Southeastern Contemporary Art Gallery hosts exhibits
Thursday, April 29, 2021 
by: Tonya Lowentritt
ART ON DISPLAY - The Southeastern Louisiana University Contemporary Art Gallery is currently presenting two exhibitions through May 15 - Remembering Heather Vallaire and the 2021 Spring Senior Visual Art + Design Exhibition. Pictured is one of the works created by Southeastern Alumna Heather Vallaire.
HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana University Contemporary Art Gallery is currently
presenting two exhibitions through May 15 - Remembering Heather Vallaire and the 2021
Spring Senior Visual Art + Design Exhibition. Both exhibits are free and open to the
public.
The gallery is located at 100 East Strawberry Stadium and operates Monday through
Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, and Friday
8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The Senior Exhibition includes artwork by the spring 2021 graduating class of
students in the Visual Art + Design Department. The exhibition features a variety
of senior capstone projects ranging from animation, photography, painting, and graphic
design, to name a few.
Seniors exhibiting include Hayley Allen of Livingston; Alyssa Arnold and Bryce
Bourne of Covington; Donna Beagle and Kayla Schroeder of Ponchatoula; Nathaniel Britton
and Chase Romero of New Orleans; Victoria Buras of Abita Springs; Dara Calmes, Emery
Foster, Matthew Gardiner, Brett Luneau and Gabriella Villavicencio of Hammond; Hannah
Disheroon and Ryan Guillot of Baton Rouge; Sydney Fischer, Nicholas Lorino and Michael
Sulzer of Madisonville; Hunter Guitreau, Austin Menier, Genni Nicholson and Lucia
Spinosa of Denham Springs; Madison Jackel of Belle Chasse; Ashleigh Keelen of Norco;
and Kate White of Mandeville.
In addition to the Senior Exhibition, the gallery is featuring a selection of
artworks in memory of the highly prolific artist and Southeastern Alumna Heather Vallaire,
said Contemporary Art Gallery Director Cristina Molina. Vallaire was a student in
the Visual Art + Design Department and graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Throughout her career at Southeastern, Vallaire explored a variety of media, including
sculptural body casting, photography, and painting. Molina said the pieces in the
exhibition are just a selection of Vallaire’s work.
“Heather was born with a condition that created physical impairments in her limbs,
and the physical and emotional impact this had on her life was often a central theme
in her artwork,” said Molina. “Citing the motivation for producing her artwork, she
shared in an interview with ‘The Lion’s Roar’ in 2014 that her central themes consisted
of ‘struggle, spiritual survival, and strength.’ No doubt these themes are prominent
among the pieces exhibited in the show.”
“Heather left us too soon, and we are deeply saddened to lose such a creative
force in our community,” Molina continued. “We hope this selection of artworks lends
itself to remembering the pride, resiliency, and brilliance of such a talented former
student, artist, mother, and friend and the artistic legacy she leaves behind.”
For more information, contact the gallery at 985-549-5080.
