About Us
Mission Statement
The Opelousas Museum and Interpretive Center showcases and reflects the diverse culture and history of the Opelousas area from earliest peoples to the present.
The Opelousas Museum and Interpretive Center (OMIC) displays artifacts and exhibits detailing the history of Opelousas and its people. The museum provides a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for residents and tourists of all ages. Permanent and traveling exhibits spark curiosity and stimulate rich conversations about connections between people. OMIC celebrates history, culture, and the arts. Most of all, the OMIC helps visitors connect with the past to better comprehend the present.
Exhibits include industry, festivals, the Civil War and most recently, Free People of Color in St. Landry Parish.
Vision Statement
The Collection
Donations
The Opelousas Museum accepts donations from repositories and individuals. The museum does not accept long-term loans. Potential donations are evaluated for:
- relevance to the History of St. Landry Parish
- condition
- the museum’s capacity to care for the item
- documentation of the ownership and place of origin (when available)
- appropriateness to the museum’s mission.
If you have items you would like to donate an item, contact the museum’s curator/archivist at museumasst@cityofopelousas.com for more information.
Board of Directors
Simmons Sandoz
President
Jennifer Thomas
Vice President
Jawana D’Avy
Natalie Bias
Perry Fontenot III
Alex Peyton
Team Members
Patrice Melnick
Museum Director
Patrice Melnick has served as museum director since Fall, 2021. She writes grants and press releases, develops exhibits and through audience development strives for inclusivity. Melnick’s professional background includes English and Creative Writing professor at Xavier; gift shop proprietor; English teacher in the Peace Corps and deckhand on commercial fishing boats in Alaska. She is founder of the Festival of Words, a rural, literary arts organization. Melnick holds a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Austin, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Publications include a poetry chapbook, The City of Hey Baby (Finishing Line Press).
She lives in Grand Coteau with her patient husband Olan Thibodeaux.
Aglaia Venters
Curator/Archivist
Aglaia Maretta Venters earned her doctorate in History from Tulane University. She has taught as an instructor in the History Departments at Tulane University, Baton Rouge Community College, Dillard University, South Louisiana Community College, Xavier University, and Montclair State University. She also was an instructor in the English Department at Tulane University. Her most recent courses are World Civilizations, US History, African-American History, Louisiana History, and History of Race and Ethnicity. Her publications include works on Hegelian dialectic, medieval French theater and folktales, sensory history, monarchy in Renaissance France, Romanticism and David Bowie, Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, and Jesuit philosophy and proto-racial theory in the Americas.