Get a feel for art: This Lafayette museum wants you to touch, listen and play with exhibit

People often think of art museums as stuffy, as places to be quiet, to look and not touch. They are not usually regarded as places to have fun.

But the Hilliard Art Museum is finding ways to change that perception, making exhibitions more interactive to inspire deeper learning and, yes, fun.

Laminated cards hanging from one wall tell visitors to play "I Spy" or to go on a "texture adventure." This card features fabric swatches of three different textures for users to touch instead of the art. Then they are asked to hunt for a piece in the gallery that appears to have the same texture.

On the same wall are pencils and pads of paper for patrons to sketch, write or respond to the exhibit in their own way.

These items are part of the Deep Look exhibit in the Learning Lab on the second floor of the Hilliard. Each element is intentional, part of the museum's community education programming.

"To inspire and educate through the arts, that is our mission," Director LouAnne Greenwald said. "While we are the university's art museum, we're also the community's museum."

The museum, named for Paul and Lulu Hilliard, is the art museum for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Museum staff work closely with university faculty and staff throughout the school year, whether for the art department's capstone course or with Honors English students to produce elements like an audio guide for the Deep Look exhibit. Patrons scan the QR code with their smartphone to listen to the guide written and recorded by UL technical writing students last spring.

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Such learning opportunities are not isolated to Deep Look. Pieces throughout the museum come with expanded labels, inviting visitors to dive deeper into the work by providing different perspectives or more background on an artist or piece, Greenwald said.

Some installations, like L. Kasimu Harris' "Vanishing Black Bars & Lounges" currently downstairs at the Hilliard, include spiral notebooks with extra material of his inspiration, like the artist's New York Times photo essay. The laminated notebooks can be carried around the gallery to enhance patrons' experience.

"The notebooks are an extension of the introductory essay," curator Ben Hickey said. "We like making things personal and portable. ... We don't want there to be unanswered questions if we can help it."

Harris' exhibit also features a built-in bar illuminated by a string of lights, decorations and a flat screen TV. Chairs rented from a local bar lend a sense of reality to the installation.

"It's a way to engage with the art," Hickey said. "There are different approaches for every single show."

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The engagement doesn't have to end when they leave the building. Some exhibits are accompanied by a curated Spotify playlist accessed through QR codes.

"You can take it with you and continue the experience at home or in the car," said Christina Lake, development manager for the Hilliard.

Other opportunities to engage with the museum come in the form of events like a quarterly Family Play Day, monthly Yoga in the Galleries, Let's Make Art workshops, public forums called Creative Conversations and more. The full calendar of events can be found online at the Hilliard's website.

"Creative expression is a way to feel empowered, to exercise your inner muse, to access and express a creative spirit," Greenwald said. "The creative spirit is really central to this community."

Contact children's issues reporter Leigh Guidry at Lguidry@theadvertiser.com or on Twitter @LeighGGuidry.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Lafayette museum wants you to touch, listen and play with art exhibit