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Where Art
Meets You

The Hilliard Art Museum of the University of Louisiana, Lafayette is a place to reflect, learn, create, and connect. It is a place where art creates a rich dialogue between the culture of Acadiana and the world.

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A young person stands at night, wearing a jacket with a roaring tiger patch—a scene reminiscent of the evocative style found in Matthew Day Jackson’s artwork. The background is dark, with blurred, circular city lights creating a striking bokeh effect.

Then. Now. Next.

The 2026 Fall Season presents four exhibitions across multi-media installation, painting, sculpture and photography. Viewed together, they a question as urgent as it is timeless: What do we carry forward, and what do we leave behind? 

Exhibitions
A young girl smiles and holds up a colorful piece of artwork. Behind her, children and adults participate in an art activity at the brightly lit Hilliard Art Museum, a hub for local art in Lafayette.

Learn

Join adult and family programs featuring hands-on activities inspired by the museum’s permanent collection and exhibitions on view.

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Hilliard Art Museum: Where Are Meets You

Experience exhibitions, programs, and a permanent collection that bring creativity and culture to life in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Upcoming Events

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A woman with short blonde hair, dressed in black, sits thoughtfully at a cluttered art studio desk covered with papers, art supplies, and photographs. Artworks and materials are visible in the background.
August 6 • 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Pop Life: Warhol and the Culture of Visibility, Part One

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Allison Leigh, Associate Professor of Art History at UL Lafayett...

A young girl in a yellow dress smiles and holds up a colorful piece of art at the Hilliard Art Museum, with other children and adults enjoying the lively atmosphere in the background.
August 8 • 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Create & Play Café

A monthly hands-on creative activity for kids ages 4 and up!

August 13 • 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Pop Life: Warhol and the Culture of Visibility, Part Two

September 5 • 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Yoga in the Galleries

September 12 • 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Create & Play Café

October 3 • 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Yoga in the Galleries

October 10 • 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Create & Play Café

A stylized drawing of a satellite with two large solar panels or wings, depicted over a textured, abstract pink and brown background with geometric lines and shapes reminiscent of Matthew Day Jackson’s distinctive artistic style.
September 19, 2026 – August 2, 2027

Matthew Day Jackson — Yesterday’s Tomorrow

Presented by the Emory Family Trust

The New York based artist builds paintings, furniture, and sculpture from the manufactured materials of the postwar American home: Formica, plywood, and epoxy. Here he arranges them inside a house with no walls, a place to examine how close we came to the future those materials once promised.

A woman lies on her side in bed, resting her head on a pillow and looking toward the camera. The bed is unmade and cluttered with clothes and items, evoking a scene reminiscent of Matthew Day Jackson’s explorations of everyday environments. The room is dimly lit and has a simple, minimal decor.
September 19, 2026 – February 20, 2027

A Century in Focus — Images from Women Photographers of the 20th Century

Featuring Works from the Permanent Collection

Explore the groundbreaking work of ten influential women photographers whose images redefined visual storytelling and shaped photography as one of the twentieth century’s most powerful artistic and cultural mediums.

Abstract bronze sculpture with interlocking geometric shapes, including curves, rectangles, and cut-out sections, creating a dynamic and layered composition against a white background.
September 19, 2026 – February 20, 2027

Curtis Patterson — Persistent Vision, Sculptures from 2011 – 2026

A Shreveport, LA native, Patterson brings more than fifteen years of work to Persistent Vision, his first museum exhibition in his home state, presenting bronze and steel sculptures that weave African diasporic motifs and the improvisational language of jazz into visual metaphors of movement, continuity, and cross-cultural memory.

People dressed in colorful clothing dance around a maypole outdoors, holding ribbons. A crowd watches in the background, with trees and a white tent visible. The scene appears festive and lively, reminiscent of the vibrant landscapes often depicted by Elemore Morgan Jr.
October 9, 2026 – February 20, 2027

Elemore Morgan Jr. — Photographs from the Festival of American Folklife, 1976

Presented by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and Festivals Acadiens et Créoles.

In the summer of 1976, the Smithsonian’s Festival of American Folklife ran for twelve weeks on the National Mall as the centerpiece of the nation’s Bicentennial, the country’s 200th birthday. Cajun and Creole musicians from south Louisiana performed there. They returned in 1983. Elemore Morgan Jr. photographed both.

Our Permanent Collection

The permanent collection of approximately 3,000 objects includes European, Asian, American, Egyptian, and African art of diverse media, fostering the creative exchange of ideas and cross-disciplinary research in the visual arts. Central to the collection are Gulf South Artists and works on paper.

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A crowd gathers at the Rodin: Toward Modernity exhibition, mingling and admiring sculptures on pedestals in a spacious, well-lit gallery—a true highlight among Louisiana museums and perfect for a Lafayette family friendly outing.
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Three people stand and chat, smiling in front of a colorful, abstract painting at the Lafayette art museum. Two face each other while one has their back to the camera, creating a casual and friendly scene amid vibrant local art Lafayette displays.