Notes from the Schoolyard
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Hilliard Art Museum 710 East St. Mary Boulevard, Lafayette, Louisiana 70503
In the digital age, ideas, poetry, and art can be distributed to thousands at the click of a button, regardless of an individual's background, expertise, or even talent. While the populist nature of non-hierarchical digital displays can certainly—at times—pose unique, and even serious, problems, there is a certain magic in the open doors of today's world.
In the art world, this trend was anticipated by another mid-century museum practice called mail art. Mail art is a non-commercial practice in which artists send their work through mail correspondence or to strangers. In 1970, the first mail art exhibition took place at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Since then, many museums have embraced the opportunity the practice gives to "make room for more voices," and to explore new mediums of curation and discovery.
This spring, the Hilliard University Art Museum presents Notes from the Schoolyard, a mail art exhibition organized in collaboration with Talented Visual Art in the Lafayette Parish School System. Artists who answered the call, including the students of Troy Dugas, Brian Guidry, Emee Morgan, and Kelli Richard, did so in understanding that the venue would display their works of art. The exhibition will be on display until June 3, 2020. hilliardmuseum.org.