The arts community is invited to a hands-on learning and community-building mural painting day! Come leave your mark, connect with peers and learn something new.
Participants will learn 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 11 How to:
- Scale up and sketch out a mural
- Create community by painting together
- One-on-one consultation and help by artist Anthony Tidwell
This one-time, learning event is part of celebrations happening along Ninth Street in Little Rock for Beyond the Divide. Come learn, create unity and celebrate the arts with us. This free event is family friendly.
About our facilitator
Anthony Tidwell is a dedicated artist, muralist and community leader with a lifelong commitment to creating positive change. A native of Hot Springs, Tidwell has consistently demonstrated a strong passion for youth development, prevention and community empowerment.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a minor in Early Childhood Education from Arkansas Tech University. While working with Ouachita Children’s Youth & Family Services in Hot Springs, Tidwell completed specialized training and obtained certification as a Prevention Specialist, further strengthening his ability to support children, families and communities through evidence-based practices.
Tidwell’s education, professional experience, and community involvement inspired the creation of Cutwell 4 Kids, a community-based nonprofit organization. The mission of Cutwell 4 Kids is to promote and support the self-awareness, growth and individuality of every child through artistic expression and prevention-focused programming.
Tidwell is a recipient to the Arkansas Arts Council’s Governor’s Arts Awards and previously sat on the advisory board. He has been a leader in creating murals all over downtown Hot Springs.
About studioMAIN's Beyond the Divide Project
studioMAIN's Beyond the Divide project is a monthlong demonstration project along the Historic West 9th Street Corridor in Little Rock. The area was once a thriving center of Black culture, music and business. Events, including a mural design and construction series by the Arkansas Arts Council, will showcase how the arts create vibrancy, connectivity and creative placemaking opportunities and will show what a safe and connected future for the neighborhood could look like. For the mural-making workshops, Beyond the Divide will seek designs from participants April 6 under the theme of Jazz & Ninth Street History. An accepted mural will be created April 11 on a shipping container wall donated by Hugg & Hall Mobile Storage. Beyond the Divide is supported by Smart Growth America's Community Connectors program. Information can be found online at https://www.studio-main.org/beyond-the-divide.