Events

About the Artist:

Jay N. Davis is a Louisiana artist renowned for his exquisitely detailed paintings and drawings that capture the rhythm and color of Louisiana’s lush natural beauty.  Before becoming a full-time artist, Jay worked for over a decade as a lead character animator for Walt Disney in Burbank, California, where he honed his artistic skill depicting the illusion of movement. During his career as an animator and artist, he lived and worked in various parts of the world. He eventually returned home to Monroe where he uses pencil and paint to bring to life the natural world with his vibrant and imaginative pieces of art.

About the Talk:

Jay will share insights into the creation of his recently completed mural at the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo. Through a presentation of images and personal commentary, Jay will walk attendees through the mural-making process—from the initial concept sketch to the final design—highlighting the tools, techniques, and materials used along the way. Visitors are encouraged to arrive early to view the museum’s current exhibition and secure a seat before the talk begins.

About the Mural:

Additional information about the mural will be provided at a ribbon cutting at the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo on June 17 at 2:00 pm. Drone footage of the large-scale mural will be shared at the ribbon cutting as well. This project is supported by a grant through the USDOT’s Thriving Communities Program.

Plushie Buddies: Summer Art Camp

with Inique Harris

July 7-11, 2025

Ages 11 – 17

From 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Campers will learn the basics of sewing and learn to create a plushie of their own!

Snacks and drinks provided.

*Please provide the camper’s name and age in the notes box of the checkout page. 

Inique Harris is a local talented art teacher and illustrator. She helps with the Downtown Gallery Crawl and volunteers at other community events.

Ceramic Surfaces: Summer Art Camp

with Jansyn Jenkins

June 23 – 27, 2025

Ages 12 – 17

From 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Campers will hand-build clay forms like cups and vases, then explore a new surface design technique each day—such as sgraffito, sculpture, slip trailing, and underglazing. On the final day, they’ll revisit and expand their favorite ideas.

Snacks and drinks provided.

*Please provide the camper’s name and age in the notes box of the checkout page. 

Jansyn Jenkins is a Monroe-born artist who received their Bachelors of Fine Arts with a concentration in Ceramics in May 2025 alongside their Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM). Jansyn was the first recipient of ULM’s Cultural Arts Fellowship, an opportunity that allowed them to work alongside Monroe’s Black Creative Circle as well as host a solo exhibition in Sugar Gallery during June 2024’s Art Crawl. Jansyn assisted in last year’s clay summer camp and as the President of ULM’s Kappa Pi International Art Honor Society, they are always looking for new ways to bring arts to the forefront of Monroe.

Cartoons, Comics, and Anime: Kids Summer Art Camp

with Keagan Vaughan

July 28 – August 1, 2025

Ages 8 – 12

 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Do you like cartoons? Comics? Anime? Come explore your creativity by creating your own characters, projects, and stories in several different styles of illustration. Appropriate for artists of all skill levels and backgrounds.

Snacks and drinks provided.

*Please provide the camper’s name and age in the notes box of the checkout page. 

Keagan Vaughan is a local talented art teacher at Sally Humble Elementary school and coordinator for the Downtown Gallery Crawl. They were recently one of the artists in the Masur Museum’s 61^st Annual Juried Competition and won an Honorable Mention Award for their piece.

The Masur Museum of Art Presents the return of PARTY 318!

FREE admission

Food trucks, free wine and beer (beer provided by Marsala Beverage), live music, games, and more! Join us for the best PARTY of the year! FREE to attend. Bring your I.D. (we card!) and money for food trucks. Participating food trucks TBA.

Featuring the return of our Raise the Roof fundraiser! A roof tile fundraiser for the permanent collection. Area artists are creating a work of art using one of the original blue slate tiles from the museum’s roof. In 2020, a tornado hit the museum causing roof damage and not all the original tiles from the 1929 roof were able to be reused. We have saved these tiles and artists are creating art with them to help us with a fundraiser to benefit care of the museum’s permanent collection.

Tiles will be displayed in the Lower River Gallery of the Masur Museum for two weeks in advance of Party 318, link TBA.

Own a piece of history and a unique work of art all at once! Bidding takes place online only and will end when Party 318 ends at 8:00 pm on October 23, 2025.