Center for Louisiana Studies

10/04/2026

Dry Bones premieres in four days. Have you gotten your ticket yet? 🎟️

Join us this Thursday, October 8, at the Acadiana Center for the Arts as part of Festivals Acadiens et Créoles. Learn more about the project, the artists, and how to join us at www.drybones.net — and share this with someone who needs to be there.

10/03/2026

Five days.

Dry Bones premieres Thursday, October 8, at the Acadiana Center for the Arts as part of Festivals Acadiens et Créoles. To learn more about the project, the artists, and the premiere visit www.drybones.net

10/01/2026

One week until the premiere and the official trailer is here!

Dry Bones premieres Thursday, October 8, at the Acadiana Center for the Arts as part of Festivals Acadiens et Créoles. To learn more about the project, the artists, and the premiere visit www.drybones.net

09/30/2026

Things are ramping up. We hope to see you at this event next Friday!

Revolution and Evolution: Celebrating 250 Years of Cultural Fusion on the Bayou

Friday, October 9, 2026
8:45 a.m.–4:45 p.m.
Hilliard University Art Museum
University of Louisiana at Lafayette

A daylong symposium hosted by the Center for Louisiana Studies as part of its collaboration with Festivals Acadiens et Créoles and the Smithsonian’s Of the People: Festival of Festivals initiative.

The program includes scholars, artists, archivists, musicians, tradition-bearers, and Smithsonian participants. Topics include Cajun and Creole music, media and cultural representation, archives, Louisiana’s Revolutionary-era history, and the 1976 Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife.

The event will conclude with a conversation about, and reception for, the Hilliard’s exhibition of photographs by Elemore Morgan Jr. from the 1976 Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife.

This project received funding from the Smithsonian’s “Our Shared Future: 250,” a Smithsonian-wide initiative supported by private philanthropy and created to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary and advance the Smithsonian vision for the next 250 years.

Festivals Acadiens et Créoles Hilliard Art Museum and Smithsonian Folklife

09/30/2026

Premiere next Thursday!

What happens when today’s musicians dig into the archives and bring Louisiana roots music back to life? Dry Bones, a new video series from the Center for Louisiana Studies and the filmmakers behind Roots of Fire, brings contemporary musicians face-to-face with music preserved in the Center’s archives — then follows as they transform what they discover into original studio performances.

The series premieres Oct. 8 at the Acadiana Center for the Arts as a part of the kickoff to Festivals Acadiens et Créoles. New episodes will follow weekly through Dec. 9.

Read more at https://louisiana.edu/news/dry-bones-series-breathes-new-life-archival-louisiana-music

09/30/2026

Our Fall season of In Your Own Backyard continues on October 29th. Kelly Jackson, producer, director, writer, actress, and CEO, hosts this edition of our free series. Resurrection Fern (Documentary/Film) follows the journey of Marie Thérèse CoinCoin, an enslaved woman coming into freedom, power, and prestige. The film tells the history of Creoles, Africans, French and Native Americans whose descendants still inhabit Louisiana’s Cane River region. Join us for a screening and talk with the producer of the film and descendant of Marie Thérèse CoinCoin, Kelly Jackson.
The doors open at 5:30 p.m. As always, it’s happening at the Roy House. There is parking in our Roy House lot, and additional spaces across the street at Martin Hall Circle and paid parking in ParkMobile lots along University Avenue.

09/29/2026

https://www.kplctv.com/2026/09/28/dry-bones-series-breathes-new-life-into-archival-louisiana-music/

Center for La. Studies at UL Lafayette will premiere a video series in collaboration with Lavoi Creative’s Roots of Fire at kickoff to Festivals Acadiens et Créoles.

09/25/2026

Nous sommes honorés de vous accueillir à l’occasion de cette édition du Salon, le mardi 29 septembre. This edition of the UL School of Music's chamber music series features some of our dear friends (who also happen to be among the most influential women in Cajun and Creole music, arts, and language movements today). Venez nombreux !

Women of Acadiana, An Evening of Music, Poetry & Language is an interdisciplinary evening exploring the voices and creative traditions of Acadian women through music, Louisiana Creole poetry, new writing, and reflections on Louisiana's rich linguistic and cultural heritage. Featuring Ann Savoy, Kelli Jones, Marissa Ramsey, Jamie Lynn Fontentot, Lauren Richard and Kelly Anne Bixby.

Reception at 6:30. Concert at 7 p.m. at the Roy House.

09/24/2026

Don’t miss this author talk and book signing for French in the Morning: A History of Cajun and Creole Radio in Louisiana and Texas, 1928-2025. Professor Noah Arceneaux tells the century-long history of Cajun and Creole radio in Louisiana and East Texas. Filled with personal reflection and historical detective work, this book shows how one community has used radio to reclaim its heritage, find its voice, and keep its traditions alive. This book will appeal to anyone interested in Louisiana culture, radio history, roots music, or the enduring power of local voices.

Join us on Tuesday, October 6th at the Roy House for Professor Noah Arceneaux’s talk, and get your signed copy of French in the Morning. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. There is parking in our Roy House lot, and additional parking across the street at Martin Hall Circle and down University Avenue in ParkMobile lots.