Photo: Home of the future Louisiana Music Museum, the Old Lafayette Hardware Store at the corner of S. Buchanan St. and W. Vermilion St. in Downtown Lafayette.
LAFAYETTE, LA – Acadiana Center for the Arts (AcA) announces selection of global experiential design and technology company Art Processors and local architecture firm Moliere Chappuis Architects to lead design of the Louisiana Music Museum.
The Louisiana Music Museum will be housed in the “Old Lafayette Hardware Store” at 121 W. Vermilion St, next door to the AcA, as part of a complete historic renovation and site redevelopment.
“The Louisiana Music Museum will open the door to Lafayette for countless people around the world who want to engage with the culture flowing out of our soil and along our bayous,” said Lafayette Mayor-President Monique Boulet. “This museum will be their ideal destination and an international calling card for Lafayette.”
The Louisiana Music Museum was announced to the public as a project of the AcA in collaboration with UL’s Center for Louisiana Studies and Lafayette Travel in December 2021, and since then several updates have been made by the local nonprofit.
Most recently, the AcA announced the hiring of Grammy-nominated musician Jane Vidrine as the inaugural Director of the Louisiana Music Museum. Vidrine began that role last month.
“This selection marks one of the most significant milestones to-date in AcA’s development of the Louisiana Music Museum. However, our most critical steps are still ahead of us, as we define the exhibitions and raise the needed funds for construction. I’m confident that we are in good hands with our new partners,” said Samuel Oliver, AcA Executive Director.
AcA launched a public survey on October 1, which asks the community to help inform the design process for the exhibitions. Take the survey online at https://acadianacenterforthearts.org/louisiana-music-museum/
”“We are asking everyday people who are passionate about Louisiana music to share their connections to our musical traditions, telling their stories and personal experiences, and sharing their ideas about the museum. This will inform us as we develop the museum’s exhibitions and programs in order to make the Louisiana Music Museum a vibrant, relevant place that honors our musical past and carries us into the future,” said Jane Vidrine, Louisiana Music Museum Director.
AcA announced an open application to select architects and exhibition designers for the project in February of 2024.
“We had firms from around the globe interested in working on this project, but it was important to the committee that we both engage the leading experts in experience design while also working with local designers who know the look and feel of our culture,” said Louisiana Music Museum Co-Chair Chuck Boudreaux.
Leading the exhibition design process, Art Processors is a global experiential design and technology company, founded in Australia with main offices in NYC and Melbourne. With recent projects like the Bob Dylan Center, in Tulsa, OK, and USS Midway in San Diego, Art Processors has extensive experience in creating immersive environments that blend the audio/visual and physical world to engage visitors in the content of a museum.
“We are deeply honored to have been chosen as the experience designers for the Louisiana Music Museum. As a collective of creatives who live and breathe music, this project gives us the rare opportunity to marry our expertise in immersive experiences with our passion for sound and culture. We are looking forward to creating a transformative center that celebrates Louisiana’s vibrant and remarkable contributions to American music,” said a representative of Art Processors.
Leading the overall design and construction process, Moliere Chappuis Architects bring with them a wide experience of landmark civic projects and historic renovations. The firm—which until recently was called Architects Beazley Moliere—has roots in the Lafayette community going back nearly 70 years.
“Transformation of the Lafayette Hardware Store into a cutting-edge museum that celebrates Louisiana’s rich musical heritage is a pivotal cultural project. A building like the hardware store is part of Downtown Lafayette’s cultural currency, and it is important to restore it in a thoughtful way to give it new life, while honoring its history. MCA is proud to be a part of such a meaningful project,” said Scott Chappuis, Vice President, Moliere Chappuis Architects.
Consultants on the project include Thomaz Regatos Design, structural engineer Fox Nesbit Engineering, mechanical and electrical engineers Associated Design Group, and acoustical design by Veneklasen Associates.
The Louisiana Music Museum is a program of Acadiana Center for the Arts (AcA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with the mission of “Fostering Art and Culture in Acadiana.” This project will be an expansion of AcA’s cultural and educational impact on the community as well as a significant draw for tourists to the region. The home of the future Louisiana Music Museum is at 121 W. Vermilion St. Downtown Lafayette in the Lafayette Hardware Store, a notable structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Learn more about the project: https://acadianacenterforthearts.org/louisiana-music-museum
Moliere Chappuis Architects believes that successful projects are a direct result of a rigorous design process and a meticulous construction management procedure. Their clientele includes national corporations, institutions, private developers, local, state and national government agencies. Learn more at https://molierechappuis.com/
Art Processors is a global experiential design and technology company. Learn more at https://www.artprocessors.net/about-us
