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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

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

2017 Performing Arts Scholarship Winners

Thea Foundation

Mar 20, 2017
1 min

2017 Performing Arts Scholarship Winners

More than 160 students from across the state signed up for this year's Performing Arts Scholarship Competition, held Saturday, March 18, at the Center for the Humanities and Arts at the University of Arkansas at Pulaski Tech. The talent was astonishing! We are so proud of every single student who walked across the stage that day and of the 10 students who will receive scholarships: 1st place: Aryana Gardner, Conway High School, $4,000, vocal performance 2nd pace: Katie Cleven

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

2017 Fashion Design Scholarship Competition Winners

Thea Foundation

Mar 13, 2017
1 min

2017 Fashion Design Scholarship Competition Winners

Thea Foundation's 4th annual Fashion Design Scholarship Competition was held Saturday, March 11, at Thea's North Little Rock headquarters, where young designers from across the state gathered to reveal their unique garments made of 75% recycled materials, as required by the competition. Our judges deliberated over the many creative, thoughtful designs and selected two winners. Congratulations to Amanda Lee, of Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, who won 1s

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

2017 Visual Arts Scholarship Competition Winners

Thea Foundation

Mar 6, 2017
1 min

2017 Visual Arts Scholarship Competition Winners

In 2017, we saw close to 300 entries into our Visual Arts Scholarship Competition, with works coming from all across the state. Our team of judges carefully deliberated, and selecting 10 winners was quite the challenge! We'd like to say thank you to everyone who entered this year's competition; thank you to the teachers who pushed their students to enter and drove their work from faraway towns; thank you to our judges, one of whom came all the way from New England; thank you

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

Making School a Magical Place to Be

Words by Stacey Bowers / Photography by Mark

Feb 22, 2017
2 min

Making School a Magical Place to Be

Take a stroll through White Hall High School, and you’ll see it couldn’t be more aptly named. The walls are stark and bare, unless it’s almost the Chinese New Year and you’re in Mr. Bowman’s wing. Near his art room, the walls come alive with colorful paper dragons, all part of a project funded by Thea’s Art Closet. “I believe it is important to celebrate with other cultures, and it gives my students an opportunity to try a different form of art, “ Bowman said about the appeal

Building Bright Futures on a Budget

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

Happy Birthday, Thea!

Dec 5, 2016
2 min

Happy Birthday, Thea!

December 6, 2016, is a very special day in a very special year. 33 years ago on this day, my daughter Thea Kay came into this world, bringing love, light and wisdom into our lives and starting a chain of inspiration that would help us change thousands of lives for years to come. Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated another big birthday: the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Thea Foundation. On November 5, 2001, my wife, Linda, and I formed our grassroots effort to make t

Art, The Unifier: Rogers Heritage High School Finds Funds to Further an Arts Program that Draws on A

Words by Stacey Bowers / Photography by Kat Wilson

Sep 1, 2016
3 min

Art, The Unifier: Rogers Heritage High School Finds Funds to Further an Arts Program that Draws on A

Together, Nakia Brener and Allen Sullivan, both teachers at Rogers Heritage High School in Rogers, Ark., have posted six projects to DonorsChoose.org appealing for supplies to teach arts-related material to their students. Five of those projects received half of their funding from Thea Foundation through Thea’s Art Closet, whose mission is to fill in the gaps where schools lack or don’t prioritize funding for arts materials. “I am very fortunate to have a school district and

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

10th Annual Thea Paves the Way

Thea Foundation

Aug 13, 2015
1 min

10th Annual Thea Paves the Way

Thea Foundation’s 10th annual sidewalk chalk event, Thea Paves the Way, will be held Saturday, September 12, 2015, on the front lawn of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library, where students and families will share in the creative community effort to cover the sidewalks in vibrant chalk art. Thea Paves the Way began in 2005 as one of the Thea Foundation’s first outreach events to engage students, teachers, families, community groups and others in an exciting collaborativ