Downtown Lafayette has been recognized by Lieutenant Governor, Jay Dardenne and the Louisiana Office of Cultural Development to receive the top Cultural District Award at the 2014 Louisiana Culture Awards.

“The Louisiana Culture Awards recognize the very best efforts made to highlight and cultivate our state's rich cultural resources, and Downtown Lafayette's work over many years has been a consummate example,” said Lt. Governor, Jay Dardenne.

In 2013, Downtown Lafayette reported new initiatives of 2nd Saturday ArtWalk, public art and art demonstrations, the addition of the Times of Acadiana ArtWalk Bandstand, arts outreach, local music, creative business collaboration and community partnerships, food and other cultural contributions that garnered the award.

“Downtown Lafayette is the central state cultural district for Acadiana and host to a creative hub that has helped the district grow into a booming cultural center. With our new “Creativity Everywhere” initiatives, Downtown highlights the unique culture from all nine of our Acadiana parishes, the state and beyond. These accomplishments are what our Downtown community has built over the last thirty years, but what was accomplished in 2013 and what's on the horizon is generating a refreshed, creative energy in our Downtown. We are incredibly honored to win this award and look forward to continuing this momentum just as we built it, together as a cooperative Downtown committed to our unique culture,” said Kate Durio, Director of Marketing and Events.

Looking forward, Downtown Lafayette expects new studio space; additional exhibit space; incubating cultural and art enterprises through new pop-up creative businesses; development of new civic and public performance space, commissioning murals, street art and artist collaboration projects and growth of culturally inspired streetscape, gateway and way finding improvements.

This is the first Cultural District Award for Downtown Lafayette and the district will be recognized at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, April 22, at the Capitol Park Museum in Downtown Baton Rouge. The awards are held in conjunction with the annual Culture Connection Conference, which brings together arts, historic preservation, archaeology and French language stakeholders from throughout the state.

The Louisiana Cultural Districts Program was created by Act 298 of the 2007 Regular Session of the legislature. The primary goal of this initiative is to spark community revitalization based on cultural activity though tax incentives, including no local or state sales tax on original art purchased in the state- certified cultural districts, such as Downtown Lafayette.