Baton Rouge Gallery preps to celebrate 50 years of art

When the Baton Rouge Gallery started 50 years ago, it wasn’t in a stately building nestled among trees in City Park. It was in an old doctor’s office downtown that was on the verge of being torn down.

The cooperative was known then as Unit 8 Gallery, launched by eight young artists who wanted an independent space to show their work. A year later, after opening up the city’s more conservative eyes to contemporary art, the cooperative picked up steam and became a non-profit, birthing Baton Rouge Gallery as we know it today.

Now, with almost 60 artist members who rotate group shows every month, as well as a stable home and partnership with BREC at City Park, the gallery has become a cultural center in the city.

It’s also the oldest continuously operating public gallery in the country.

“It’s really unique,” says Executive Director Jason Andreasen. “When it started, there were other organizations like it that were similar in intent, but they’re all gone now. For us to reach this kind of milestone is amazing.”

The gallery hosted a who’s who of local artists over the years, many who still work in Baton Rouge, teach art to the next generation and still show up the first Wednesday of every month to see the latest works on BRG’s walls.

To celebrate this year’s milestone, BRG is hosting the “50/50” exhibit all this month—a massive undertaking featuring 50 works from 50 artists who were all part of the gallery at some point.

“A normal exhibit will have us showing works by current artists and that comes directly from their studios,” Andreasen says. “But with this show, we’re pulling from a number of different places: from the artists’ personal studios, from the Louisiana Art & Science Museum or LSU Museum of Art, from private collectors. It’s unlike anything the gallery’s ever done.”

Andreasen says that because those current and former members are so intertwined in the local arts scene, in a way it’s also a celebration of the past 50 years of artists in Baton Rouge.

The exhibition runs July 3-28, with the first Wednesday opening reception (July 6) doubling as the 50th anniversary celebration with food, music and more. batonrougegallery.org

In their words

We asked members of the BRG family about what the gallery means to them

“You can expect the unexpected here because we are a co-op. It reflects the energy of the arts in Baton Rouge, and it continues to be a burgeoning thing.”

—James Burke, founding member of the Unit 8 Gallery and ongoing artist member. “Because I’m this old, revered member, they treat me well,” he jokes. Burke is a painter who started out in printmaking, and one of his early prints will be featured in the exhibit.

“When I was director, I wanted anyone who walked in to feel comfortable there, and I think that still holds true for the gallery. You find people of like minds there—all ages and all types of backgrounds.”

—Anne Boudreau, gallery executive director from 1990 to 1993, and current artist member now based in Lafayette. Her tenure saw the gallery begin work toward doubling the exhibit floor space. She credits the gallery for inspiring her interest in arts education and now teaches art full-time for the Lafayette Parish School System.

“For new artists, it certainly gives them something to aspire to, to get in a gallery like that. It’s obviously one of the most important venues in Baton Rouge.”

—Rob Carpenter, artist member since 2014. The Baton Rouge artist, who for years taught painting at Nicholls State University, applied to be an artist member a few years prior but wasn’t accepted. “You have to keep trying and keep your work fresh and new and come back again,” he says. “Because I had so many friends who were members there, my main motivation was to have my friends have the opportunity to see my work.”

“In taking on this [anniversary] project, I’ve been talking to founding members, collectors and volunteers from over the years, and you get a sense of what the gallery means to people. We’re talking five decades worth of people having experiences with art at the gallery. They are all part of this legacy.”

—Jason Andreasen, gallery executive director since 2008 and part of the gallery team since 2007