Works by the artists who are part of the second cohort of the Imperial Calcasieu Museum residency program are currently on display at ICM.

One of the featured residents is Robbie Austin. His time in the residency has been a “springboard” for his career. His recent accomplishments include publishing in an art journal, fulfilling commissions, entering private and corporate collections and being exhibited in Berlin.

Residency at the Museum (RATM) provides three artists with a workspace and a monthly stipend and a chance to connect with the community. At the end of their residency, their work is displayed in an exhibition at ICM. Austin said RATM elevates Southwest Louisiana’s arts by stimulating an active art community.

“It challenges artists to present their best. In essence, it’s created healthy competition.”

Austin applied to the residency because needed space to work. He has a home studio that is suitable for smaller creative acts, but his work with large regional maps from the 1950’s requires more floor space. 

“They’re exquisite but much too big to work on at home. The Residency offers space – wall, table, and floor! – to tackle large projects.”

Since the summer of 2020 (when rock band The Psychedelic Furs released their first album in 29 years, ne noted) he has explored colors, lines, and patterns on “timeworn materials,” like field books, maps, tablecloths, tea towels, and music t-shirts.

After he discovered a collection of “enchanting old books” after Hurricanes Laura and Delta made landfall, Austin began working with field books. The books were from the 1890s to the 1980s, and they were stormproof.

“It’s infused with resin and has an inherent object-ness. I react to their code-like markings. They act as springboards of and for compositional play,” he told the American Press. “My son tells me the works are treasure maps of my thought process: visual melodies with wistful ornamentation.”

He uses paints and inks to interact with the books’ content to create a “nostalgic concert of form.”

The life of an artist is multifaceted, often involving a balance between creativity and everyday responsibilities, Austin said. The path is unconventional with both periods of studio productivity and periods of “living for input.” He spent many years absorbing inspiration before creating again. He deeply listened to music, made museum trips and experienced creativity while teaching. 

“Eventually though, once I started making again, due to my kiddos being older and a quarantine forcing me to stay put, those years of input started to crystalize,” he recalled. “My life as an artist is still unfolding, and participation in this Residency is an obvious (to me) culmination of inspiration and time.” 

His road ahead is still unfolding. The residency ends soon but Austin will take on a new role as project coordinator, a task that will help him tap into “a new and unexpected vein of creativity.

He wants to see RATM become a hallmark of SW La.

“There’s no lack of support for what we already excel at here in Lake Charles during festival season but if we can expand that support across genres and seasons, we will soar,” he said. “Whether a musician, a chef, an actor, a landscaper, a float designer, or a painter – belonging to a supportive community opens, acknowledges, and creates opportunities for all.”