Dupré Library Arts Fellowship
Article in Dupré Digest, Library Newsletter, Spring 2025, Issue 1
Alia Sonnier, a junior majoring in Art Education, was awarded the inaugural Dupré Library Arts Fellowship. The Fellowship supports mentored creative inquiries that result in artistic contributions to knowledge. Established by Peter Klubek, Head of Research and Access Services at Edith Garland Dupré Library, the Dupré Library Arts Fellowship is part of a growing national trend of library-based artist residencies designed to connect artists with library collections to inspire the creation of new works. Across the country, libraries like the New York Public Library and the Library of Congress have developed similar programs, offering visual and performing artists the chance to engage with archival materials and create work inspired by these collections. These residencies allow artists to tap into libraries' vast historical and cultural resources, with the support of the 2024 Drs. Gloria S. and Robert W. Cline/BORSF Endowed Professorship for Dupré Library, Klubek envisioned creating a funded semester-long residency program for undergraduates in a Student Center for Research, Creativity, & Scholarship Advance Pathway.
Alia plans to create an art exhibition using both the Louisiana collection and the U.S. Government Documents collection, to highlight gender disparity in state government. The exhibition will consist of four pieces focusing on Louisiana’s political representation: one featuring the state’s governors, another on the House of Representatives, a third on the Senate and a final piece comparing female representation in government to the state’s general population. Visual elements will include photographs of Louisiana governors, with male governors depicted in black and white and female governors in pink. The House and Senate pieces will present lists of names, with male legislators in black and female legislators in pink, emphasizing the contrast in representation. The final piece will provide a direct comparison between the percentage of women in government and their proportion in the state’s population.
Alia’s work will be developed through engagement with the Library’s collections, culminating in an exhibition both in the Library and the College of the Arts Dean’s Gallery. The project will include an artist talk, contributing to Sonnier’s record of co-curricular activities and supporting their pursuit of the Advance attribute on their transcript. Additionally, this exhibition will enhance the university’s impact by aligning with the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education’s elite R1 designation, reinforcing UL Lafayette’s standing among the nation’s top-tier research institutions.
—Peter Klubek, Head of Research and Access Services
