Arts supporters and leaders from the Argenta Arts District in North Little Rock's downtown gave National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu a look Wednesday at how an emphasis on the arts has helped lead the redevelopment of a once languid area.
"Ten years ago there was nothing in these buildings," John Gaudin, board chairman of the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub and founder of the Argenta Arts Foundation, told Chu at the start of 90 minutes of presentations and a walking tour through Argenta. "But we saw something pretty special here. And we knew we wanted to lead with the arts."
Chu was told how North Little Rock is blending the arts with educational, business and entrepreneurial efforts with presentations that started at the Art Connection, 204 E. Fourth St., a branch of the Innovation Hub under construction next door, and ended at the Thea Foundation headquarters, 401 Main St., a block away.
In between, Chu -- who was raised in Arkadelphia and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and music education at Ouachita Baptist University -- took a walking tour to visit other venues such as the recently opened Argenta Arts Gallery and the Argenta Community Theater that opened in 2011.
Paul Leopoulos, Thea's executive director, showed two short videos about the 14-year-old nonprofit that moved to the city's downtown in 2008. The foundation has awarded more than $2 million in scholarships since 2002 -- without regard to grade-point averages -- averaging 30 scholarships annually, he told Chu. The foundation's primary purpose is to instill an arts culture into schools and extracurricular activities statewide.
"When kids are engaged in the arts, it gives them confidence," Leopoulos said.
Chu thanked Leopoulos for "being a model for this."
"We're all in this together: national, local and regional," she said.
At the year-old Innovation Hub, Executive Director and state Rep. Warwick Sabin, D-Little Rock, gave Chu a brief overview of the four components of its concept. Much of the planned building is under construction between Fourth and Poplar streets and Fourth and Broadway, a block east of Main Street.
The Art Connection is an after-school and summer work program for high school students that provides hands-on training in visual arts; the Launch Pad will provide cutting-edge tools and technology such as 3-D printers and laser-cutting machines that will have partnerships with both colleges and industries; the STEAM Room will serve as a classroom and laboratory area in partnership with the EAST Initiative for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education with the added "A" standing for art; and the Silver Mine will be a working area for small-business owners and entrepreneurs to mentor new entrepreneurs.
"It's all about developing talent, retaining talent and attracting talent to this region," said Sabin, adding that the Hub will allow participants to share ideas, resources and abilities.
The concept is based on similar programs that have been successful in major cities, he said.
"While this is replicated from other places, what's unique about this is it will put several of these places together in one place," Sabin said.
On Tuesday, Chu attended a presentation in Little Rock of the capital city's planned Creative Corridor along its downtown Main Street, a project that was awarded an National Endowment for the Arts grant in 2011 to support the design phase.
Metro on 10/09/2014