Marisa Marquez, Stitched Syntax, 2025. Cotton fabric, blend batting, fabric paint, polyester thread, silk and wool fiber, Angelina.

Creative Connections: Artistic Interpretations

Thursday, April 16 from 6–7 PM

• Free to attend

• Limited to 20 people. Pre-registration required

• Ages 16+

Tour & Creative Writing Activity Explore how artists imagine, question, and reinterpret the world through the lens of AI. Inspired by AI: Artistic Interpretations, the Studio Art Quilt Associates exhibition, this free program includes a brief tour led by Educator and Public Programs Manager Callie Smith, highlighting how fiber artists use color, texture, and pattern to reflect on technology, creativity, and the unknown. After the tour, you’ll take part in a guided writing exercise led by Julie Gerdes Becnel that invites you to respond to these themes yourself—considering how we interpret the digital age, and how AI shapes the stories we tell. No prior writing experience needed—just come ready to look, think, and create. Limited to 20 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.