Would you ever consider returning to theatre and taking the stage again? When I find the time. I’m currently a part of the biggest theatre production of my life, which is being a mother. It’s the biggest game of improv. It would have to be the right time and a dream role. You’ve hit the ground running since you started working at the Arts & Humanities Council of SWLA. What initiatives have you worked on and what’s coming in the future? When I came on, I looked under the hood to see what was there. I realized our mission hadn’t changed since our inception and that we weren’t doing our best at fulfilling that mission. We’ve worked with real intention to find where we should go next. We need initiatives that really serve that mission. The services we provide should be inclusive, accessible and serve the entire five-parish area. We offer four grants but only one covers all of SWLA. I’m looking to change that. Our Poetry Out Loud program . . . I want to scream it from the rooftops. High school students learn three poems and recite them, competing at the regional, state and national level, and they can win prizes. We only had 12 students involved last year. I want us to get into schools more. We have Spring Art Walk, Chuck Fest, and the upcoming White Linen Night. These events fuel our work for the rest of the year. Chuck Fest is not just a variety of concerts, it’s how we can ensure we have the funding to fuel our initiatives for the next year. I want to create a regional arts award celebration and bring together all of the different artistic disciplines. Great art is happening here.
holders or members for the various arts organizations. If you love these organizations, support them. Share events. Become an everyday advocate for the arts. Without the arts and humanities, the world would be a bleak place. They bring life. They are the reason we work . . . to enjoy things on weekends. This includes the culinary arts, visual arts, fashion, media . . . . We have such a strong history of storytelling in Louisiana. We bond over food and family. And food has its basis in creative expression. Research shows for communities that invest in arts, its residents have a better quality of life, better student outcomes, better mental health. There’s the added benefit of a more involved civic public. Who doesn’t want to live in a community like this? What should community members expect in the future from the Arts & Humanities Council of SWLA? So much. We’re going to unveil a new mission soon, and pillars that will directly impact our creative community. Look out for our promotion of the Culturalyst, which will be a one-stop shop for individual artists and organizations. It will list events and provide information on grants beyond what we can do. We’re helping organizations grow in professionalism and adaptability, ensuring they can thrive—not just survive—over time. Keep an eye out. There are tremendous things to come. I don’t want another person to say there’s nothing to do in Lake Charles. Sign up for our newsletter and it will tell you what you can do every weekend. Learn more at artscouncilswla.org
But we can’t build our programs in a vacuum. We can come up with ideas all day long, but we need to be in touch with local creatives in order to be in tune with what they need from us. As funding for the arts is shrinking, how can people better support the arts? The arts are so integral to who we are as a state, but they’re so underfunded. People can support the arts by becoming annual season ticket
thriveswla.com
45