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LUM’s Neighbor — Foam City


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Many have asked — “Who’s your neighbor?” Visitors to the LUM Administrative Offices (420 N 4th Street) have been drawn in by the (ever-evolving) mural on the garage door or by the live music bellowing out of the building behind LUM  — but few really know what goes on in this magical looking building for which LUM shares an alley.


logo51The building/organization is FoamCity at 409 N 3rd Street. The building which actually faces N 3rd Street used to be a auto repair shop and prior to that it was the home of a foam supply company. Locals still refer to the building as the “foam supply” building — hence the current name.

Today, FoamCity is an artist-run space in Lafayette. With no funds or staff, FoamCity provides a space for creative exploration in the arts. FoamCity consists of nine studios and a public area. FoamCity hosts a variety of events ranging from live music, performances, workshops, visual art and a unique artist-in-residence program. FoamCity encourages the “local, global, weird, musical, performative, educational or entertaining.”

FoamCity is an initiative by Paul Baldwin in collaboration with Esteban García and Aaron Zernack. For more information visit: www.foamcity.org


FormCity is often open and participating in the TAF Gallery Walk events in downtown Lafayette. This past Friday during the first Downtown Lafayette-Gallery Walk of the season, Zach Medler painted a new mural on the FoamCity garage door facing LUM.

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It is an appropriate mural for LUM because the inspiration for the mural is the arched stained glass of St. John’s Episcopal Church, the home of the St. John’s/LUM Food Pantry.  Zach has a strong connection with the Mural Art Initiative, an outreach program that serves at-risk area youth and strives to beautify the city and create a lasting impact on the youth participants. You most like have already seen some of Zach’s other work — his murals and sculptures appears around town like the large, rusted robots on State Road 43 which features large, rusted robots; the mural in the alley next to Artist’s Own on Main Street, and the jazz-themed mural across the street from Buckles on 4th Street. Zach let us know that the mural near LUM is a work in progress. He suggests you stayed tuned for additional artist work on the mural soon.


Check out the website of some of the other current artist-tenants in FoamCity:


Well, now you know. LUM’s back-alley neighbor is FoamCity. Next time you’re in the area and their backdoor is open — go in FoamCity for a visit. They will be happy to see you.



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