Windgate gives $10,000 to art and science center

CALICO ROCK — The Windgate Charitable Foundation of Siloam Springs has awarded a $10,000 grant to the Calico Rock Museum Foundation for the new Art and Science Center project. The grant will make completing and opening the Art and Science Center possible.

The Windgate Charitable Foundation focuses most of its giving in Arkansas to arts and crafts organizations that have a tie to economic development. The foundation has previously awarded major grants to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, the Thea Foundation in North Little Rock and the University of Central Arkansas Baum Gallery of Fine Art in Conway.

The partnership with Calico Rock will create a hub for the arts in north-central Arkansas, allowing families living in rural Arkansas access to quality arts programming and exhibits that would normally only be available by driving to Little Rock or Bentonville.

The foundation purchased the historic Floyd’s Grocery Building, c. 1926, across from the museum’s Heritage and Visitor Center. The building will house a first-class art museum, meeting space, classroom and studio space, and a science center. The center will have its own retail store, Brushstrokes, that will sell artistic merchandise, science and art toys, crafts and tourist gifts.

The restoration and transformation of the center is in full swing with upgrades to the electrical and plumbing, addition of gallery spaces, painting and the installation of a historic ceiling. The work is scheduled to be completed and the center opened in late spring.

To learn more about the museum, visit www.calico rockmuseum.com.