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Regular Session, 2014 ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 64
BY SENATOR PERRY AND REPRESENTATI VE ORTEGO
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To designate the city of Scott, Louisiana, as the Cajun Art Capital of Louisiana.
WHEREAS, the preservation of Cajun art, language, cuisine, literature, architecture
and culture, in general, is an important priority for the residents of South Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, the story that is told is that at the age of three, a little French-speaking
tot sat near where his mother was making soap in a big black pot over a fire, quickly burning
down to charcoal and ash; and
WHEREAS, the child gathered the pieces of charcoal, the ones that had cooled
enough to touch, and placed them in a small wooden box, later to be used to make the first
charcoal drawings of the now much acclaimed Cajun illustrator and artist, Floyd Sonnier;
and
WHEREAS, Floyd, born in a small sharecropper's house in an area called La Pointe
Noire near Church Point in Acadia Parish in South Louisiana and educated in Church Point
schools, eventually obtained a Bachelor of Arts in commercial art from Southwestern
Louisiana Institute, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette; and
WHEREAS, Floyd spent his life illustrating and capturing Cajun life in Acadiana,
launching his career with a successful exhibit of his pen-and-ink drawings in Lafayette in
1975, became a full-time artist in 1978, and opened Floyd Sonnier's Beau Cajun Art Gallery
and studio in Scott, outside Lafayette; and
WHEREAS, Sonnier not only continued his career as an artist, but through his pen-
and-ink drawings of Cajun culture he brought that culture to audiences across the United
States of America and to devotees of his work in France and French Canada, to whom he
spoke primarily in French; and
WHEREAS, Floyd Sonnier is one of the most celebrated of Cajun artists and
illustrators and he opened his studio in a historic building in Scott, from where he brought
the Cajun culture to people around the world and reminded the residents of Acadiana of the
richness and strength of their own culture; and SCR NO. 64 ENROLLED
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WHEREAS, today the original location of Sonnier's gallery exists as the Gallery
Acadie owned by two Scott natives who earn their living as artists and Sonnier's works
remain on display at the Beau Cajun Gallery nearby; and
WHEREAS, Scott is also home to the Society of Acadian Illustrators, an art guild
that is dedicated to preserving the arts of the Acadian people and Sonnier was declared the
first honorary member of the guild; and
WHEREAS, the guild is open only to artists of Acadian ancestry but hopes to enlist
the support and appreciation of people around the world in maintaining the Cajun culture and
bringing the richness of Cajun culture to new audiences everywhere; and
WHEREAS, these activities centered in Scott have made Scott the centerpiece of
preserving Cajun art, illustration, and culture and bringing to the attention of the world the
efforts of new Acadian artists who honor and revere the contributions of their ancestors.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
designate the city of Scott as the Cajun Art Capital of Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Purvis J. Morrison, the mayor of Scott, with special thanks to the people of Scott for
supporting and encouraging the retention and celebration of Cajun art in Louisiana.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES