This week the Acadiana Center for the Arts will be revealing a lot of new work to correspond with August's ArtWalk. Being shown "in the vault" as they put it is Megan Barra's show Silk Compositions. It opens Saturday.
Megan Barra is a local artist/designer who received a Grammy nomination for her package design of Sonny Landreth's album Levee Town. She has done design work for business and non-profits all over Acadiana and her work has been show in Canada, Europe and stateside. Barra's silk work also graced the cover of The Ind's "Cool Town" issue last spring.
Being "in the vault" at ACA is quite literal: Part of the building comprises the former LBA Savings Bank, and its vault, which does look exactly like the bank vaults you've seen in screwball '40s comedies save for the very modern furnishings the ACA has installed, is often home to art installations.
Barra's Silk Compositions is up until Sept. 24 and it is well worth the viewing. Scrolls of silk are unfurled and hung to show Louisiana scenes, particularly musicians. Clifton Chenier is in one piece as are a lot of New Orleans musicians. At Barra's website she describes herself as a music lover and her work does nothing to deny that fact. Swatches of silk are sewn together to form scenes and often the fabric is dyed or images imposed upon it. Think of it as a quilt that is as tough to work with as it is exquisite to see.
Silk Compositions opens in time for August's ArtWalk on Aug. 13 when for one Saturday night downtown Lafayette comes alive with art and its lovers, or at least those pretending to look cultured. Mosey through downtowns galleries, bars and restaurants that are open to ArtWalk starting at around 5 p.m.