Acadiana Center for the Arts is proud to announce the appointment of Jane Vidrine, a Grammy-nominated musician, arts administrator, music educator, and folklorist, as the inaugural director of the Louisiana Music Museum.
With a long and diverse career in teaching, curriculum creation, museum curating, and cultural program development, Vidrine brings a wealth of experience and a profound passion for Louisiana’s cultural heritage to this esteemed position.
“The Louisiana Music Museum will be a place of honor where Louisiana music and the people who create it will be recognized, revered, and respected,” says Lafayette Mayor-President Monique B. Boulet. “We are excited to welcome Jane Vidrine as the inaugural director and look forward to the many contributions she will bring to this innovative effort.”
The Louisiana Music Museum will open in Downtown Lafayette, Louisiana, immediately adjacent to the Acadiana Center for the Arts in the 134-year-old building that originally housed Lafayette Hardware and later housed the Lafayette Artist Alliance.
Still undergoing design and development, the new Louisiana Music Museum will serve as a permanent home for the many diverse stories of Louisiana music from Indigenous origins through present day. The target completion date for the Louisiana Music Museum is in 2026.
AcA Executive Director Samuel Oliver says, “Jane has dedicated her career to preserving and promoting Louisiana’s rich cultural heritage through innovative initiatives that uplift and celebrate the ongoing work of the community. Her efforts have significantly contributed to Louisiana’s presence on the local, national, and global stage, and we are lucky to have her join the project in this leadership role.”
In her role as Lead Consultant for the Lâche-pas Louisiana Heritage Education Project in Vermilion Parish, Vidrine has led a team of scholars and educators to develop and implement curriculum and cultural programs for a groundbreaking middle school class.
“We are pleased to have someone of Jane’s stature to lead us in this project. As the inaugural director of the Louisiana Music Museum, Jane will draw upon her extensive experience to ensure that the museum becomes a vibrant center by and for the musicians of Louisiana,” says AcA Board Member Chuck Boudreaux, who serves as co-chair of the Louisiana Music Museum Committee.
As a traditional music workshop leader and program manager, Vidrine has shared her expertise at events such as the Augusta Heritage Center’s Cajun & Creole Week, Louisiana Folk Roots’ Balfa Camp, and Black Pot Camp.
Vidrine’s experience as a museum curator and program director is equally impressive. From 1986 to 1992, she curated eleven original exhibitions at the Lafayette Natural History Museum, including the notable “The Louisiana Prairie” and “Post-War to Prosperity: Photographs from the Standard Oil of New Jersey Collection.”
“The music museum is in great hands with Jane,” says AcA Board Member Ethan Jordan, who also serves as co-chair of the Louisiana Music Museum Committee. “In every exhibit, festival, and music project she has led, Jane has focused on gathering together authentic voices who represent and honor the diverse people and cultures of Louisiana.”
As the Director of the Louisiana Folklife Pavilion at the 1984 New Orleans World Exposition, she managed a 184-day festival featuring hundreds of Louisiana traditional musicians, craftspeople, boat builders, and foodways demonstrators.
Her work as the Statewide Program Coordinator for the Francofête ’99 Tourism Initiative with the Louisiana Office of Tourism showcased her ability to organize statewide events that promote Louisiana’s French heritage. Vidrine collaborated with local agencies and cultural organizations to create a cohesive tourism experience that highlighted the state’s unique cultural assets.
