It is widely known that the process of making art is beneficial for children and adults alike, with research going back decades supporting its use for personal healing and growth, reducing stress, decreasing anxiety and depression, and to process grief (Bhattacharyya et al., 2023). Art is a means of practicing and feeling empathy, which can lead to prosocial behavior change. Additionally, there is ample research linking participation in the arts to improved cognitive development through the fostering of abstract thinking and right-brain/left-brain integration (Boaz & Bat-Or, 2022). Data also supports that art making increases general well-being in diverse populations (Rosa, 2021). Lastly, and as if we needed research to tell us this, making art feels good (Moon, 2016).

Lafayette has a rich art culture that beckons community members to engage in their own self-expression–we want to aid in that endeavor by putting supplies into the hands of folks who may not otherwise have the time, money or opportunity to do so. We believe all members of our community deserve the chance to express themselves artistically. This project is for artists, by artists. Lafayette is an art desert when it comes to art supplies. If a community member wishes to engage in any art they are relegated to shopping at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, or JoAnns which are coincidentally located within a block of one another off of Ambassador Caffery. Because Lafayette is not a walkable city, folks who do not live in close proximity to these stores are unable to access supplies necessary for creative hobbies.

We would like to solve this issue by creating mini art libraries that offer supplies to people interested in getting artsy. We consider this mutual art aid—anyone who has an overabundance of art supplies would be invited and encouraged to share said supplies they are no longer using or may have purchased in bulk and have used what they need for their own crafts. People who have moved on from one artistic hobby to another could donate tools they are no longer using or have lost interest in (e.g., paint brushes, knitting needles, etc). The art closet would be a low-risk, high-reward opportunity for folks who have toyed around with an artistic style but felt overwhelmed at the prospect of purchasing all the supplies necessary.

The Freetown Community Sound Lab wishes to document 45 field recordings of 1st person community narratives and to engage residents to be the authors of their own stories. This initiative will teach residents not only to capture their stories but will create a living sound capsule of cultural expression for years to come.

Maison Freetown’s Community Sound Lab wishes to encourage the idea that everyone’s story matters and to build connections. Valuable oral traditions such as storytelling, language-based narratives, songs and other expressions are vital to our Louisiana culture. These recordings will be collected at the digital lab housed within Lafayette’s cultural museum, Maison Creole de Freetown. These recordings will be made available to the public on an online platform.

These 1-minute audio snippets will act as a living historical record for future learning and heritage preservation. We wish to empower citizens to share their experiences and to make this information easily accessible for everyone to enjoy.

Through digital innovation, we aim to quickly gather stories of our culture bearers, especially our seniors and to help remedy a critical concern regarding the posterity of historical data of under-represented communities or marginalized people.

We hope the sound lab recordings will provide a comprehensive glimpse of our Lafayette neighbors, and highlight Acadiana’s unique community “voices” in perpetuity.