Serena Pandos, new director of the Louisiana Art & Science Museum.
Local legend Carol Gikas served as director of the Louisiana Art & Science Museum for thirty-nine years, leaving a legacy that includes the expansion of the museum building, the construction of the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium, and the growth of the museum’s collections. While these are big shoes to fill, new director Serena Pandos is excited to continue this legacy of growth that has made the museum such a force in the city and the state.
Pandos comes to Baton Rouge with twenty years of cultural arts leadership experience and two master’s degrees—one in visual art and another in arts administration. In her first year in Baton Rouge, Pandos plans to listen to the staff, stakeholders, and community members to understand the museum’s role in the cultural life of Baton Rouge and has identified growing its relationship with the community as a priority.
Asked how the museum balances local interest with a broader sense of the world (and universe), Pandos noted that the museum’s educational programs, cultural events, and exhibitions evolve along the lines of engaging the community, frequently exhibiting local artists, forming local STEAM-based partnerships, and engaging local school districts. “All of this is to show how art and science inform each other and are necessary for addressing today and tomorrow’s challenges,” Pandos said, going on to cite studies indicating that children who grow up in museums are more likely to excel academically and become lifelong learners.
Baton Rouge can look forward with confidence to a new generation at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum and a concurrent growth as an important cultural center in the state and the region at large. To stay up-to-date with events at the museum under Pandos’ aegis, visit lasm.org.
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