“Gulf Streams” and Summer Events at Hilliard Art Museum

Olivia Luz Perillo, “333 / Returning,” 2026. In “Gulf Streams: Atchafalaya Remixed”

LAFAYETTE, La. (press release) — The Hilliard Art Museum at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette announces community and educational programs inspired by its new regional exhibition, “Gulf Streams: Atchafalaya Remixed.”

The new exhibition is a multidisciplinary exploration of sound, place and cultural memory.

“‘Gulf Streams’ is the kind of exhibition that demonstrates what a university art museum can do,” said Molly Rowe, executive director of the Hilliard Art Museum. “The research and ideas this project presents—about sound, ecology, and the cultural life of Southwest Louisiana—extend far beyond the gallery walls. The programming we’ve built around it is multidisciplinary and multi-sensory, extending that inquiry and exploration into the community, and inviting all of us to experience the place we live in new ways.”

The first exhibition-inspired event is Gulf Streams Live: Rooted in Listening, an artist talk followed by live music on the museum plaza on May 21.

About Gulf Streams Live: Rooted in Listening on May 21

Organizers share that the heart of the program, Gulf Streams Live: Rooted in Listening, invites the public into an immersive conversation between a musician, artist and folklorist whose practices are each rooted in regional fieldwork.

The conversation will move through the ways each panelist hears, interprets and transforms what they encounter–from capturing and composing with found sound, to crafting visual narratives through photography and film and documenting oral histories and Louisiana folklife.

Following the discussion is a toast to the exhibition’s artists with a live music celebration on the plaza by Palmetto, an experimental music project led by Trey Boudreaux.

Panelists include:

• Dr. Gwendolyn von Einsiedel, Moderator, Gulf Streams’ Guest Curator, Tommy Comeaux Endowed Chair of Traditional Music at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette

• Olivia Perillo, Multidisciplinary Visual Artist

• Danny Devillier, Musician, Composer, and Educator

• Maria Zeringue, Director, Louisiana Folklife Program

All Summer Programming Highlights

The Hilliard Art Museum’s summer programming expands on the themes of “Gulf Streams,” offering unique opportunities for audiences of all ages to dive deeper into our regional heritage and history:

Create & Play Café – Swamp Creature Edition
May 9 | 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
A family-friendly, drop-in art experience connecting young audiences to exhibitions on view.

Children 10 and under participate for free to ensure art education remains accessible to all families in the community. Ages four and up, no pre-registration required.

Artist Talk: Gulf Streams Live – Rooted in Listening 
May 21| 5 – 8 p.m.
5 p.m. Doors open
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Panel Discussion
6:30 – 8 p.m. Live music on the plaza featuring “Palmetto, a Trey Boudreaux Project”
An evening of conversation and live music celebrating the sounds and stories of South Louisiana.

$10 for admission. Members, UL students, faculty and staff are free. Public entrance with museum admission. 

Guided Public Tour 
May 29| 12 – 1 p.m.
Explore “Gulf Streams: Atchafalaya Remixed” alongside other exhibitions on view.

Advance registration required. $10 for admission. Members, UL students, faculty and staff are free. Public entrance with museum admission.

Museum Makers: Cuttlefish Bone Carving & Metal Casting 
June 25 | 5 – 8 p.m.
A hands-on workshop at the UL Metalwork Studio introducing traditional casting techniques. Limited to 20 participants.

Advance registration required. $60 for members, and $75 for non-members.

Museum Makers: Fusion Studio – Mixed Media Encaustic Collage 
July 23 | 5 – 8 p.m.
Participants will experiment with fabrics, paper and printed materials finished with an encaustic wax technique.

Advance registration required. $60 for members, and $75 for non-members.

About “Gulf Streams: Atchafalaya Remixed” 

“Gulf Streams: Atchafalaya Remixed” reimagines the cultural and ecological narratives of the Atchafalaya Basin through sound, image and interdisciplinary practice.

Drawing from field recordings made in the Atchafalaya Basin by Dr. Earl Robicheaux at the turn of the millennium, the project brings together contemporary musicians and visual artists to create new works in response to the basin’s sonic environment and ecological world.

Participating artists include Claire Amy, The Babineaux Sisters, Trey Boudreaux, Edgar Cano, Danny Devilier, Dan DiCaprio, Keith Frank, Tanner Menard, Olivia Luz Perillo, Martin Peyton and Dr. Earl Robicheaux.

Exhibition is curated by Dr. Gwennie von Einsiedel, the Dr. Tommy Comeaux Endowed Chair of Traditional Music at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.