College of the Arts looks to establish an Art Lending Library and Collection for the UL Lafayette campus

Michael Eble, Curator of Exhibitions, Events, and Engagement for the College of the the Arts recently put together a Geaux Forward project to establish an Art Lending Library and Collection for the UL Lafayette campus. Eble and his team have a mission to beautify office spaces, lobbies, and private areas on campus by lending out original artwork. Faculty, Staff, and Students will have the rare opportunity to borrow original works of art during each academic semester, free of charge. The collection will feature a changing selection of purchased and donated artworks, with a focus on work from faculty, staff, alumni and current art students. The Art Lending Library and Collection will include paintings, drawings, ceramics, prints, sculptures and photographs. Art works can be checked out for each academic semester or for the year, allowing campus members to continue to change and rotate new artwork through their spaces. Additionally, work wil be delivered and installed by the Art Lending Library staff. The Art Lending Library and Collection is also looking to acquire some works through donations, allowing us to practice a form of sustainability by upcycling artwork.

For more information please review the Geaux Forward link below:.

https://give.communityfunded.com/o/university-of-louisiana-at-lafayette-42/i/geauxforward/s/artlendinglibrary

Funding acrued from the Geaux Forward project will be utilized to purchase:

• Artwork from current art and design students, alumni, and faculty at UL Lafayette. This would be done a little each year through student exhibitions and purchase inquiries. This will allow the library to grow as the demands for artwork increases.
• A license of Artwork Archive which is a software that will maintain the collection and location of each piece of artwork on campus. It also will provide a searchable database for the UL Lafayette community to see which artwork is available for the semester.
• Shelving to store artwork in Fletcher Hall, when work is not in circulation.
• Security hanging hardware to prevent work from being stolen and equipment to install work.
• All donors will also be acknowledged at an opening reception of an exhibition at the Fletcher Hall Gallery which will serve as a kick-off event for the program. This exhibit will allow UL community members to visit the gallery and select work to be exhibited in their workspace.