LSU Vet Med’s fifth artist-in-residence to exhibit new work Friday, Aug. 7

LSU School of Veterinary Medicine’s fifth artist-in-residence, Emily Bivens, will present a public exhibition and artist talk featuring works created during her residency at LSU Vet Med on Friday, Aug. 7, from 5-7 p.m. in the LSU Vet Med Library. The event is free and open to the public.

In her first week at LSU Vet Med, Bivens has listened to the heartbeat of a bald eagle in the Wildlife Hospital, watched a rabbit receive treatment for an ear condition in Dermatology, observed a crow undergoing a neurological exam, discussed the inner workings of eyes across species in Ophthalmology, and learned how anatomical teaching models are made, among other immersive veterinary medicine experiences.

The steady stream of encounters is inspiring Bivens to create artwork based on her experiences at the veterinary school.

LSU Vet Med’s Artist-in-Residence Program—the first of its kind at a U.S. veterinary school—launched in 2022. Each year, the program invites an artist to explore the intersection of art and science through disciplines ranging from visual art and music to poetry and filmmaking. At the conclusion of the residency, each artist donates a piece of work to LSU Vet Med’s growing permanent collection.

“I am thrilled with this opportunity because it is interdisciplinary by nature and design. This is a model that I hope could inspire other institutions to value relevancy across disciplines. It is in line with my work in a research group with colleagues in the sciences at UTK,” said Bivens, distinguished professor of humanities and director of Graduate Studies in the School of Art at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

A Louisiana native, Bivens developed an early fascination with the natural world that continues to inform her artistic practice. She works across a wide range of media, including film and video, sound, animation, printmaking, ceramics, installation, and performance. Her current body of work investigates attitudes of complacency in survival and the transformative power of awe in the nearly overlooked.

Her work has been exhibited and performed at festivals, museums, galleries, and washaterias and has been presented at venues throughout the United States as well as internationally. She has been a guest artist and resident at Centro De Arte Curaumilla in Chile and will be a resident at Millay Arts in Austerlitz, New York, in October 2026.

Bivens studied biology at the University of Oregon, an experience that significantly influenced her artistic practice. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Colorado State University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Colorado Boulder. She is a certified Tennessee naturalist, and her writing has been published in Feminist Art Practices and Research and Feminist Formations.

Week 1 for 2026 artist-in-residence Emily Bivens:

Past LSU Vet Med artists-in-residence include:

• Shelby Prindaville, visual artist (2022), who produced an exhibition of paintings and ceramics utilizing materials from veterinary medicine
• Charlie Rauh, composer and musician (2023), whose residency produced an album of 13 songs and a concert with LSU’s A Cappella Choir
• Brandon Kilbourne, poet and evolutionary biologist (2024), who concluded his residency with a public poetry reading
• Pippin Frisbie-Calder, visual artist (2025), who created a collection of artwork spanning painting, printmaking, woodcutting, and silkscreening

To explore Bivens’ work, visit emilywardbivens.com.

For more information about the Artist-in-Residence Program at LSU Vet Med, contact Sandra Sarr, communications manager, at sarr1@lsu.edu.