Things to Know About Lafayette, LA’s, New Arts Initiative
Lafayette, LA, is a city for artists – and, of course, those who enjoy their works. Not only does it have several performing arts venues and organizations, but it boasts an abundance of public art. The city remains committed to sustaining its vibrant, arts-centered culture, a testament to Lafayette’s enduring strength and the unique role the arts played in its history.
To further add to Lafayette, LA’s, beauty and creative culture, Mayor-President Monique Blanco-Boulet developed a new citywide arts initiative in partnership with consulting and engineering firm CSRS and arts organization Basin Arts. To learn more about the University Corridor Public Art Initiative, we chatted with Clare Cook, the founder of Basin Arts and the project’s key artistic and community liaison. Read ahead to get the scoop on Cook and the new Lafayette, LA, arts initiative.
Who is Clare Cook, and what’s the goal behind Basin Arts?
Cook grew up in Lafayette but spent a decade living and working in New York City as a choreographer and teacher before “family and culture pulled me back,” she says.
After returning, she founded Basin Arts, an arts incubator in Lafayette, LA, that supports local artists and their communities. Basin is a “nest in which artists can flourish,” Cook says, where it is safe for them to explore and collaborate.
As an innovative presence in the larger Lafayette region, Basin Arts is a listening ear, hearing the needs of Lafayette, collecting stories, and finding ways to meet those needs and tell those stories through public performances and art. Cook’s work at Basin Arts has already brought several large-scale projects to life in Lafayette, LA, uniquely equipping her to assist with the new initiative.
What will be the result of the new Lafayette, LA, arts initiative?
The final product will be a series of art installations of various styles and functionalities at key locations along University Avenue, one of the city’s oldest main roads. The corridor begins near Interstate 10 and leads to the airport. Cook says once the necessary construction and revitalization efforts are complete at each site, there will be a specific call to artists that will be dependent on the needs and goals of the space.
“The community will spearhead those goals by voicing their needs and identities,” Cook says.
Cook anticipates the public art along the corridor will vary, ranging from murals to green spaces to sculptural elements and possibly some interactive elements. She is looking forward to the moment each site along the corridor is complete because there are plans for unique celebrations to engage community members with the art at each location.
Where will the Lafayette, LA, arts initiative sites be located?
The University Corridor Public Art Initiative consists of what Cook calls “five geographic components” or “sites.” The first component, which is currently under construction, is the corridor segment from I-10 to Willow Street. The second component that will be addressed is from Willow Street to Cameron Street, followed by Cameron to Johnston Steet, then Johnston to Pinhook Road followed by Pinhook to the airport.
What is the timeline for the Lafayette, LA, arts initiative?
“The project is presently underway,” Cook says.
It was officially launched in November 2024, with an initial public discussion inviting artists and community members to contribute ideas regarding branding and potential aesthetics along the corridor.
Currently, the first two components, spanning from I-10 to Willow Street and Willow Street to Cameron, are slated to be completed in 2027, Cook says, with additional phases to follow.
Why was the University Corridor selected as the site for the initiative?
University Avenue is a key entry point to Lafayette and one of the oldest roads that spans the city. It is also the main route for out-of-town students and others traveling to the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Cook says the corridor “captures so many different communities and is a path that connects not only people but public servants,” making it the perfect place to showcase and celebrate the initiative’s theme and the city’s core values of “community, education and public service.”
“There is a belief and trust in the arts happening here, Cook says. “The arts and artists in Lafayette are doing such impactful work that the city is now being intentional about creating spaces to support and celebrate their contributions.”
Because the project is massive in scale and community-focused, Cooks says she hopes the initiative will be “a testament and a template” for future public arts initiatives in Lafayette, LA, and surrounding areas.
She also says that she hopes the finished corridor will communicate that “Lafayette is a municipality that prioritizes creativity as integral to the development and success of the city, and that art and creativity can be beautiful vehicles for bringing people together.”
This article is sponsored by the Lafayette Convention & Visitors Commission, Lafayette Economic Development Authority and One Acadiana.