Professional Development

Hey Teachers! Want to bring the arts into your school? We’ve got resources just for you. Join us for this free, fun, and informative event. At teacher night, we invite all teachers to AcA to enjoy an evening out with friends to eat, drink, and learn how to bring the arts to your schools! Meet the team of Teaching Artists who visit your schools for art sessions and in-school performances Learn about Arts Grants for Teachers Learn about field trip opportunities View the galleries Meet other arts & culture organizations with resources and opportunities they have for teachers and students ...

Artist Round Up is an opportunity for creatives of all disciplines to come together in a space to meet like-minded creatives who they could collaborate with, talk to, find inspiration from and just generally hang out with. For our September meet up, we’ll be heading out to Vermilion Parish so join us at Cafe on State in Abbeville. This is a free event hosted by AcA’s Creative Acadiana workshop series. Learn more about Creative Acadiana here: https://acadianacenterforthearts.org/opportunities-for-artists/creative-acadiana ...

Bob Borel and Susan David will provide a breakdown of different strategies used to value your work and how to confidently talk about money.   AcA is committed to making our programming as accessible as possible. This Creative Acadiana session will be in-person, streamed and recorded. If you require your accessibility needs addressed, please contact community@acadianacenterforthearts.org to discuss.  ...

MAKING IT HAPPEN | Design Intensive for Organized Cultural Participation with Hali Dardar From a potluck to a festival, cultural activities don’t just happen – they take the time, passion, planning , and acumen of passionate individuals and groups. The fruits of this work are the traditions and events which we enjoy every year. Making it Happen is a 90-minute workshop to support cultural events in succeeding. This workshop is aimed to support people who have been organizing cultural activities for years, people whose ideas are yet to be created, and every creative in between. The workshop will discuss elements of organized cultural participation, a cycle of cultural participation and representation, and explore how applying these concepts can help in making these efforts more sustainable. Participants will connect with other cultural organizers, learn to articulate elements of organized cultural participation within their work, and apply organizing concepts within their own cultural and community efforts. ABOUT HALI DARDAR Hali Dardar is an interaction designer, project manager, and facilitator. She enjoys developing long-term, creative engagements to improve organizational processes and produce community-affirming change. From Louisiana, she is a tribal member of the United Houma Nation and co-founder of the Houma Language Project… Read More » ...

Artist Round Up is an opportunity for creatives of all disciplines to come together in a space to meet like-minded creatives who they could collaborate with, talk to, find inspiration from and just generally hang out with. For our October meet up, join artists who studied and collaborated with George Loli in this panel discussion about the influence he played in their work. This is a free event hosted by AcA’s Creative Acadiana workshop series. Learn more about Creative Acadiana here: https://acadianacenterforthearts.org/opportunities-for-artists/creative-acadiana ...

presented by Paige Thomas, Visual Arts Educator For teachers of all grade levels Discover how museums and galleries can become powerful catalysts for learning in your classroom. This workshop will show teachers of all grade levels how to use visual art exhibits as springboards for engaging lesson plans, inspiring students to interpret, communicate through, and personally connect with art without leaving the classroom! Through visual thinking strategies and hands-on activities, you’ll learn how to integrate gallery exhibits into your curriculum, fostering critical thinking and creativity among your students. Come discover new ways to bring subjects to life, encourage diverse perspectives, and create memorable learning experiences. ...

Children’s author and illustrator, Denise Gallagher will share some of the important things she learned on her journey to becoming published and her current career in publishing. She’ll discuss a bit about her writing and illustration process. She’ll give tips working with an illustrator. She’ll also touch on the various ways to go about getting published and talk about working with an agent and editor. Come prepared with questions because she loves a good Q and A! ABOUT DENISE GALLAGHER Louisiana native, Denise Gallagher is a published author and illustrator for children. She has written and illustrated two picture books and has illustrated folktales from both Louisiana and Canada. Thanks to an ArtSpark Grant, Denise recently produced a children’s musical based on her picture book “A Tip Tap Tale,” writing both the play and the lyrics. She is also currently working on a middle grade novel, a collection of stories, and a third picture book. She is proud to be the Illustrator Coordinator for the Louisiana/Mississippi Region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Denise loves folklore, music and nature and she draws inspiration from the magic of her lush, green Louisiana home. AcA is committed to making our… Read More » ...

Early career visual artist, Lex R. Thomas, will lead a conversation with established fiber artist, Troy Dugas, on what strategies they can implement when looking for gallery representation. ABOUT TROY DUGAS Troy Dugas is an artist living and working in Lafayette, Louisiana. He received a BFA from the University of Louisiana (1994) and an MFA from Pratt Institute in New York (1998). His work is in several public collections across the country including the Frederick Weisman Foundation in Los Angeles, The New Orleans Museum of Art, and the West Collection in Pennsylvania. He has received awards from the Pollack-Krasner Foundation, the Louisiana Division of the Arts, and recently completed a residency at the McColl Center for Art and Innovation in North Carolina. In the last 25 years his work has progressed from meticulous collages made from unused product labels, to mixed media acrylic collages, to most recently fiber based artworks. Troy is represented by the Arthur Roger Gallery in New Orleans. ABOUT LEX R. THOMAS Lex R. Thomas is a non-binary figurative artist based in Lafayette, Louisiana. Growing up surrounded by pastures and cane fields in the rural outskirts of Acadiana, Lex developed a strong connection to the environment. This… Read More » ...

Presented by Johnette Downing Most appropriate for teachers of grades preK–3 and ESL and Immersion Music is the universal language and is a powerful vehicle for teaching language. Through rhythms, rhymes, word-card games, scarves, musical instruments, and “think, pair, share” group activities, teachers learn to help students sing their way through rhyming, compound, color, pronoun, calendar and directional words as they develop basic language building. ...

Artist Round Up is an opportunity for creatives of all disciplines to come together in a space to meet like-minded creatives who they could collaborate with, talk to, find inspiration from and just generally hang out with. How well do you know the categories that are eligible for consideration for the Grammy’s? For our November meet up, AcA’s Performing Arts Director, Brandon Motz, will lead a discussion with past and new Grammy nominees about how and what they got nominated for, career trajectories and what it was like to go to the Grammy’s! This is a free event hosted by AcA’s Creative Acadiana workshop series. Learn more about Creative Acadiana here: https://acadianacenterforthearts.org/opportunities-for-artists/creative-acadiana ...

Bob Borel and Ben Hickey will delve into things a lot of people wish they knew before their first exhibition. They will cover things such as: Glossary of terms – words you won’t hear unless talking with a gallery Transporting your artwork How to communicate with a gallery about how to display your work Standard sales percentages and how to negotiate Who’s responsible for what? What if a piece gets damaged?   AcA is committed to making our programming as accessible as possible. This Creative Acadiana session will be in-person, streamed and recorded. If you require your accessibility needs addressed, please contact community@acadianacenterforthearts.org to discuss. ...

presented by George Saucier, Iberia Parish Talented Theatre Teacher For teachers of all grade levels Unlock the power of theatre tableau to transform your ELA and Social Studies lessons in this comprehensive workshop. Whether you’re new to tableau or looking to expand your skills, discover how this dynamic technique can bring literature and history to life in your classroom. Learn to guide students in creating powerful visual representations that deepen their understanding of complex texts, character motivations, and historical events. Explore advanced strategies for multi-scene tableaux, incorporating movement and dialogue to analyze plot progression and societal changes. Leave with a toolkit of engaging, standards-aligned activities that foster critical thinking, empathy, and nuanced interpretation of both literary works and historical narratives. Join us to revolutionize how your students connect with and analyze curriculum content through the art of tableau. ...

Join AcA’s Visual Arts Director, Jaik Faulk, in conversation with exhibiting artist, Anne Boudreau. ABOUT ANNE BOUDREAU Anne Boudreau is a native of New Orleans and currently resides in Lafayette, Louisiana. For over twenty-five years, she has been making, exhibiting and teaching visual art. Now semi-retired from full-time teaching, she happily teaches part-time in the Visual Art Department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Boudreau continues to make fiber based work that includes three-dimensional suspended and relief forms that are often presented as installation environments. She has more recently been exploring the possibilities in making two-dimensional fabric constructions. Most of the fabrics and sewing notions she uses in her work are either found at thrift stores, gifted from friends and acquaintances, or salvaged from the trash. Her gathering and use of repurposed materials is mainly motivated by her regard for our natural environment and her respect for our Earth. ...

presented by Denise Gallagher, Author and Illustrator For teachers of grades 6-12 Join us at the intersection of literature and art! Participants will explore literary artistry, discovering how writers use language creatively, similar to visual artists, to evoke emotion and convey messages. Delve into the power of sketchnotes and how to integrate visual thinking into your curriculum to enhance your students’ writing process and unlock new creative pathways. We will explore practical techniques to guide students in blending written and visual storytelling, enhancing their creative process and deepening their engagement with texts. Led by author and illustrator Denise Gallagher, this hands-on session will equip you with practical tools to elevate your students’ storytelling through both words and images. ...