The Folk Art Gallery at the LSU Museum of Art will feature works on loan from the American Folk Art Museum in New York through Art Bridges’ Partner Loan Network.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana — The LSU Museum of Art has been awarded a $25,000 Learning and Engagement Grant from Art Bridges, a national nonprofit foundation dedicated to expanding access to American art. The grant will support five interconnected wellness and community engagement programs accompanying the LSU Museum of Art’s new Folk Art Gallery, opening June 30, 2026. The gallery will feature works on loan from the American Folk Art Museum in New York through Art Bridges’ Partner Loan Network, including works by Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Mose Tolliver, David Butler, Sam Doyle, Purvis Young, and Mary T. Smith.
Established in 2017 by philanthropist Alice Walton, Art Bridges works to expand access to American art across the United States by supporting partnerships between museums of many sizes. The Art Bridges’ Partner Loan Network supports museums in lending and borrowing works from one another’s collections, activating objects that might otherwise remain in storage and increasing public access through exhibitions and community-centered programming.
The grant responds to a growing need for spaces that encourage reflection, creativity, and human connection. Through this initiative, the LSU Museum of Art will be expanding its role as a community-centered cultural space, bringing restorative arts experiences into the museum’s galleries, as well as classrooms, hospitals, and campus environments. Collectively, the art programs will provide free, hands-on programming designed to support emotional well-being and reduce barriers to arts participation, serving communities across the Baton Rouge area.
The Five Programs
The grant will support five interconnected wellness and community engagement programs inspired by the self-taught artists featured in the Folk Art Gallery, with programming running from September 2026 through April 2027:
• Art Break at the Museum — A monthly drop-in wellness series for teens and adults inspired by works on view.
• Art Break: LSU Campus Outreach — Creative pop-up programs delivered to academic departments on campus.
• Art Break: Baton Rouge General Hospital Outreach — Artmaking experiences for patients, caregivers, and healthcare workers at Baton Rouge General Mid City in partnership with the hospital’s Arts in Medicine Program.
• Tiger Chill Night — A dedicated evening for LSU students featuring guided art activities and live performances designed as a creative break from academic pressures.
• Educator Chill Nights — A two-part program supporting the creative and professional renewal of K–12 and university educators.
“These programs allow us to bring the stories and resilience of self-taught Southern artists into direct conversation with the real lives of our neighbors — students under pressure, patients in recovery, educators who give so much of themselves. We are deeply grateful to Art Bridges for this investment in our community and for their belief that great art belongs to everyone.”
Featured Artists in the Folk Art Gallery
The LSU Museum of Art’s Folk Art Gallery will display six artworks from the American Folk Art Museum in New York, on a one-year loan. Featuring works by renowned self-taught artists Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Mose Tolliver, David Butler, Sam Doyle, Purvis Young, and Mary T. Smith, the loan was made possible through Art Bridges' Partner Loan Network.
Also on view are sculptures by artist, activist, and minister Dr. Charles Smith (b. 1940), transferred from the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, Mississippi. The gallery is further enriched by long-term loans from Birmingham, Alabama collector Doug McCraw, including works by Purvis Young, Richard Dial, and Ronald Lockett.
Additional works by Mary Proctor, Mr. Imagination, James Harold Jennings, and Jimmy Lee Sudduth, as well as ceramic face jugs and tabletop sculptures by North Georgia folk potters, are on loan from the collection of Wyatt and Becky Collins of New Iberia, Louisiana.
The exhibition also includes paintings by Louisiana artist Clementine Hunter from the LSU Museum of Art’s permanent collection and a large drawing by Thornton Dial, recently donated by Winifred and Kevin P. Reilly.
The Folk Art Gallery will be on view at the LSU Museum of Art in Baton Rouge, LA for a one-year loan period starting June 30, 2026.
For more details about artworks featured in this gallery and programming schedule, visit www.lsumoa.org/folkartgallery.
Art Break at the Museum: 2026-2027 Program Schedule
Inspired by themes of resilience, identity, care, spirituality, and creative expression based on works found throughout the Folk Art Gallery, each Art Break session at the LSU Museum of Art invites teens and adults to participate in relaxed, wellness-focused artmaking experiences:
Art as an act of SPIRIT on Saturday, September 19, 2026 from 1–4 PM
Create a watercolor artwork inspired by the work of Purvis Young, a self-taught artist who painted with spiritual urgency from whatever materials he could find.Art as an act of FREEDOM on Saturday, October 24, 2026 from 1–4 PM
Make a sculpture inspired by the work of David Butler, a self-taught artist whose cutouts and dynamic forms remind us that freedom is something we can shape with our own hands.Art as an expression of IDENTITY on Saturday, November 21, 2026 from 1–4 PM
Create a collage inspired by the work of Mose Tolliver, a self taught artist who developed a bold visual language.Art as an act of CARE on Saturday, December 12, 2026 from 1–4 PM
Make a textile artwork inspired by the work of Mary T. Smith, a self-taught artist whose practice was an act of independence and tender witness.Art as an act of HARMONY on Saturday, January 23, 2027 from 1–4 PM
Create a mixed-media drawing inspired by self-taught artist Jimmy Lee Sudduth, who used materials like mud, sugar, and found scraps of wood to create paintings of his world.Art as an act of HEALING on Saturday, February 20, 2027 from 1–4 PM
Make a friendship bracelet inspired by self-taught artist Sam Doyle’s paintings of friends, family members, and leaders of his community.Art as an act of RESILIENCE on Sunday, March 7, 2027 from 1–4 PM
Experiment with printmaking to create multiple images through repetition, inspired by the resilience of the artists in the Folk Art Gallery.Art as an expression of VOICE on Saturday, April 17, 2027 from 1–4 PM
Create a zine to tell your own story through visuals and creative writing, inspired by the artists of the Folk Art Gallery.
THANK YOU
The LSU Museum of Art is grateful to Art Bridges for its generous grant and partnership, which makes this exhibition and its accompanying programs possible. The Museum also extends its appreciation to the American Folk Art Museum, the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, and the private collectors and donors whose loans and gifts make this gallery exhibition possible.
ABOUT THE ART BRIDGES FOUNDATION
Art Bridges Foundation is the vision of philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton. The mission of Art Bridges is to expand access to American art in all regions across the United States. Since 2017, Art Bridges has created and supported programs that bring outstanding works of American art out of storage and into communities. Art Bridges partners with a growing network of more than 220 museums of all sizes and locations to provide financial and strategic support for exhibition development, loans from the Art Bridges Collection, and programs designed to educate, inspire, and deepen engagement with local audiences. The Art Bridges Collection represents an expanding vision of American art from the 19th century to present day and encompasses multiple media and voices. Learn more at www.artbridgesfoundation.org
ABOUT THE AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM
The American Folk Art Museum in New York City is dedicated to the work of self-taught artists from the United States and beyond. Through exhibitions, collections, and educational initiatives, the museum fosters greater understanding and appreciation of folk and self-taught art traditions. Learn more at www.folkartmuseum.org
ABOUT THE LSU MUSEUM OF ART
Located in downtown Baton Rouge in the Shaw Center for the Arts, the LSU Museum of Art is dedicated to inspiring discovery and learning through exceptional art experiences. The Museum presents rotating exhibitions, educational programs, and community initiatives that connect audiences with art from across Louisiana, the South, and beyond.
Admission is $5 for adults ages 13 and older. Free admission is available for children 12 and under, museum members, students with ID, LSU faculty and staff with ID, educators with ID, and veterans and their families with military ID through the Blue Star Museums program. The first Sunday of every month is free for all visitors. Through the Museums for All initiative, guests presenting an EBT card and photo ID receive free admission for up to four individuals during regular museum hours.
Summer 2026 hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 10 AM–5 PM, and Sunday, 1–5 PM. The museum is closed on Mondays and major holidays. For more information, visit www.lsumoa.org, call 225-578-3000, or follow @lsumoa on social media for exhibition and program updates.
####