We spend a lot of time talking about the importance of the economy and of economic development to the health of a community like Baton Rouge. And certainly, jobs and opportunities are what keep a city growing and humming. But cultural and educational attractions like museums and galleries are increasingly key in attracting young people and what author Richard Florida has called “creative class professionals.” 

 

Peter Olson is Executive Director of the Knock Knock Children’s Museum, which opened in July after nearly a decade of planning and fundraising.

The Knock Knock Children’s Museum was the inspriration of a dedicated group of then-young mothers in the city, who worked tirelessly to create a truly firsto-rate educational and entertaining attraction for children in this market. Peter was recruited from his native Minnesota, where he was Executive Director of the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota, which he helped establish over the course of seven years. 

Jason Andreasen is Executive Director of the Baton Rouge Gallery, one of the hidden gems in this community and, tucked away in City Park, is something of a neighbor to the Knock Knock Children’s Museum.

For 50 years Baton Rouge Gallery has showcased contemporary art and artists from Baton Rouge and Louisiana, including some of the State’s most admired visual artists like Caroline Durieux, Edward Pramuk, James Burke, Frank Hayden, Paul Dufour, Janice Sachse, and many more. Jason has served at the helm of the gallery since 2008, three years after relocating to Baton Rouge from his native Miami with plans of becoming an attorney! Needless to say, those plans have been shelved.

As the arts-awareness movement is fond of reminding us, Art Works! Yes, apparently, it does.

Photos at Mansurs on the Boulevard by Ken Stewart.