The LSU Museum of Art (LSUMOA), in partnership with The Consulate General of France in Louisiana, Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education, and LSU’s Center for French and Francophone Studies, is pleased to present a Night of Ideas program L’AIL: Languages of AI in/and Louisiana, on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, from 5:30–8:00 p.m. at the Shaw Center for the Arts.
This program considers the evolving relationship between language, culture, and artificial intelligence.
This event is free and open to the public. Registration is recommended.
At the center of the evening is a panel discussion featuring:
– Olivain Porry, a 2026 Villa Albertine Arts in the Age of AI resident and artist
– Jonathan Mayers, Creole scholar, artist, and former Baton Rouge Poet Laureate
Together, they will examine how AI models are reshaping how we speak, write, read, and think—often privileging a dominant, standardized English. The conversation, co-presented with the LSU Center for French and Francophone Studies – Professor Jeffrey Leichman, will explore how Louisiana’s diverse vernacular traditions offer playful and critical ways to disrupt these systems, challenging assumptions embedded in artificial intelligence and reclaiming linguistic humanity.
Following the discussion, guests are invited to a reception featuring a collaborative student project developed during Porry’s residency with Professor Brendan Harmon, Emerson Womack Professor of Landscape Architecture in LSU’s College of Art & Design. Titled Creolization of Large Language Model Workshop, the project engages directly with the themes of language, technology, and cultural hybridity, and complements Porry’s installation currently on view at LSUMOA, Lies Language Models.
The evening will also include music and refreshments.
Free Tiger Trails shuttle transportation will be provided by the Center for French and Francophone Studies from the LSU campus, with pickup at 5:35 PM in front of Hodges Hall (Field House Drive) and return departure from the Museum at 8:05 PM, dropping off at the same location.