For a museum, the absence of a curator is a challenge, to say the least. Creating continuity within the museum’s exhibitions, managing its permanent collection and building relationships with the community — for the past two years, the Hilliard’s staff tried its best to keep those plates spinning.
Their efforts were successful, says Executive Director Molly Rowe, but “the permanent collection felt the absence, the community felt the absence and our team felt the absence.”
Now, that search has come to an end. As the new curator, acclaimed architect, professor and writer Jonathan Boelkins is responsible for shaping and overseeing the museum’s diverse permanent collection and exhibition development, as well as integrating all of it into the space that is Acadiana’s premier art museum.
It wasn’t easy to find the right candidate. Rowe wanted a curator who understood how to work at a regional level in all its facets, while also participating in and being recognized in international art dialogues.
“You are talking about history. You’re talking about spirituality. You might be talking about space. You might be talking about the economy or jazz,” she explains. “In the work that we do, there is interdisciplinary thinking required.”
In Boelkins, the museum found someone who knows a thing or two about that.
Boelkins has a diverse career spanning architecture, exhibition design, publishing, higher education and curatorial work.
In the summer of 2021, he designed and curated A South Forty, a collaborative architectural initiative, research project and exhibition about architecture and design in the American South that was exhibited at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C and at the Venice Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy.
“It’s a very, very fast schedule and working with people in Italy to to build things and move things to one of the most challenging places there is to get things done,” says Boelkins, referencing the process of setting up the exhibition at the Giardini della Biennale, the Venice park where the annual art and design festival takes place. “No trucks or anything, you know. Everything gets delivered by barge into the Giardini.”
Throughout his endeavors, Boelkins was always drawn to Lafayette. In the fall of 2023, Boelkins accepted a visiting teaching position with the architecture school at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and was immediately dazzled by the culture and atmosphere of the city.
“Places that have such a clear connection between the landscape, the culture, the food, the music, the recreation, the calendar, the religion and that they all feed into one another in really wonderful and beautiful ways — those are really rare, and it’s particularly intense here,” he says.
During his time as an associate professor, he frequently visited the Hilliard, and was intrigued by the museum’s physical space, architectural relationship and ongoing “conversation” between the museum’s historic A. Hays Town building, which he considers “the best building in Lafayette,” and the museum’s modern components.
“There aren’t many museums that have this kind of condition between a historic building and a modern one,” says Boelkins.
Boelkins views the Hilliard Art Museum’s permanent collection as hard to define because of its incredible diversity. Rather than being limited to a narrow or specific range of works, the collection spans entire eras of human existence, and a vast array of styles and origins including local artists.
“I think having a collection that’s hard to define is an incredible point in its favor,” he says.
Now in his role as curator, he is excited about incorporating artworks from that collection, especially the prospect of exploring how artwork could expand beyond the three inside galleries and flow into the plaza, onto the porches and across the lawn.
“I think what we’re interested in exploring is building on that conversation and considering artwork that maybe expands the understanding of how art and exhibitions happen here,” he notes.
Early next year, as he gets the opportunity to be more involved in shaping upcoming projects, he is excited about working with local collaborators as well as bringing in artists from major metropolitan areas.
One of his goals is to make the museum more accessible for students. Often, he says, art museums come across as formal, reserved and not very welcoming to students. He wants to “disabuse them of that notion” and show them that the museum is a great place to visit and engage with.
“Art is absolutely the most important thing,” Boelkins says of what students stand to gain from interacting with the museum, as is “being able to come and engage the work on a personal level, from people that are very concerned about a whole range of issues and conditions locally and around the world.”
Meanwhile, he notes, students’ perspective is unique in “how earnestly and optimistically they think through what they make.”
To reach students, he emphasizes the importance of “continuously extending that invitation” to make them feel welcome, highlighting that it is not only his mission, but the mission of the museum. He noted that it is important that the museum’s relationship with students extends beyond the university community and to the broader educational community, including young children, ensuring the museum fosters a relationship with students of all ages.
Boelkins’ first exhibition for the Hilliard, drawn from the permanent collection, is scheduled to open in the spring of 2027. In the meantime, he will be developing ideas for upcoming projects and working his way through the permanent collection.
Rowe is excited for the museum’s progress and with Boelkins on the team the opportunities are boundless.
“I think anyone who has spent any time with him knows that he is such an asset not only to the museum but to our entire region. And I’m really excited to have him here,” says Rowe.
