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 General
Information
Staff
The staff at the Arkansas River
Valley Arts Center will be happy to
assist you and answer any questions you
may have. Just ask to visit with any of
the following;
Executive
Director - Betty LaGrone
Administrative Assistant -Tammy Bolyer
Teaching Artist - Winston J. Taylor
Kids-at-Art Teacher - Carla Swanson
 Hours
of Operation
The Arts Center is open to the
public from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. Monday thru Thursday, 10:00
a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
To schedule a group tour at another time,
please call 479-968-2452 or
email
mail
to:artscenter@centurytel.net
Location
The ARV Arts Center is located at
1001 East B Street, Russellville,
AR. We are near the corner of Knoxville
and East Main Street. It is easy to
locate the city-owned Hughes Community
Center at the corner of Parkway and
Knoxville Street.....then you are
almost here - turn south on Knoxville
Street and go to the next driveway on your
left and park in our spacious parking lot.
If you prefer, park at the Hughes
Community Center and we are just a walk
across the footbridge behind the Center in
Russellville City Park.
For even more directions on our
location be sure to look at the
Map
and Directions.
A
Brief History
The
Arkansas River Valley Arts Center is a
private nonprofit community organization.
In
June of 1981 the first public meeting was
held to organize the Arkansas River Valley
Arts Center. After an initial donation
of
$5,000.00 from Russellville Junior
Auxiliary and commitments from community
leaders for over $10,000.00, the Center
officially opened its doors to the public
at an all day celebration on October 7,
1981.
The
Mission Statement of the Arts Center was
adopted early in its history. It reads
"The purpose of the Arkansas River Valley
Arts Center Foundation, Inc. is to
establish and maintain an environment
conductive to the growth and understanding
of the arts, both visual and performing,
to provide an opportunity for the artist
and their audience to share artistic
experiences and to provide inspiration of
artistic endeavors. It is our aim to serve
Arkansas, particularly the people of the
Arkansas River Valley, by providing
quality public programs and educational
opportunities in the arts and by investing
in new ways in which to serve and involve
the community in the arts." In 1994 the
phrase "educational opportunities in the
arts" was added by the Board of Directors
to show their support of the change in
focus of the Center. This mission has been
further defined to place greater emphasis
on art in everyday life, education,
tourism, and quality of life. We serve the
River Valley area of Pope, Johnson, and
Yell counties.
The
first location was at 1008 West Main
Street, Russellville. In the fall of 1984
the City of Russellville gave the center a
long-term lease on its current home at
1001 East B Street in the Russellville
City Park in a building that once served
as the bathhouse for the Russellville City
swimming pool. The building was, of
course, marvelously renovated to our
current facility that holds a gallery,
gift shop, offices, and a classroom. On
the premises is also our pottery studio
and kiln building.
The
Arts Center receives support from a
variety of sources. At present we receive
income from the Arkansas Arts Council,
River Valley United Way, other corporate
grants, fundraisers, and annual
memberships, which include individuals and
businesses. The remainder is generated
from class fees, commission on sales of
artwork, ticket sales, workshop fees,
donations for specific programs and
various other miscellaneous contributions
such as memorials and an annual
fundraising event.
One
of the unique features of our Arts Center
is that we have two teaching artists who
are permanent staff members. Winston
Taylor joined the Arts Center in 1990. He
is an outstanding potter, or ceramic
artists, who produces and shows his work
throughout the state and nation. Winston
developed the renowned "Kids-At-Art"
program for which he received the Arkansas
Arts Award for Arts in Education in 1993.
Each year the Arts Center facilitates
Kids-At-Art, a dynamic program that meets
the need for a fully developed
multi-disciplinary art curriculum. With
the assistance of Carla Swanson, Winston
taught the program to all 4th and 5th
grade students in the Russellville School
system until the 2006-07 school year when
legislation decreed that public schools
must hire art teachers. Kids-At-Art is
still taught to all students at Community
Christian School, St. John's Catholic
School and to home school
students.
The
Arts Center offers a full schedule of
classes and workshops throughout the year
for adults and children. The purpose of
the classes is to provide art instruction
and appreciation to our residents and
also, to utilize the wealth of local
artists' talents. Our programming has
expanded to serve the needs of the
citizens of the tri-county
area.
Present
and past services include:
Visual Arts:
Classes, in all disciplines at
graduating levels.
Gallery displays of local, regional,
national, and international artists.
Extensive art in education programs in the
schools in the tri-county area. Gift Shop
for local artist to market their
works.
Scholarship program
Sunday, Funday, monthly series of free art
activities for families.
Performing Arts:
Classes, in all disciplines at
graduating levels.
Dance, music, theater, and film
Theater program
Children's Theater teaching and
performances
Youth Theater teaching and
performances
Community Theater teaching and
performances
Storytellers Group
Community Choir
Community Orchestra
String instrument lessons
Partnership with Arkansas Tech
University
Community Band
Our
motto has always been "Art is for
Everyone". No one is ever turned away
because of race, color, creed, religion,
gender, or economic situation.
The
Arts Center hosts a Local Artist Registry,
which includes information about area
artists including name, address,
description of work, and training. Through
this registry we are able to help
community members locate a particular type
of art work, solicit teachers for
workshops and classes at the Arts Center
or offsite, use this as a resource for
gallery shows and gift shop merchandise,
and are able to host a fellowship among
area artists where they can help each
other improve their works. The Arts Center
has a gallery with new exhibits monthly.
Admittance is free to the public, there is
usually a gallery opening reception held
for the artists at the beginning of the
exhibition. Annual shows include
Collegiate Competition open to any college
student in the state, a statewide High
School Competition, and local artist
exhibit. Other exhibits are from area,
state and nationally renowned
artists.
Many
of you are familiar with our annual summer
musical. This is a collaborative effort
with Arkansas Tech University. Around the
Christmas Holidays, we produce The
Christmas Story, a retelling of the birth
of Christ in song and dance. The Arts
Center produces both the summer musical
and Christmas Story locally, showcases
local talent and is a hands-on-training
ground for all aspects of theater
production from marketing to directing.
Another summer program offered by the Arts
Center is Summer Arts Camps. Through this
program, children enjoy a day camp
setting, immersed in a variety of art
forms led by artists.
We
hope to become know as THE Birthday Party
Place by quickly transforming the
classroom into a fun party
room.
Our
plans are to be able to offer more classes
off-site to some un-or under-served
residents. Many reliable studies reflect
that Art is an effective tool to help
troubled youth shift direction into a more
positive lifestyle...help medically
impaired residents rehabilitate...help
senior citizens enjoyably fill otherwise
lonely hours...help physically and
mentally challenged citizens develop their
own abilities.
Our
major annual fundraiser is a ticketed
event with live and silent auction,
refreshments, heavy hors d'oeuvres, and
entertainment.
E-mail
and Web Site are now integral means of
communication and sharing information
along with a monthly
newsletter.
The
Art Center contributes a great deal to the
quality of life and economy of our
community, which only adds to the value of
the Russellville area. The ARV Arts Center
is always pleased to have residents as
members, Board members, patrons, and
volunteers.
We
pay special tribute to all past and
current members, those who have served on
the Board of Directors, as officers and
staff, and especially in the leadership
role of President. A List of Presidents
includes:
Bonita
Church 1982-1983
Donna Van Horn 1983-1984
M. Olin Cook 1984-1985
Chris Martin-Fryer 1985-1986
Sherry Sanford 1986-1987
Michelle Meason 1988-1989
Betty LaGrone 1989-1990
Maysel Teeter 1990-1991
Toni Laws 1991-1992
Dr. Jim Collins 1992-1993
T.L "Todd" Sweeden 1993-1994
Donn Legge 1994-1995
Robert Holmes 1995-1996
Linda Follis 1997-1998
Gordon McLerran 1998-1999 DECEASED
Carol Thomason 1999-2001
Jeff Aulgur 2001-2002
Gracie Clark 2002-2003
Betty Price 2004-2005
Dennis Overman 2006-Current
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