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Words by Stacey Bowers / Photography by Alex Kent
- May 8, 2018
- 3 min
The Right Steps: Dance Transforms at Mabelvale Middle
Inside the portable classroom that serves as a dance studio at Mabelvale Magnet Middle School in southwest Little Rock, Kimeka Williams’ advanced dance students buzz with excitement. Today they’re unpacking a new set of jazz shoes that Ms. Williams acquired through Thea’s Art Closet, a program of the Thea Foundation that provides arts materials to classrooms across the state. Energetic, smiling teenagers stretch and move independently in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirrors,

Words by Stacey Bowers / Photography by Collin
- Mar 12, 2018
- 1 min
2018 Fashion Design Scholarship Winners
Young costume and fashion designers from across Arkansas gathered to compete in Thea Foundation's annual Fashion Design Scholarship Competition Saturday, March 10, showing off creative designs fabricated from 75% recycled materials. We're excited to announce this year's winners. Allen Hillard, a senior at eStem High School, won 1st place and a $4,000 scholarship, and Dominic Rose, of McClellan High School, took 2nd place and a $2,500 scholarship. Congratulations to everyone w

Words by Stacey Bowers / Photography by Alex Kent
- Mar 5, 2018
- 1 min
2018 Visual Arts Scholarship Competition Winners
More than 200 high school seniors from across the state of Arkansas entered Thea Foundation’s 2018 visual arts scholarship competition, and, with such all-around beautiful work, the judging was tough! We are happy to announce this year’s scholarship winners: 1st place $4,000 Meredith Muller (pictured above) Mount Saint Mary Academy 2nd place $3,500 Rachel Struthers Little Rock Central High School 3rd place $3,000 Hanna Wells Little Rock Central High School 4th place $2,500 Cl

Words by Stacey Bowers / Photography by Kat Wilson
- Feb 9, 2018
- 4 min
Striking a Chord: Ukulele Club Brings Music and Culture to Springdale School
Springdale, Ark., is about as far from a tropical island as you can get, but if you listen closely near Monitor Elementary School, you might hear the mellifluous sound of ukuleles. Educator Julia Crane’s ukulele club is a class and community favorite, traveling to local art festivals and performing at school functions. “I wrote my first grant asking for ukuleles in the spring of 2014 because in my field, I work with a student body that is about 30% Marshallese on average,” M

Words by Stacey Bowers / Photography by Alex Kent
- Jan 12, 2018
- 3 min
Creative Chemistry: Sylvan Hills Teachers Mix Science with Art
Under a colorful schoolroom ceiling, with a hand-painted periodic table of elements radiating rainbow overhead, close to three dozen high school students hover in groups around laboratory stations. Mr. Johnson’s chemistry class at Sylvan Hills High School in Sherwood, Ark., normally isn’t this crowded. Today, Ms. Brannen’s art students have joined the science students for a lesson on how art and chemistry collide. “Art interacts with all subject matter,” Brannen says. “For me

Words by Stacey Bowers / Photography by Alex Kent
- Nov 20, 2017
- 4 min
Self-Constructive: Working with Power Tools Builds Confidence in Parkview Students
The stage at Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School is abuzz two weeks before the opening of the school’s fall play, Arsenic and Old Lace. Stage left, on a French-inspired settee, a student uses a needle and thread to touch up seams in a costume. Stage right, another student brushes gold paint onto a false wall to create the illusion of patterned wallpaper. Near the middle of the stage, a group of young men takes down a large rectangle of wood painted to resemble a wind

Words by Stacey Bowers / Photography by Katie
- Nov 14, 2017
- 3 min
Laying a Foundation: Local Architect Supported Career with Art
As a teen, Caleb Tyson knew exactly what career he wanted. When he graduated from Jacksonville High School in 2009, he planned to go to college and study to be an architect. “Knowing that I wanted to be an architect and knowing the financial baggage that comes with that, I knew it was going to be difficult to pay for it all,” he says. “I knew that I was going to have to take it one year at a time, and that’s what I did… Since I was paying for most of my college out of pocket,
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