The LSU Museum of Natural Science kickstarted the Naturally Talented Program, a new initiative for students to learn about science through art, on Thursday.
The woman behind the idea is Outreach Coordinator of the LSUMNS Irene Martí Gil. She has wanted to create a program to bring art, science and community together since her first month in her position in 2023.
“Ever since the museum was conceived in the 1920s, one of the goals was to reconcile the world of science and arts,” Marti Gil explains. “With the over-specialization of the departments, that link has dissolved little by little. What I’m trying to do here is bring that back.”
Marti Gil’s personal background with both science and art and her anthropology doctorate from LSU were the main motivations for her to design a program that welcomes everyone.
“Whether you are from the humanities world or the science world, here you have a space to reunite both worlds and grow,” Marti Gil says. “No questions are silly, no art made here is bad art.”
The Naturally Talented Program has three core components: Art After Dark, the Poet’s Corner and the Naturally Talented Award.
Art After Dark is a once-a-month workshop where studentscan create art while also learning about different types of natural science. On the opening night, people heard from Jennifer Kluse, the collections manager on the herbarium staff at LSU.
Students were able to learn about invasive species in Louisiana and then were able to apply what they learned with an art lesson from Leslie Koptcho. Koptcho is an arts and printmaking professor for the College of Art & Design. Students learned about making paper out of invasive species.
“Honestly, I just love doing arts and crafts,” said freshman math and secondary education major Jane Alphonse. “The Art After Dark really brought me in, and almost everything I do art-related is nature themed as well. So it seemed like a perfect match for me.”
Poet’s Corner will be a rotating feature in the museum where writers can show off their narratives or poems connecting art and nature. The winner of the Naturally Talented Award, the program’s annual award given for outstanding creative contributions with scientific or environmental themes, will be featured in the Poet’s Corner. The current feature is Louisiana poet Brandon Kilborn.
This program also was created with the purpose of being community-orientated and judgement free.
“We’re all stressed, we all have struggles,” Marti Gil said. “I believe exploring new skill sets and finding new hobbies will have a beautiful impact on mental health.”
Katie Walker, a sophomore studying environmental science, was able to unwind during her informational visit on the program’s first day.
“Its been relaxing. I learned a lot,” Walker said. “And invasive plants are something that, honestly, I learned about for the first time in high school, but this is a nice way to learn more about them than ‘we just need to get them out of here.’”
Marti Gil said the program is possible because of support from the museum’s director, Prosanta Chakrabarty, and a $5,000 grant from the LSU Family Council.
In the future, Marti Gil hopes the program will expand on a wider-scale level. Future collaborations with campus organizations, local artists and even translation projects to make the museum’s materials accessible in Cajun French are on the horizon.
“In five years, I hope we can establish it as a solid, campus-wide, Baton Rouge-wide program,” Marti Gil said. “My goal eventually is to become that platform where we can highlight amazing people in our community and create synergy.”
