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Exhibitions

The Hilliard Art Museum presents exhibitions year-round that foster the creative exchange of ideas and cross-disciplinary research. The exhibitions range from in-depth studies of Gulf South artists to overarching surveys of global art movements and selected works from our Permanent Collection.

On View

Hilliard Art Museum presents four new exhibitions featuring some of the most compelling voices in 20th century and contemporary art.  Together, they ask a question as urgent as it is timeless: What do we carry forward, and what do we leave behind?

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

Jackson’s paintings, sculptures, and designs transform the gallery into a domestic space that explores how close we’ve come to a future earlier generations have imagined.

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.

An older man in a red vest holds a hat in one hand and gestures with the other while speaking into a microphone outdoors. Trees and people are visible in the background.
October 9, 2026 – February 20, 2027

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

Presented by Festivals Acadiens et Créoles in collaboration with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and Center for Louisiana Studies

In the summer of 1976, as the country celebrated its Bicentennial, the Smithsonian’s Festival of American Folklife brought Cajun and Creole musicians to the National Mall as recognized bearers of a national heritage. Louisiana artist Elemore Morgan, Jr. was there with his camera to capture them.

Upcoming Events
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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.
The Architecture
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A modern outdoor water fountain features a tall, rectangular wall with water cascading down its surface, beside a glass building at the Hilliard Art Museum and lush green hedges under a blue sky—perfect for enjoying local art Lafayette exhibitions.