The Arkansas Arts Council is hard at work providing free resources to Arkansas creatives through grant programs, workshops and so much more.

Artist INC Express Free Workshops

Join us for Artist INC Express, a three-day professional development virtual workshop for Arkansas creatives through Mid-America Arts Alliance. We have some great workshops coming up, but things are filling quickly so reserve your spot today!

• Spanish/Bilingual - March 18 - 20 A workshop geared toward Latinx/Hispanic communities of Arkansas by creating a bilingual presentation that targets communities in northwest and central Arkansas.
• Teaching Artists - April 22 - 24 A workshop dedicated to bringing teaching artists together cross the state of Arkansas to create a peer network.
• Centering BIPOC Artists - May 13 - 15 A workshop centering on the BIPOC artist and communities, and uplifting BIPOC voices.
• Student Artists - June 3 - 5 A workshop to bring student artists together statewide to build professional development skills.

GetSmART! Learning Series Expands Workshops

The GetSmART! Learning Series is bigger and better than ever! This series of virtual professional development workshops will help build career skills of individual artists. We have several free workshops available for February and March. Register at the link below!

March Workshops:

• Pathway to Success - Find Your Voice in Art: Tue. Mar. 15
• The Business of Plays: Wed. Mar. 16
• Women Writing Stories: Messages from our Mothers: Thurs. Mar. 17

April Workshops:

• AAC Grants & the Arts in Education Roster: Mon. April 11
• Meeting the Emotional Needs of Youth Through Art: Wed. April 13
• Using Art as a Teaching Tool: Mon. April 18

For a complete list of workshops, click here.

2019 Individual Artist Fellowship recipients: (back) Holly Laws, John Vanderslice, Matthew Boyce, Tyrone Jaeger, (front) Monica Clark-Robinson, Greely Myatt, Robin Neveu Brown, AAC Director Patrick Ralston. Not pictured are: Paiyin Lin-Mros and Linda Nguyen Lopez.

Individual Artist Fellowship Program Open for Applications

Creatives have the opportunity to earn a $5,000 non-matching grant through the Individual Artist Fellowship program. Thanks to a partnership with Wingate Foundation, Arkansas Arts Council has expanded the Fellowship program to allow 18 awards of $5,000 each. Categories include:

• Multisensory Art
• Community Engagement Art
• Contemporary Craft
• Performance Art: Mississippi Delta Blues Contemporary Songwriting or Score
• Visual Arts: Graphic Novels or Narrative
• Literary Arts: Flash Fiction or Flash Creative Nonfiction

For the application forms and more information, click here.

2022 Governor’s Arts Awards

The seven recipients of this year’s Governor’s Arts Awards will be honored at a luncheon at the Arkansas Governor's Mansion on Wednesday, March 16. The award ceremony will be streamed on the Arkansas Arts Council's Facebook page.

This year’s winners are:

• Ed Clifford: Arts Community Development Award
• Dr. Timothy Crist: Arts in Education Award
• Cranford Co.: Corporate Sponsorship of the Arts Award
• Perrion Hurd: Individual Artist Award
• Scottish Heritage Program at Lyon College: Judges Recognition Award
• Sharon Heflin: Patron Award
• Linda Williams Palmer: Lifetime Achievement Award

This year's award was designed by 2008 Governor's Arts Award winner Brian Massey, Sr. KATV recently visited with Massey at his studio in Conway for the latest stop on the Arkansas Heritage Tour. Watch the interview by clicking here.

Poetry Out Loud State Competition March 11

High school students who won their school’s Poetry Out Loud competitions will compete in the state finals Friday, March 11. The competition will be streamed live on AAC's Facebook page. The winner will have the opportunity to earn $20,000 at the National Poetry Out Loud recitation competition later this spring. The Arkansas Arts Council has been registering schools across Arkansas to participate.

Small Works on Paper Continues Tour Across Arkansas

The 2022 'Small Works on Paper' continues its tour across Arkansas. Its next stop is the Performing Arts Center in March and Northwest Arkansas Community College in April. For a complete list of tour stops and artists participating click here.