Abbeville Cultural Museum
This center brings together the vast art and culture of the Abbeville area.
The Abbeville Cultural and Historical Alliance (L'Alliance Culturelle et Historique d'Abbeville) is a joint effort of four community service organizations in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, namely, the Vermilion Arts Council, the Acadian Center, the Vermilion Historical Society, and the Giant Omelette Celebration (Confrérie d'Abbeville de l'Omelette Géante). These organizations have banded together to share expenses to maintain a Museum and Art Gallery for displaying works of art, genealogy of the Acadians, historical documents, photographs, and artifacts, and exhibits from international omelette celebrations.
The Vermilion Arts Council is responsible for the Art Gallery portion of the Alliance Center. It sponsors continually changing displays of original artworks, mostly by local artists. The Council also sponsors art lessons and workshops for children, and hosts the Carousel of Arts each year, featuring live displays and performances celebrating the music, art, food, history, and culture of Vermilion Parish. The painting at left is by noted local artist, John Bergeron.
The Acadian Center maintains the portion of the Museum that features displays of artworks and other mementos chronicling the saga of Le Grand Dérangement, the expulsion of Acadian families from Nova Scotia in 1755, many of whom later settled in Louisiana.
The Vermilion Historical Society maintains the portion of the Museum that exhibits photographs, documents, and historic artifacts from the unique and fascinating history of Vermilion Parish. The most valuable artifact on display at the Alliance Center is the "Morgan Effigy," a carved deer antler found in a Native American mound in Pecan Island, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, dating from about A.D. 900. It is a death figure, with ribs and vertebrae showing, and is regarded by archaeologists as one of the finest examples of Native American art from the Coles Creek period.
