Creative Connections: Frank Hayden
Saturday, January 10 • 2–3 PM
Free to attend
Limited to 15 people. Pre-registration required
Ages 16+
LSU Museum of Art (100 Lafayette St., Shaw Center for the Arts, 5th floor, downtown Baton Rouge, LA)
Tour & Creative Writing Activity Join us for Creative Connections, a program that invites visitors to slow down, look closely, and explore art through guided creative experiences. No experience needed—just curiosity.
Our first session highlights sculptor Frank Hayden, whose work reflects themes of humanity, faith, and connection. Hayden often wove scripture, prayer, and poetry into his process, creating sculptures that explore connection, memory, and the shared human experience.
Callie Smith, LSUMOA Educator and Public Programs Manager, will lead a brief tour of Hayden’s sculptures before participants are led through a guided writing exercise by Julie Gerdes Becnel, a Louisiana-born writer and storyteller whose work spans multiple genres. Inspired by Hayden’s motifs of hands, faces, and layered forms, Julie’s writing session invites participants to reflect on what they’ll carry into 2026, and what they’ll let go.
Limited to 15 people. Ages 16+ only. Pre-registration required to attend.
Julie Gerdes Becnel is a Louisiana-born writer and storyteller whose work celebrates the myths, symbols, and traditions that shape our collective imagination. Her writing spans poetry, memoir, short fiction, playwriting, and now children’s literature. Her debut picture book, Roux’s First Day, will be published by Pelican Publishing in 2026. Julie is also an educator and facilitator, and in 2021 she founded Little Rouge Hen— a storytelling and creative consultancy—to help organizations communicate with clarity and heart. When she isn’t writing, she can be found exploring and drawing inspiration from Louisiana’s wild places and creative spaces.