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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

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

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,

Meet Carmen Alexandria Thompson, Thea's Next Art Department Artist

Thea Foundation

Jul 25, 2018
3 min

Meet Carmen Alexandria Thompson, Thea's Next Art Department Artist

August 3, Thea Foundation welcomes Little Rock mixed media artist Carmen Alexandria "Allie" Thompson to the gallery with an exhibition that includes several new works of art. "The Mind Unveiled" will focus on the state of mental health and society and include mixed media works, many of which have never been exhibited. Thea staff chatted with Allie leading up to the show to talk about her process and inspiration. Thea: When did you start making art? Allie: I've been making thi

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,

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

Melting Pot: Little Rock Educator Teaches Science, History Through Pottery

Stacey Bowers

Nov 10, 2017
3 min

Melting Pot: Little Rock Educator Teaches Science, History Through Pottery

“Awesome feet!” Middle school art educator Jordan Wolf compliments a students on the little clay “feet” she’s added to the bottom of her pinch pot, a type of accessible hand-built pottery that’s a perfect jumping-off point for working with clay. “This is the first time most of these students have worked with clay, so we’re spending a lot of time learning how to use our hands. Students have spent several classes just practicing pinch pots and rolling coils,” Wolf says. “I try

On Exhibit: Works by Arkansas Children's Hospital Patients

Thea Foundation

Oct 4, 2017
2 min

On Exhibit: Works by Arkansas Children's Hospital Patients

Through the month of October, Thea Foundation will exhibit works by patients at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in our newly renovated gallery space located at 401 Main Street in North Little Rock, Arkansas. A reception will held from 5-8 p.m. Friday, October 20, during Argenta Art Walk. During the reception, Arkansas Children’s Hospital’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-resid

Firing Up Fine Arts in Arkansas Schools

Stacey Bowers

Jul 7, 2017
2 min

Firing Up Fine Arts in Arkansas Schools

Do you know about Thea's Arts Reconstruction program? Through Arts Reconstruction, Thea Foundation implements new and augments existing arts programs in schools by providing advanced training and tools for visual arts teachers and string instruments and instruction. Summer visual arts training sessions just ended, and teachers from schools across central Arkansas learned to create and fire hand-built pottery and many techniques in metalworking, and they left with the tools to

Shaping Young Minds: How a Little Rock Teacher Funds Sculpture in the Classroom

Stacey Bowers / Photography by Mark Fonville

Mar 16, 2017
2 min

Shaping Young Minds: How a Little Rock Teacher Funds Sculpture in the Classroom

Elena Petroukhina, an art teacher at Mann Arts Magnet Middle School in Little Rock, is a Thea’s Art Closet veteran. Over the years, she’s been able to supply her classroom with creative materials that typically fall outside of her annual budget. “We get a budget for each school year. Usually that covers the basics like pencils, markers, paper, some paint. To give students a variety of experiences with art media, I have to raise extra funds,” Petroukhina said. “Because Mann is

How Far Can You Go with a Thea Scholarship: Our Scholars Speak

Stacey Bowers / Photography by Mark Fonville

Mar 8, 2017
4 min

How Far Can You Go with a Thea Scholarship: Our Scholars Speak

Every year, Thea Foundation awards 30 scholarships to students across Arkansas. Our scholarships are completely inclusive, meaning they're never awarded based on test scores, GPAs, or intent to major in the arts. Students may take their scholarship to any college or trade school they prefer, but if they attend one of Thea's 27 partnering institutions, including every 4-year college in Arkansas, they'll get a matching scholarship from that school that often exceeds what studen

One Big Way Thea Brings the Arts to Schools Near You

Stacey Bowers / Photos by Mark Fonville and

Mar 1, 2017
3 min

One Big Way Thea Brings the Arts to Schools Near You

In 2014, Thea Foundation launched a new program, called Arts Reconstruction, to create new and augment existing arts programs within schools, making sure that the arts are accessible during the day when school is in session. Orchestra programs were added to schools throughout central Arkansas, and visual arts teachers were trained in new techniques and given specialized equipment and supplies to carry out these enhanced lesson plans. Each Arts Reconstruction school is monitor

Building Bright Futures on a Budget

Stacey Bowers

Dec 12, 2016
3 min

Building Bright Futures on a Budget

In the fall of 2016, Brad Wreyford, a teacher at Arkansas School for Math, Sciences and the Arts (ASMSA) in Hot Springs, took his students to visit Thea Foundation, where he learned about Thea’s Art Closet. Always looking to expand his lesson plans, Wreyford quickly got to work on his first Thea’s Art Closet project. “Our art budget is adequate for what we do now, but it is spread thin when we attempt to grow,” Wreyford said. “Having funds to expand what we offer usually come

Arkansas Children's Hospital Patients Art on Display at Thea Foundation

Thea Foundation

Oct 5, 2016
1 min

Arkansas Children's Hospital Patients Art on Display at Thea Foundation

Through October, the walls at Thea Foundation will be filled with artwork by patients at Arkansas Children's Hospital, where the hospital's Artist In Residence program brings art and music therapy to the bedside of children to enhance their healing. "Our Artist in Residence Program provides patients and families an opportunity to escape the stressors of the hospital environment and experience a sense of 'normalcy' during their hospital stay," said Renee Hunte, Director of Chi

2016 Film Scholarship Winners

Thea Foundation

Jun 8, 2016
1 min

2016 Film Scholarship Winners

Lights, camera, action! These film scholarship winners just set the stage for their bright futures with a $2,500 boost from Thea Foundation: Amber Karnish, Directing, Har-Ber High School; Kelton McCarthy, Cinematography, Fayetteville High School; Clara Rorick, Scriptwriting, Eureka Springs High School; and MacKenzie Martz, Editing, Bentonville High School. Their winning films were showcased at the Ron Robinson Theater as part of AETN's Young Filmmakers Showcase in May, when t

The Governor's Culinary Challenge

Thea Foundation

Sep 29, 2015
2 min

The Governor's Culinary Challenge

Returning to the Capital Hotel, this year’s Governor’s Culinary Challenge, set for Monday, October 19, 2015, at 6:30 p.m. promises a feast of entertainment, including gourmet bites from 8 of Arkansas’s most touted chefs, signature cocktails from the innovative genius of 3 local mixologists, and the lively jazz of Dr. Danny Fletcher and company. Presented by Malvern National Bank and chaired by Peter Brave of Brave New Restaurant, this year’s event features a lineup of chefs

2015 Fashion Design Scholarship Winners

Thea Foundation

Mar 16, 2015
1 min

2015 Fashion Design Scholarship Winners

March 14, 2015, young fashion designers from across Arkansas competed in Thea Foundation's 2nd Fashion Design Scholarship Competition. The competitors had guidelines to use 75% recycled materials in their creations, present a book of sketches to the judges, and present their pieces in person at Thea Foundation. Our judges, all successful in the fashion field, included Korto Momolu, Connie Fails and Jeanne Johansson. Students' works were diverse, including garments made from t

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