Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Heart of America group works to grow arts in NWA
SILOAM SPRINGS — The Heart of America Artists Association seeks to grow the arts in Northwest Arkansas.
Association President Todd Williams and fellow artist John P. Lasater IV, who serves as the marketing and design specialist, had a vision to grow the appreciation of two-dimensional fine art and promote the culture of the Midwest to the fine-arts community nationwide, according to the association website.
This led the pair to start the Heart of America Artists Association. The Siloam Springs organization started in 2007 and began to put on different events in Northwest Arkansas, Williams said.
Over the years, the association has worked with Compton Gardens, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Illinois River Watershed Partnership and the Peel Mansion on different projects, Williams said. In 2018, the association became a nonprofit organization, Williams said.
The organization’s first major project was the Arkansas Territory collection, a traveling exhibit that celebrated the bicentennial of Arkansas in 2019 and 2020, Williams said.
The association put out a call to local artists and told them the project would cover all the regions of Arkansas and most of Oklahoma, Williams said.
Artists submitted paintings from the different regions of the state to have on display and sell while the exhibit traveled.
“What was great about this project was that we included historical text with each painting,” Williams said. “It was a two-year exhibition that traveled throughout different areas in Arkansas and Oklahoma.”
The association also did a book that showcased illustrations from the project, Williams said.
Other association projects include an annual plein air event in Siloam Springs, where artists spend a week painting different scenes from downtown Siloam Springs and then display the art during Main Street Siloam Springs’ annual Homegrown Festival, Williams said.
The Homegrown Festival is held in October on the same weekend as John Brown University’s homecoming. The festival showcases local vendors and talent.
Artists usually paint their scenes at the end of September and showcase them during the festival at Downtown Dance Studio, 100 S. Broadway St.
The association’s current project is called Painting the Arkansas State Parks, Williams said.
The project began in March 2022 and will last several years, the association website states. The first part will consist of several plein air events where artists will paint in Arkansas’ state parks, the website states.
Plein air events will take place in the five geographical regions of the state of Arkansas, the website states. The artists paint their pleinair study in the park. Later, a larger finished studio painting will be based on their plein-air study, Williams said.
“It’ll be really great for the public to see the first painting that’s done on location,” Williams said. “And see how the artist is thinking and really those creative thoughts behind that.”
Painting in the Arkansas State Parks will end with a traveling exhibition throughout the state, the website states.
There are also plans for a coffee table art book of the state parks and the paintings that will have historical text and description of the location, as well as some of the meaning behind the paintings and why the artist chose that specific painting, Williams said.
Artists already have painted in Hobbs State Park in Rogers, Petit Jean State Park in Morrilton, Hot Springs National Park in Hot Springs and Cane Creek State Park in Pine Bluff, the website states.
Another new addition to the association is Brooke Davis, the first full-time executive director, Williams said. Davis, who grew up in Lincoln, has been interested in art since childhood, she said.
Growing up in a rural area drove Davis to want to bring art to smaller communities, she said.
“I think there’s a lot of great art opportunities in the city for people to attend,” Davis said. “When I was looking for work, I really wanted to find something that had to do with art and something that wasn’t just for people in the city.”
Since starting at the association in November, Davis has procured one grant and is working with local businesses to secure funding. Davis did not want to say which businesses until plans were finalized.
Looking to the future, Williams said he wants to collaborate with the city and do educational workshops. Williams is not quite sure when this will happen, adding it is dependent on whether the association submits grant proposals, he said.
Williams also would like to collaborate with the Siloam Springs Center for the Arts and other organizations to see the arts grow in the city. Williams hopes to use art to help people with mental health or post-traumatic stress issues, he said.
“I think it’s important for us as an art organization to really touch people in a deeper way,” Williams said.