LAKE CHARLES, LA. — The Imperial Calcasieu Museum is pleased to present If Patchwork Were a Storyteller, a new exhibition by Lake Charles fiber artist Monette Bourque, opening August 20, 2026, in the Gibson-Barham Gallery. The exhibition brings together Bourque’s contemporary art quilts and textile collages created from repurposed vintage fabrics, quilts, linens, and other fragments of the past.

The public is invited to celebrate the opening of If Patchwork Were a Storyteller at an Opening Reception on Thursday, August 20, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Imperial Calcasieu Museum, located at 204 W. Sallier Street in Lake Charles. The reception is free and open to the public and offers visitors an opportunity to meet the artist, experience the exhibition, and explore the stories woven throughout her work.

Bourque is drawn to textiles that carry evidence of lives once lived. Vintage quilts, hand-stitched linens, discarded fabrics, and treasured fragments become the starting points for her contemporary works, allowing her to preserve pieces of the past while giving them new meaning. Through layering, reconstruction, raw-edge appliqué, free-motion embroidery, and machine quilting, Bourque transforms overlooked materials into richly textured visual narratives.

Her work is deeply rooted in the relationship between memory and material. Inspired by nature, travel, thrifted finds, and the unexpected beauty of everyday objects, Bourque approaches each textile as something with a history of its own. Rather than erasing the imperfections, wear, and evidence of use that make these materials unique, she incorporates them into the finished work. The result is a conversation between the past and present, where individual fragments are brought together to create something entirely new.

“I believe every fragment has value, and when thoughtfully brought together, even the overlooked pieces can become something meaningful and beautiful,” Bourque shares. “Through fiber, texture, and stitch, I create visual narratives that honor the past while imagining new possibilities.”

If Patchwork Were a Storyteller invites viewers to slow down and consider the stories that can exist within ordinary objects. Each stitch, seam, pattern, and fragment offers a point of connection to memory, history, and the people who came before us. Together, Bourque’s works demonstrate how something discarded or forgotten can be transformed into an object of beauty, meaning, and reflection.

The exhibition will be on view in the Gibson-Barham Gallery from August 20 through October 17, 2026. If Patchwork Were a Storyteller has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of CSE Federal Credit Union.

Exhibition Details:

Title: If Patchwork Were a Storyteller
Works by Monette Bourque

Opening Reception: Thursday, August 20, 2026
Time: 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Exhibition Dates: August 20–October 17, 2026
Location: Gibson-Barham Gallery, Imperial Calcasieu Museum
Address: 204 W. Sallier Street, Lake Charles, LA 70601
Admission: Free and open to the public