxiety. The exhibition unfolds through four distinct movements with rotating artworks, examining how our living spaces shape our understanding of self while holding our most intimate experiences.
Rodin: Toward Modernity
Present-July 5, 2025
Bringing an international art presence to Lafayette, this must-see exhibition, Rodin: Toward Modernity, showcases 40 of Auguste Rodin’s most celebrated bronze sculptures. Featured works include The Burghers of Calais, The Kiss, Saint John the Baptist, figure studies for The Gates of Hell, and portraits of Honoré de Balzac—offering a rare glimpse into the genius of one of history’s most influential sculptors.
Related activations include:
Friday, March 14, 4 The Partial View: Memory, Place, and the Limits of Perception
A thought-provoking discussion featuring artists Kevin Brisco Jr., moderated by curator Aaron Levi Garvey.
Free for museum members and UL students, faculty and staff
Open to public with price of admission ($10); children under 10 always free.
Friday, March 14, 5-10 p.m., Spring Awake Preview & Opening Celebration
Spring Reception, featuring exhibitions: Tides, Time and Terrain: Floyd Sonnier and the Evolving Cultural Landscape; Take Place: A Home in Four Movements; and Rodin: Toward Modernity.
Member Exhibition Preview:5-6 p.m.
Public Exhibition Preview: 6-8 p.m.
Spring Awake After-Hours Celebration: 8-10 p.m.
Free for museum members and UL students, faculty and staff
Open to public with price of admission ($10); children under 10 always free.
Saturday, March 29, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.: Family Fete
Celebrating the arts with Acadiana’s youngest generation, Hilliard Art Museum re-introducesFamily Fete, offering hands-on activities, artmaking, live performances and more.
Free for museum members and UL students, faculty and staff
Open to public with the price of admission ($10); children under 10 always free.
PICNIC on the Lawn
Introducing a new Spring fundraiser on the lawn of the Hilliard Museum; details to be announced in Spring 2025.
Join us as we awaken the season with unparalleled exhibitions and dynamic programming, all designed to inspire and engage. Visit www.hilliard-springawake.com for more details.
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