Lunchtime Lecture

The Museum periodically hosts Lunchtime Lectures to accompany permanent and changing exhibits. This program features guest lecturers including scholars, historians, artists and book authors to name a few who speak from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM. These presentations are free and open to the public with limited seating and audience members are always welcome to bring a brown bag lunch. When available, guest speaker presentations will be made available online.

Featuring: Reconstructing African American Burial Grounds

  • Location: Brick Gallery
  • Date: January 22, 2026
  • Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
  • Admission: FREE

Please join the West Baton Rouge Museum on Thursday, January 22, 2026  at Noon for a lunchtime lecture on Reconstructing African American Burial Grounds presented by Dr. Brendan Harmon. This talk will explore how technologies such as laser scanning, drones, and 3D printing can be used to preserve a record of endangered cultural landscapes.

Dr. Harmon is an associate professor in the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University with expertise in spatial science and computational design. His research includes documentary projects that use emerging technologies to preserve a record of our disappearing natural and cultural heritage. He hosts a collection of 3D scanned heritage landscapes at https://xyz.cct.lsu.edu.

This program is being offered in conjunction with the current exhibit, Gone But Not Forgotten: Black Cemeteries of West Baton Rouge, on display January 10 – March 8, 2026. This exhibit examines the historic lost burial grounds of enslaved Black people across the parish as well as those cemeteries that are in danger of becoming lost to Mother Nature or land development.  Many of these were started by Black Churches or Benevolent Societies in the latter part of the 19th century. Examples of Dr. Harmon’s work is included in the exhibit created by guest curator, genealogist, cemetery mapper, and founder of the nonprofit, Westside Cemetery Preservation, Debbie Martin.

This FREE event is open to the public. Anyone attending is welcome to bring a brown bag lunch or visit local eateries in the area before or after the presentation.