Basin Arts premieres a NEW annual fundraising event; LINEAGE, a festive & immersive evening to honor the artists among us in support of new artistic creation in Lafayette sponsored by Kean Miller!

Join us on Wednesday, August 28th as we honor our first LINEAGE Award recipients, esteemed community artists,

Dancer & Choreographer, Cissy Whipp
Visual Artist , Robert Dafford

The LINEAGE award honors visual and performing artists who have contributed a lifetime’s worth of creativity to the Acadiana region and beyond, whose practice embodies the community values of Basin Arts, and those who have laid the foundation for future artistic generations.

Following the award presentation, Whipp & Dafford will participate in a year-long mentorship residency at Basin Arts, engaging with artists through workshops, critique nights, and other programs specific to the honoree’s practice. The residency culminates in 2025 with an exhibition dedicated to their creative legacy.

LINEAGE / An Evening to Support Basin Arts

Wednesday, August 28th 7:00 P.M.

Acadian Superette, 600 Lamar Street, Lafayette, LA 70501

$200 per person

Each ticket includes a cocktail hour with live music in the garden followed by a multi-course dinner presentation by the Acadian Superette, PLUS DJ Ann Glaviano spinning local, rare, and sentimental records from 1957-1974, AND many more artistic surprises!

Proceeds from the night will directly support Basin Arts’ artist residency programs including ProjectSpace Residency, Basin Arts’ Dance Lab, the LINEAGE Mentorship Residency, and our ongoing Visual Artist-in-Residence studio program. By attending, guests will not only enjoy an unforgettable evening but also play a pivotal role in nurturing our region's vibrant artistic ecosystem.

We hope you will join us for a night of elegant dining, surprising creativity, and intimate connections inspired by art to support more art making in our community!

Thank you to our presenting sponsor, Kean Miller

ABOUT THE LINEAGE AWARD RECIPIENTS

CISSY WHIPP

Mary Frances "Cissy" Whipp has been working as a performer, choreographer, and dance educator for over 40 years. She received her BFA in Choreographic Design from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and her MA in Performing Arts: Dance from the American University in Washington, D.C. She co-founded Louisiana’s first professional modern dance company, Moving South Dance, Inc., toured for several years with Young Audiences of New Orleans, and performed in France and Belgium with La Compagnie Louisianaise. She has taught for university dance programs at American University, George Washington University, Potsdam State University of New York, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In 1999 she joined the John F. Kennedy Center’s roster of National Teaching Artists and presents workshops nationally for teachers on integrating dance into the curriculum. She is the author of three professional development workshops for the Kennedy Center: “Kinesthetic Learning: Linking Language and Dance,” “Exploring Ecosystems Through Movement,” and “Moving Ways to Read and Write About Culture: West African Textile Art.” She recently retired as the Dance Specialist at the J. Wallace James Elementary School for Arts & Technology, where she worked for 19 years. Ms. Whipp is an Artist Fellow with LA A+ Schools. She worked for the Louisiana Board of Regents’ LOUIS project to help write an OER (Open Educational Resource) Dance Appreciation course/textbook for dual enrollment. She is piloting it at UL Lafayette, where she is currently teaching Philosophy and History of Dance.

ROBERT DAFFORD

Robert Dafford is one the most prolific and successful American muralists working today, with over 350 large scale public works in the United States and overseas. He studied art at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette and interrupted his art work to serve three years as a naval illustrator and draftsman during the Vietnam War. His first mural was a rainbow trout painted in 1969 for a fish market in Lafayette,La. His work has garnered him numerous awards--including the Bronze Medaille d’Honneur de la Suresnes, France, and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Shawnee State University (Portsmouth, Ohio)--and has been featured in Smithsonian, National Geographic, Southern Living, the New York Times, the Seattle Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Ottawa Sun, and Le Droit.

ABOUT BASIN ARTS

Basin Arts is an arts incubator focused on supporting Louisiana artists towards a sustainable creative practice with the goal of increasing access to professional contemporary arts experiences and creating authentic relationships between artists and the greater community.

Basin Arts supports visual and performing artists in their creative process through performance and exhibition opportunities, residency programs, dance and art classes, professional development, and mentorship. Our artistic endeavors are centered around creativity, collaboration and community – the arts are a powerful vehicle to make a lasting community impact. Through art, we are focused on amplifying social issues, inspiring children, beautifying public spaces, challenging the status quo, and reminding people of their own humanity. We aim to always be an intentional, inclusive and authentic community space for all to tap into their inner creativity. Basin Arts believes that a direct investment into artists will also be an impactful investment in the overall innovation, opportunity, and cultural identity of our broader community.

LINEAGE / An Evening to Support Basin Arts

By Basin Arts

LINEAGE / An Evening to Support Basin Arts

Join us to celebrate the inaugural LINEAGE Award Recipients, Cissy Whipp & Robert Dafford