Watch 2022 Commencement Ceremony Livestream
The LSU College of Art & Design 2022 Fall Commencement Ceremony is Friday, December 16, 2022, at 3 p.m. in the Student Union Theater.
Lake Douglas Fall ’22 Commencement Speaker, To Retire
Lake Douglas, PhD, ASLA, is the LSU College of Art & Design fall commencement 2022 ceremony speaker. Associate dean of research and development and associate professor of landscape architecture at the College of Art & Design, Douglas has announced his retirement from LSU after over 15 years of service at the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture.
A licensed landscape architect, Douglas has published numerous articles; books and book chapters; critical essays; and reviews in national and international anthologies, professional journals, and popular publications about diverse topics within the design disciplines, and his writings have received national and regional recognition. Public Spaces, Private Gardens: A History of Designed Landscapes in New Orleans (2011) received honor awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects and its Louisiana chapter, together with the Williams Award from the Louisiana Historical Association. Recently published books include Steward of the Land: Selected Writings of Nineteenth-Century Horticulturist Thomas Affleck (2014) and Buildings of New Orleans (2018). Douglas is also series editor of Reading the American Landscape for LSU Press.
“When Lake was appointed as the associate dean for research and development, the college did not have an advanced doctoral program,” said Alkis Tsolakis, dean of the College of Art & Design. “It is due to Lake’s efforts and intellectual pursuits that we have this program now.”
“Sitting where you are now, 50 years ago, I could not have imagined where I would be today,” Douglas addressed the College of Art & Design graduates at the commencement ceremony December 16, 2022. “Savor the periods of growth and success, but don’t let artistic stability turn into creative stagnation. Remember: it’s not as much about reaching the destination as it is enjoying the ride, living in the moment, and learning from past success and failures as you chart a pathway forward.”
Douglas received a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from LSU, a Master in Landscape Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a PhD in Urban Studies/Urban History from the University of New Orleans. His dissertation investigated 19th-century horticultural commerce in New Orleans as an agency of community cohesion, and his current research involves documenting cultural landscapes of the Gulf South through investigations of public spaces, domestic gardens, people, and written evidence. Other areas of interest include enhancing communities through cultural development, using research skills to inform design strategies, and developing communication skills in design through effective writing.
Douglas is also actively involved in grassroots efforts to enhance and increase public open space in New Orleans.
Watch the ceremony speech:
Design Building Renamed Julian T. White Hall
Julian T. White Hall, formerly the Design Building, has been renamed to honor Julian T. White, the second Black licensed architect in the state of Louisiana. White was also LSU’s first Black professor who began teaching in LSU’s Architecture Department in 1971. In 2020, the LSU College of Art & Design unveiled a three-story mural of White in the atrium of the Design Building, which will now be named in his honor.
“Naming the building after Professor White honors the momentous impact he had on so many students, and all of LSU,” said Alkis Tsolakis, dean of the College of Art & Design.

Artist Robert Dafford works on Julian T. White memorial mural in the LSU Design Building. Photo by BFA candidate Micah Viccinelli.
LSU School of Architecture Accredited
7th Statewide Juried High School Exhibition
Prospectus
The LSU School of Art, in conjunction with the LSU College of Art & Design, will host the 7th annual statewide juried art exhibition for high school artists. The LSU School of Art—one of the largest and most comprehensive art schools in the region—will showcase selected works from students who represent the talent from all areas of the state. The goal of the exhibition is to inspire young artists by providing a platform for their work to be displayed in a professional, artistic venue and thus giving them a taste of a professional artist experience. The exhibition will be an annual offering and is intended to showcase the finest, artistic student talent in Louisiana.
This 7th annual exhibition will be held February 15-March 11, 2023, at the Gallery in the newly renovated Barnes Ogden Art & Design Complex on the LSU campus (Formerly the Studio Arts Building). Winners will be announced and prizes will be awarded at a closing reception for the artists on March 11, 2023.
Eligibility:
All public, private, and home-schooled high school students (grades 9 through 12) who reside in Louisiana are eligible.
Submission Requirements:
Artwork must be submitted by a high school teacher or representative. Each high school teacher/representative may submit up to 10 pieces of artwork. Please note that this is a juried show. Entries are not guaranteed acceptance.
There are no fees associated with submission.
Any piece created by students at any time during their high school education may be submitted.
How to Submit Artwork:
Artwork should be submitted by January 15, 2023, through Slideroom.
Media:
Paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, ceramics, photographs, computer- generated art, digital media (including audio and video) and mixed media artwork that meets the following specifications are eligible for submission. No work can be suspended from the ceiling.
Two-dimensional work must not exceed 40 inches wide by 68 inches high. Three-dimensional work must not exceed 45 inches high by 26 inches wide and 26 inches deep. The maximum weight for any submitted piece is 50 lbs.
Work must be physical and tangible and must be able to be displayed for the duration of the exhibition. All two-dimensional works must be framed and ready to hang for a professional gallery with the appropriate mounting hardware (wire, cleats, etc). Using tape to secure hanging wire is unacceptable. All pastel and charcoal drawings must be sprayed with fixative. All three-dimensional works must be structurally sound with all components securely fastened.
Jurors:
Submissions will be selected by a jury of School of Art faculty members.
Awards:
First, second, and third-place winners will be selected, and honorable mentions will be awarded in the following amounts. A special award will be made to the teacher/program with the best overall showing.
First Place: $500
Second Place: $300
Third Place: $200
Honorable Mentions: $100
Sales:
Since the purpose of the exhibition is to provide an opportunity similar
to that which a professional artist would encounter, we encourage all work to be for sale. Please consider realistic prices to encourage sales. All sales are to be conducted between the buyer and the artist. The gallery will not be responsible for delivering purchased works. Price on Request (POR) designations will not be accepted for any artwork. Not-for-sale (NFS) artwork must still include an insurance value.
Liability:
Every precaution will be taken to assure protection of entries. Liability for hand-delivered works left after the pickup or shipping dates will not be assumed by the LSU School of Art.
Shipping/Delivery:
All selected works must be either delivered or if shipped, received in the Art Office by February 7th.
Delivery: Works must be delivered to the LSU School of Art Office , Barnes Ogden Art & Design Complex, Louisiana State University (More information to come)
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
225-578-5411
8:30-4:30 pm
If you need to deliver on a weekend, please contact Kitty Pheney in advance to make arrangements.
Shipping: Shipped works must be received in the LSU School of Art Office in the Barnes Ogden Art & Design Complex (address to come) no later than February 7th, at 4:30 p.m. Outbound shipping and packaging costs are the responsibility of the student artists or high schools.
The School of Art will cover return shipping preparations and costs.
Shipping Address:
Attention: Kitty Pheney/High School Art Exhibition
School of Art
Louisiana State University
Art Office, Barnes Ogden Art & Design Complex
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Schedule & Deadlines:
January 15, 2023
Submissions are open now, but must be uploaded to Slideroom by January 15.
January 20, 2023
Teachers/schools will be notified on or around January 20 if their
submissions are selected for the exhibition.
February 7, 2023
Selected works must be delivered/shipped to the School of Art by
February 7, 2023.
February 15, 2023
The exhibition, which will take place at the LSU Gallery in the Barnes Ogden Art & Design Complex, opens to the public on February 15. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 – 4:30 p.m. Please let us know if you are bringing a group from your school.
March 11, 2023
The winners will be announced, and prizes awarded at the closing reception at the LSU Gallery in the Barnes and Ogden Art & Design Complex on March 11, 2023
1:00–3:00 p.m.
March 11, 2023
The exhibit closes to the public on March 11, Teachers (schools) are allowed to take work from their school with them at the end of the reception.
March 20, 2023
Hand-delivered artwork that has not been sold must be picked up by March 20. (Special arrangements can be made for weekend pick up should this be necessary.)
For more information contact Kitty Pheney at the LSU School of Art.
Kitty Pheney
LSU School of Art
Office: 225-578-5411
Cell: 225-266-4812
E-mail: kphene2@lsu.edu
Annual Report 2021-22
The College of Art & Design Annual Report 2021-2022 is live! Check out the digital publication with videos & links to stories from the year.
Porcelain, Identity & Race
LSU Museum of Art Exhibition Co-Curated by LSU Doctoral Student, Faculty Receives SEMC Award
The LSU Museum of Art (LSU MOA) is honored and pleased to announce it has received awards in the 2022 Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) Exhibition and Publication Competitions. This annual competition is open to museums in the southeastern region to submit exhibition and publication projects for review of merit. In the 2022 exhibition competition, The Boneyard: The Ceramics Teaching Collection was selected for the Bronze Award in the Under $25,000 budget category. The exhibition was co-curated by Andy Shaw, LSU associate professor of art/ceramics; Courtney Taylor, (former LSU MOA Curator and Director of Programs) currently Doctor of Design candidate and LSU College of Art & Design graduate assistant/Boyce Gallery coordinator; and Grant Benoit, former LSU MOA Educator and Manager of Public Programs.
Inspired by the visiting artist tradition, The Boneyard: The Ceramics Teaching Collection presented the energy and legacy of ceramics demonstrations through bisqueware. Included in this exhibition were over 200 bisque works that provide a valued resource for LSU School of Art’s top-ten ranked ceramics program. The ever-growing collection was displayed at LSU MOA to imitate the classroom use of the boneyard. The “boneyard” refers to the unique display on bisque works on high shelves in the studio, showcasing a variety of techniques, improvisation, and skill. Faculty and instructors pull bisque objects from the shelves in order to highlight specific techniques and attributes of form. This exhibition also featured rotating displays and a demonstration space activated by MFA students, local artists, and visiting artists allowing museum visitors to share in the boneyard tradition—to watch clay transform and to see artist-specific techniques shared in the openness of the craft tradition.
“Co-curating this exhibition with Andy and Grant was not only enjoyable, but incredibly rewarding,” Taylor said. “The collaboration between LSU MOA and the School of Art was a model experience curatorially, but also in terms of exhibition preparation and public programming. The exhibit featured LSU School of Art collections, was co-curated by a faculty member, and translated studio teaching methods into the gallery. There were also less-obvious collaborations that were integral to the project: current and former LSU student ceramicists facilitated public programs and the exhibition furniture was fabricated in LSU College of Art & Design’s Design Shops by students. The collaboration bolstered experimentation and engagement that expanded my own curatorial practice—and hopefully offered a model for deeper museum-college collaborations in the future.”
The Boneyard: The Ceramics Teaching Collection was a collaboration between the LSU MOA and the LSU School of Art. Previous partnerships between the School of Art and the LSU MOA inspired the proposal to highlight the ceramics bisque collection, “the boneyard” through a public exhibition. The resulting exhibition and the programming surrounding the exhibition were the result of an engaging and productive collaboration among the curators Taylor, Benoit, and Shaw.
The educational focus of The Boneyard and the inclusion of a studio space within the galleries of LSU MOA is reflective of the innovative visions at the museum, Shaw said. Through the studio space, audience members witnessed artists making works that would eventually be added into the collection. Audience members and demonstrating artists shared conversations about process and inspiration, benefitting both LSU art students and community members.
Watch a visiting artist share her process:
Taylor and co-authors Benoit and Shaw are publishing a chapter in the forthcoming book Dimensions of Curation: Considering Competing Values for Intentional Exhibition Practices, to be published by the American Alliance of Museums, applying the “Dimensions of Curation Competing Values Exhibition Model” using this exhibition as a case study.
LSU Art and Theater Talent Tapped by State to Improve Louisiana Cybersecurity
Two LSU graduate students are collaborating with the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness on a series of high-profile Cybersecurity Awareness Month public service announcements with Louisiana flavor.
MFA candidate Isabella Mire is working with GOHSEP on three 30-second educational videos to roll out this October, which is national Cybersecurity Awareness Month.