The Lake Charles Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center is host to the “Cultural Currency: Contemporary Art from the Riemer Collection.” The exhibition, which asks viewers to “reevaluate the concept of money,” runs through Aug. 23. (Special to the American Press)

Money makes the world go around, but an exhibition at the Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center will challenge patrons to look at currency through a different lens.

The innovative exhibit, “Cultural Currency: Contemporary Art from the Riemer Collection,” explores the ways value and worth extend beyond the dollar bill. Artists repurpose physical pieces of money, like bills and coins, and transform them into introspective works of art.

“It offers a compelling lens through which to examine our relationship with money, something so central to daily life, yet rarely questioned beyond its purchasing power,” said Payton Lundmark, director of cultural affairs for the City of Lake Charles. “The exhibition aligns with Historic City Hall’s mission to showcase meaningful contemporary art that challenges conventional thinking and sparks dialogue around culture, identity and value.”

“Cultural Currency” will be exhibited until Aug. 23 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.

The collection was curated by Davis Riemer and Louise Rothman-Riemer, investment advisers from Oakland, California. Lundmark said their passion for collecting money-themed pieces of art began in 1995 when they wanted to create new attitudes towards the value of money.

The exhibit, she said, encourages audiences to take a step back and reevaluate the concept of money. After visiting the exhibit, patrons will see currency as “more than just a transactional tool,” she said.

“Through the artists’ creative reimagining of currency, viewers are invited to reflect on how we assign worth, not just to money, but to people, ideas and experiences,” Lundmark said. “The exhibition also encourages personal introspection: What does money mean to us emotionally? How does it shape our identity, our politics, our sense of power and security?”

The display features a variety of media, including sculpture, collage, textiles, paint and print.

The exhibit includes 65 artworks by 38 artists: Lou Beach, Alice Beasley, Ray Beldner, Barton Lidice Beneš, J.S.G. Boggs, Enrique Chagoya, Robin Clark, Sonya Clark, Rob Cohen, Don and Era Farnsworth, Kathy Hall, Kelli Hoppmann, Lenny Kislin, Lisa Kokin, Marcella Lassen, Jean Lowe, Rene Megroz, Aerosyn-Lex Meštrović, Alejandro Monge, Richard Newill, Francesca Pastine, Walter Robinson, Paul Rousso, Azin Seraj, Richard Sexton, Richard Shaw, Oliver Smith, Sally Smith, Oriane Stender, Jill Sylvia, Dan Tague, Kim Testone, Robert Mark Wagner, Stacey Lee Webber, Marshall Weber and C.K. Wilde.