Perkins Rowe showcased artists of every medium and age for the annual Art Festival this weekend.
Live music, original art and Louisiana culture filled the streets of the shopping center, attracting people from all over the area. Painters, sculptors, actors, photographers, musicians and more drive an aesthetic force felt throughout the community each year.
Deshone Ford kicked off her bachelorette party at the festival. She said her favorite part was the music by Baton Rouge Music Studios, which is an organization that fosters educational and performance-based programs to local youth and adults.
Baton Rouge Music Studios brought various performances to the festival, including The Jazz Fusion Project, a band inspired by genres ranging from heavy metal to classic to electronic.
The Jazz Fusion Project comprises six high school and middle school band members who were all introduced by Baton Rouge Music Studios after auditioning for the program. They rehearse at the studio during their time off from school.
“We all get along,” Noah English, the 16-year-old guitar player said. “We’ve all played together for a few years, so we know how to work with each other, but it’s really more just balancing it with school.”
With his dad being his greatest music influence, English said he has played music for more than 10 years and plays the piano, trumpet, mellophone, french horn and ukulele along with the guitar.
The festival performance was the group’s first live show together.
Les Jeunes Artistes De Louisiane is another organization that allowed local youth to present their artistic talents.
Les Jeunes Artistes De Louisiane founding director Aliah James said she was heavily influenced by visual arts, which her family was very involved in.
Having experience as a Baton Rouge Community College teacher, she said she’s seen the effects statewide budget cuts have on the arts.
“That’s a big problem because the heart of Louisiana is nothing but art,” James said. “It’s in our food. It’s everything our culture is based on. So what are we going to do without Mardi Gras, what are we going to do without the Festival International [de Louisiane]? What are we going to do without [Louisiana Crawfish Festival] or [New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival]? All of these things are part of our arts and recreation.”
Inspired by a similar organization in California, James said she decided to start a non-profit organization which allows people under the age of 18 to display and be credited for their work.
Members of Les Jeunes Artistes De Louisiane sell their works at Zoës Kitchen and local high schools.
This weekend, they participated in an art battle, where they painted live at the festival on Saturday and posted their works for auction on Sunday.
Visitors could buy paintings, like the ones created by Les Jeunes Artistes De Louisiane, but they could also purchase other items at the arts market, such as soaps, clothing, photography, sculptures and more.
Jewel of Havana owner Ana Andricain sold handmade jewelry. This was her third year at the Perkins Rowe Art Festival.
She said her artistic roots from her youth sparked a business venture, which was inspired by her deep connection to jewelry.
After her parents fled Cuba with only the clothes on their backs and a few other items, the jewelry passed down to her became precious heirlooms.
“Special moments in my life have been commemorated with gifts of jewelry, and I’ve cherished my mother’s stories of the history of each piece,” Andricain’s website said.
She’s a native of Baton Rouge, but she moved to New York, spending 25 years working on Broadway and landing roles like Belle in “Beauty and the Beast”. She said she wanted a way to pass time backstage, so she began creating her jewelry, some of which has been worn to the Tony Awards and major Broadway productions.
“I never intended it to be a business,” she said.
But when her husband got a job in Baton Rouge, she moved back to Louisiana and focused on her jewelry line. Now, she travels around the South to sell her work.
She said she’s inspired by nature, and a lot of her jewelry displays Louisiana foliage. Most of her work is made with metal clay and gemstones.
She prides herself in her one-of-a-kind pieces. Every part of her products is handmade, all the way down to the clasps.
The Perkins Rowe Art Festival allowed locals to immerse themselves in an artistic experience. Live music and art brought people together for the annual, culture-filled experience.

Gallery • 15 Photos

Ronni Bourgeois

Students members of Les Jeanes Artistes De Louisiane partake in an art battle during the Perkins Rowe's sixth annual arts festival lasting from Saturday, September 12, 2015 to Sunday, September 13, 2015.