For Immediate Release

Contact:            Gina Aswell

                        Downtown Lafayette Unlimited

                        337-291-5566

                        gina@lafayettedowntown.org

Also Contact:    Individual Galleries

                        Numbers are Listed Below.

ArtWalk Set for September 12

 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.

LAFAYETTE - Downtown Lafayette comes alive every second Saturday of the month for 2^nd Saturday ArtWalk.  Galleries, restaurants, shops and night clubs will be open - offering live music, food, drink and of course, ART! This month brings three new shows. In addition to our galleries, businesses presenting artwork include Recycled Cycles of Acadiana, Artmosphere and Antlers Restaurant.  For a full list of downtown businesses and more information, visit www.DowntownLafayette.org.

This month's spotlight:

Brush With Hope is hosted by Gallery 549 at September ArtWalk. This gathering of artists and artisans from Acadiana will exhibit and sell their interpretive works of art based upon inspiration from a photograph by Dr. John Fuselier. Brush With Hope will feature original paintings, drawings, pottery, glass works jewelry, fabric works and various other types of multi-media art.

The event is a fundraiser benefiting the Jacob Crouch Foundation, a local non-profit organization whose mission is suicide prevention and awareness through educational programs. Gallery 549 is pleased to partner with the Jacob Crouch Foundation in furthering its mission.

Acadiana Center for the Arts

101 W. Vermilion St. / 233-7060 / www.acadianacenterforthearts.org 

Main Gallery: Through September 26, 2009

Herman Mhire: Altered States

Herman Mhire's passion lies in creating images he's never seen before. Mhire transforms straightforward, photographic portraits into provocative and often disturbing hyperfaces that invite the viewer to search for clues about the altered states of his fictional characters. He creates these images in order to elicit a visceral response from the viewer and to stimulate curiosity without communicating an immediately identifiable meaning.

Side Gallery Series: September 12 - October 2

Kelly Guidry

Kelly Guidry's work is a combination of both subtractive and constructive sculpture.

Guidry uses the chainsaw and other power tools to cut and burn wood and applies welding

equipment to bend and weld metal. His use of the tools is sometimes unorthodox, and his

technique is constantly in a state of reinvention.

Louisiana Crafts Guild is featuring works by Louisiana basket weaver, Emma Hughes, in a one woman show in The Vault. Meet the artist, who has mastered and taught the art of basket weaving, at the opening reception from 6 p.m.-8 p.m.

Louisiana Folk Roots presents its monthly JAM DES AMIS at the Acadiana Center for the Arts. September's jam will be hosted by fiddler Brandon Moreau of the popular Cajun band Pain Perdu. Brandon will lead the group in a variety of Cajun and Creole tunes for players of all skill levels. The jam is open to the public free of charge, and those folks who don't play an instrument are welcome to stop by and enjoy the music. For more information, contact Louisiana Folk Roots at 337-234-8360 or e-mail info@lafolkroots.org.

Adrian Fulton's Fine Art Gallery

302 Jefferson St. / 658-3274

Visit Adrian's gallery for paintings, portraits or caricatures. His art captures timeless emotion and expression.

Architects + Artists Gallery

200 Jefferson St. / 234-4166

Cité des Arts

109 Vine St. / 291-1122

Local artist, Austin Sonnier, Jr., will exhibit photographs of area jazz and blues musicians.

Francis Pavy Gallery

210 Gordon St. / 232-6682

Open Studio.

Galerie Eclaireuse

535  Jefferson St. / 234-5492

Herman Mhire's exhibition, HYPERFACES, encompass new works created from straightforward photographic portraits made in his studio. He subsequently manipulates these portraits in his computer in order to create images he's never seen before, images that invite viewers to search for clues about the psychological states of his fictional characters. He feels compelled to create these images in order to elicit a visceral response from the viewer, and to stimulate curiosity without communicating immediately identifiable meaning.

Gallery 549

549 Jefferson St. / 593-0796

Brush With Hope is a gathering of artists and artisans from Acadiana exhibiting and selling their interpretive works of art based upon inspiration from a photograph by Dr. John Fuselier.  Brush With Hope will feature original paintings, drawings, pottery, glass works jewelry, fabric works and various other types of multi-media art.

The event is a fundraiser benefiting the Jacob Crouch Foundation, a local non-profit organization whose mission is suicide prevention and awareness through educational programs. Gallery 549 is pleased to partner with the Jacob Crouch Foundation in furthering its mission.

Gallery R (at The Russo Group)

116 E. Congress St. / 769-1530

Kim Bullen

Using inspirational themes, Kim Bullen's artwork reflects creation, which proclaims hope and confesses experiences. Simply, each piece has a touch of life and hope which has been sparked by God's stirring creation. Her paintings are pearls of time spent in an unseen world that swirls all around us. This artwork is meant for anyone willing to receive and need a little encouragement. Join us for Kim's primitive and innovative messages of hope, love and forgiveness. Gallery R, located in The Russo Group building in the heart of downtown Lafayette Arts District is committed to promoting the work of both emerging and established local artists.

Lounge Art Gallery

402 S. Buchanan St. / 236-5570

Group show

Pottery Alley

205  W. Vermilion St. / 267-4453

Open studio with pottery demonstrations

Sans Souci Gallery

219 E. Vermilion St. / 266-7999

Sans Souci Fine Craft Gallery features works in wood and metal by Kelly Guidry and David Bergeron. Bergeron creates unique, handmade furniture, frames and furnishings of recycled lumber from historic New Orleans area renovations, tear downs and salvage yards. Guidry's work is a combination of both subtractive and constructive sculpture. He uses a chainsaw and other power tools to create winged hearts, dragonflies, queen bees and more.  Open September 12 through October 7.

Whoojoo Stained Glass

532 Jefferson St. / 269-9310

Exhibitions: Paintings by David Alpha, metal works and enamels by Annette Aucoin, glass works by Craig McCullen, photography by Colleen Lastrapes and Janet Nehrbass, clay and pottery by Tanya Schulze, and metal sculptures by Russell Whiting.

# # #