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Thea Foundation's 2019 Lineup of Art Department Artists

Thea Foundation

Nov 29, 2018
4 min

Thea Foundation's 2019 Lineup of Art Department Artists

Thea Foundation is excited to announce the full 2019 lineup of emerging artists to be featured in our gallery as part of our Thea’s Art Department quarterly exhibition series. Thea’s Art Department has showcased dozens of Arkansas artists from across the state with month-long solo exhibitions, a first for many featured artists in the series. In the new year, we’ll welcome artists from Fayetteville, Little Rock and Stuttgart in the months of February, May, August and November.

Band Builds Confidence, Community and Creativity at Little Rock School

Photography by Alex Kent

Nov 20, 2018
4 min

Band Builds Confidence, Community and Creativity at Little Rock School

It’s game night, and inside the band room at Hall High School in Little Rock, student are buzzing with excitement. Basketball season is starting, and Hall’s brass band is fine-tuning the music they’ll perform to pep up the audience and the players tonight. Band instructor Rojay Moore leads the musicians, stopping them every now and then to pinpoint where they could make changes. “Being in the band helps students develop the discipline needed for success in and out of other cl

How a School Dance Program Changes Lives with Help from the Community

Photography by Katie Childs

Nov 13, 2018
4 min

How a School Dance Program Changes Lives with Help from the Community

“Students who dance have a reason to come to school,” North Little Rock dance instructor Christen Pitts says. “They can express themselves, get out emotions through movement, their grades are better, and they learn time management skills.” When the morning bell rings, Mrs. Pitts’s students are dressed and ready to warm up. They listen attentively and answer as roll is called, then they get in formation in front of the mirrors that fully surround them, eager for their instruct

Help Thea Restock the Closet This #GivingTuesday

Thea Foundation

Nov 5, 2018
1 min

Help Thea Restock the Closet This #GivingTuesday

This #GivingTuesday, Thea Foundation and Arkansas teachers have a great need. Just two months ago, we made the big announcement that we were DOUBLING our budget for Arkansas teachers in need of supplies this school year, giving $50,000 in art supplies and creative materials to underfunded classrooms across the state. Well, it’s just November and we’re down to $7,000 left in our Art Closet funds. By mid-November, we’re expecting to be completely out of funds, with six more mon

Art by Arkansas Children's Patients to be Exhibited at Thea Foundation

Thea Foundation

Sep 17, 2018
2 min

Art by Arkansas Children's Patients to be Exhibited at Thea Foundation

Through the month of October, Thea Foundation will exhibit works by patients of Arkansas Children’s at our gallery space located at 401 Main Street in North Little Rock, Arkansas. A reception will be held from 5-8 p.m. Friday, October 19, during Argenta Art Walk. During the reception, Arkansas Children’s artists-in-residence will be present to share about the works and their program at the hospital. Arkansas Children's has two artists-in-residence. Hamid Ebrahimifar and Eliza

Arkansas Teachers Show Joint Exhibition at Thea Foundation

Thea Foundation

Aug 30, 2018
1 min

Arkansas Teachers Show Joint Exhibition at Thea Foundation

Teachers from schools across central Arkansas will debut a joint mixed media exhibition at Thea Foundation this month. These teachers are part of our Arts Reconstruction program, which provides professional development and advanced arts materials to local visual arts teachers. The exhibition, titled "Connections," will be up Sept. 10 through Sept. 27 at Thea Foundation, located at 401 Main Street, Suite 100, in downtown North Little Rock. A reception for "Connections" will be

Thea Foundation Adds 6 Arts Scholarships for 2019 Graduates

Photo by Mark Fonville

Aug 14, 2018
2 min

Thea Foundation Adds 6 Arts Scholarships for 2019 Graduates

Thea’s annual scholarship competitions are open now to high school and homeschooled seniors across Arkansas, and this school year we’ll be adding six new scholarships, bringing the total number of scholarships to be awarded in 2019 to 36 and $97,500. This is up from 30 scholarships and $79,500 in 2018 and previous years. The new scholarships will be expansions added to our Poetry Slam and Creative Writing scholarship competitions, which have seen increased participation over

Thea Foundation to Match up to $50,000 in Grants for Arkansas Teachers

Thea Foundation

Aug 13, 2018
2 min

Thea Foundation to Match up to $50,000 in Grants for Arkansas Teachers

Thea’s Art Closet, a program of Thea Foundation which awards funding for art supplies and other creative materials to Arkansas classrooms, is now open and accepting submissions for the 2018-19 school year, and with $50,000 to award — that’s double the grant money that was offered last school year. Thea Foundation is inviting public school teachers of grades K-12 across the state of Arkansas to submit requests for art supplies and other creative materials to DonorsChoose.org,

Blue Plate Special to Unite Chefs, Mixologists to Support the Arts and Thea Foundation

Photography by Katie Childs

Jul 26, 2018
3 min

Blue Plate Special to Unite Chefs, Mixologists to Support the Arts and Thea Foundation

Thea Foundation’s Blue Plate Special returns to the luxurious Capital Hotel Monday, October 15, 2018, with a fresh crop of Arkansas’s favorite chefs and mixologists, assisted by local artists, musicians and celebrities and accompanied by the music of Dr. Danny Fletcher and Co. The Blue Plate Special is presented by Malvern National Bank, a longtime supporter of the Thea Foundation and its mission of advocating and expanding the arts in Arkansas schools, and chaired by Rusty M

2018 Film Scholarship Awards

Thea Foundation

May 14, 2018
1 min

2018 Film Scholarship Awards

Thea Foundation's 2018 Film Scholarship recipients will be recognized and awarded tomorrow, May 15, during AETN's Student Selects film screening from 6-8 p.m. at the Ron Robinson Theater in downtown Little Rock. Don't miss the chance to see their films on the big screen! Congratulations to our winners: Kye-Yac International Scholarship for Directing Rhianydd Hylton, $2,500 Bentonville High School Editing Scholarship Scarlett Gooch, $2,500 Lakeside High School, Hot Springs Nat

The Right Steps: Dance Transforms at Mabelvale Middle

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,

2018 Creative Writing Scholarship Winners

Thea Foundation

Apr 12, 2018
6 min

2018 Creative Writing Scholarship Winners

Thea Foundation is excited to announce the winners of our 2018 Creative Writing Scholarship competition. More than 110 students from across the state of Arkansas entered this year’s competition, making it one of our biggest years to date. Our 2018 scholarship recipients are: 1st Place, $4,000 scholarship: Cora Saddler (pictured left) Cabot High School Short Story, “A House Full of Flies” 2nd Place, $2,500 scholarship: Emilee Rotter (pictured right) Poem, “Dear Brother” Van B

2018 Performing Arts Scholarship Winners

Photography by Mark Fonville

Mar 19, 2018
1 min

2018 Performing Arts Scholarship Winners

Students from across Arkansas gathered at the UA - Pulaksi Tech Saturday, March 17, to compete in Thea Foundation's annual Performing Arts Scholarship Competition, open to high school and home-schooled Arkansas seniors performing dance, dramatic works or singing. We saw so much incredible talent, and our judges carefully deliberated, selecting 10 winners: 1st Place, $4,000 (Pictured above) Rodney Anderson - Pulaski Academy - Dance Selection 2nd Place, $3,500 Quinton Sanders -

2018 Fashion Design Scholarship Winners

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

2018 Visual Arts Scholarship Competition Winners

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

Striking a Chord: Ukulele Club Brings Music and Culture to Springdale School

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

Creative Chemistry: Sylvan Hills Teachers Mix Science with Art

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

The World at His Fingertips: NLRHS student Carlos Campanur

Thea Foundation

Nov 21, 2017
1 min

The World at His Fingertips: NLRHS student Carlos Campanur

Since first laying hands on the cello in 5th grade through music classes Thea Foundation made possible at his elementary school, North Little Rock High School student Carlos Campanur has become a dedicated, self-motivated student, accomplished musician and advocate for music education. Carlos is one of thousands of students Thea Foundation programs reach. On #GivingTuesday (Nov. 28), please consider giving to Thea to support programs like this one that changed Carlos's life.

Self-Constructive: Working with Power Tools Builds Confidence in Parkview Students

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

Laying a Foundation: Local Architect Supported Career with Art

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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