Louisiana Inspired is all about shining a light on people and organizations who are working toward solutions in Louisiana neighborhoods, communities, towns, cities and throughout the state — it’s work that takes extra effort by special people, demonstrating the good stuff of the human spirit.

For the inaugural Inspirit Awards, we received nominations from across the state of people who are making a positive difference and improving their communities. 

Webster says inspirit implies instilling life, energy, courage or vigor into something. 

We are pleased to announce the 2023 Inspirit Awards winners. In creative, conscientious, clever and industrious ways, these Louisianans are making the world a better place. These winners were selected from a field of nominations received from the general public. The nominations were reviewed by a newsroom panel who selected eight Inspirit Award winners. 

Artist Randell Henry has been a beacon for Baton Rouge’s arts scene for over 40 years.

A dedicated artist who studied at both Southern University and LSU, he’s currently a professor of art at Southern and serves on the boards of the Baton Rouge Gallery and the DeBose Foundation.

His love for art started when he was young.

“(At school), I would look at work by artists that my teacher would hand out every week or so, little postcards with a painting on it,” he remembered.

He would read about the artworks, the paintings, the colors, shapes and the subject matter.

“I would notice that those artworks were in museums where people could go and see them,” he said. “By the time I made it to the sixth grade I decided I wanted to become an artist.”

His own art, which is in the abstract expressionist vein, is routinely exhibited around the world. But he’s also a passionate and dedicated teacher, routinely setting up art exhibitions and workshops and providing materials to those in need.

While he has developed a reputation for nurturing and teaching young artists and children, he has, as he says, “done it all.”

“Not only (have I worked) with college students, but with kindergarten and elementary schools, community outreach groups, things like that,” he said.

Gregory Spann nominated Henry and agrees that as an artist and professor, Henry has inspired generations by providing visual arts workshops and lectures in the north Baton Rouge communities and surrounding towns. 

“He (Henry) has made the visual arts important to Scotlandville through his efforts in bringing art exhibitions and works by local artists to schools and libraries,” Spann wrote.

Henry says that teaching outreach for adults and senior citizens is fun.

“I’ve been inspiring other people to make artwork from prison systems to public schools,” Henry said, adding that art could provide a wide range of benefits, beyond the physical act of creating an artwork. “Art is important in helping learn, and being creative, in all areas of life.”

Henry said art helps students succeed in other subject matters too — including history and about other people.

“Nursing students can learn how art is used in healing processes. A person can look at a Mark Rothko painting, at any painting, and their blood pressure can be lowered just by looking at it,” Henry said. “An engineer can become smarter by being connected to artworks.”

Over the past few decades he’s seen an expansion in Baton Rouge’s arts scene.

“I love the way Baton Rouge is growing as an arts city. It’s grown by leaps and bounds over the past 20 years,” he said. “We have so many artists working here and Baton Rouge has a vibrant arts scene. (Still), I wish we could find a way to connect more people to the arts here, because life can be better from looking at artworks. Community can be better when exposed to the arts, to creativity.”

Henry’s love of the arts, and his dedication to helping others, has been a lifelong quest. He’s effected plenty of change along the way — given his undimmed passion, it’s not hard to think there’s plenty more to come.