A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor will lead a discussion on her artwork that is on display in one of the region’s most prestigious art exhibitions.

Joli Livaudais, an assistant professor of photography, will discuss her artwork featured in the 58th Annual Delta Exhibition during the Feed Your Mind Friday talk July 8 at the Arkansas Arts Center. The talk, which begins at noon, is free and open to the public.

The Delta Exhibition began in 1958 to feature contemporary artists from Arkansas and bordering states. It has grown to encompass works in all media, showcasing the dynamic vision and traditions of artists of the Mississippi Delta region.

Livaudais’ talk will focus on her artistic process and the inspiration behind her artwork. She has two pieces in the exhibit, “Sacred Earth No. 1” and “Grassland No. 4,” that were inspired by cycles of life and patterns in nature.

“I’m really interested in how people think about things, like the constructs that we use to understand the world,” she said. “I think that we see patterns in nature. We look for patterns in cycles of life and the way things grow. We see patterns and they comfort us. We want to make these patterns something that we can predict.”

The artwork consists of photographs printed on kozo paper, aluminum, and epoxy resin, which are folded into an origami tessellation.

“My art pieces are folded into patterns, but the patterns are also disrupted. Although there are patterns in nature and life, that doesn’t really give us control over anything. Life cannot be contained,” she said.

Livaudais earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in experimental psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington before establishing herself as a freelance commercial photographer in Dallas. She received an MFA from Louisiana Tech University in 2013 and joined UALR as an assistant professor in 2014.

The Delta Exhibition is on display at the Arkansas Arts Center Jeannette Edris Rockefeller and Townsend Wolfe Galleries until Aug. 28. The center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

For more information on the exhibit, visit Delta Exhibition’s website.