The old African proverb, “It takes a village,” has never been more important than during Shreveport Regional Arts Council’s 38th ArtBreak. Since 1984, SRAC has espoused that the Arts are critical to the education and total development of a student. For the 2024 ArtBreak Festival, SRAC has enlisted support to develop hands-on art projects with community partners including The American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Louisiana Engineering Society (LES), Bricks4Kidz, Challenge Island, Lemonade Day Shreveport-Bossier City, Noel Community Arts Program, Red River Revel, Renzi Education & Art Center, Robinson Film Center, Sanctuary Arts School, and SciPort.

The Shreveport Chapters of The American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Louisiana Engineering Society (LES) will be leading a geodesic dome activity for ArtBreak 38. It’s an activity that promotes science while also allowing for artistic creativity. The ArtBreak dome will be made up of foam blocks and toothpicks and will teach children the surprising strength of triangles. Our engineering societies love to introduce children to the world of science and engineering.

Lemonade Day Shreveport-Bossier City, is stirring things up at ArtBreak 38 with a refreshingly sweet arts and crafts activity where kids decorate their own popsicle stick lemonade stands while imagining the zesty lemonade business they’ll run this summer. “We’re thrilled to give ArtBreak families a taste of the lemonade-selling fun to come this Lemonade Day, May 18th,” said Jessica Schiele, Lemonade Day Shreveport-Bossier City Director. Those who register for Lemonade Day will take home a free drawstring backpack - the perfect carryall for their art and entrepreneurial supplies!

Noel Community Arts Program project for ArtBreak 38 is a tribute to the Highland Free Little Art Gallery, a miniature art hub established this year, where the community can freely display artwork and access art supplies. NCAP will provide supplies for visitors to create their own miniature artworks on 2 inch x 3 inch wooden panels, which they can then attach to a magnet. Ex. Dir. Tracy McComick says, “We are proud to support ArtBreak for the second consecutive year and look forward to contributing to this vibrant and inspiring event that celebrates the joy of creativity and community.”

Red River Revel President of the Governing Board & Arts Education Committee Chair Jana Forrest, says, “The Red River Revel is bringing joy and creativity to ARTBREAK 38 through our Boomwhacker activity. With colorful plastic tubes in hand, kids will learn rhythm, coordination, and teamwork while creating music together. This exciting activity not only fosters musical skills but also develops sensorimotor skills and promotes self-expression.”

Renzi Education and Art Center will teach ArtBreak students the basic concepts about light reflection and engineering and allow their creativity to shine with DIY Kaleidoscope Kits. Silver reflective pieces are inserted into a tube with a circle on a straw on the outside that the students decorate with markers, stickers, and crayons. Look into the kaleidoscope while turning the decorated circle and explore all the reflections created by your very own design!!

Robinson Film Center Education Director Rachel Hansil, says. “Education is at the core of our mission, and ArtBreak gives us the opportunity to spark interest in film and filmmaking with students in our area. We always look forward to participating in this loud and colorful celebration of the Arts.” The Robinson Film Center activity has students reacting to a series of backgrounds in front of a green screen station. Onlookers watch on a big screen as the student-actors take on the role of meteorologist, skydiver, or astronaut…or run for their lives from a train or a dinosaur.

Sanctuary Arts School (SAS) owner and professional glass artist Eric Hess, says SAS artists will be working with students in an immersive workshop to create artwork made from glass tiles and produce a glass mosaic tryptic to be donated to SRAC and displayed in a public building. The artwork will be three panels depicting a contemporary Shreveport scene. Students will learn the art of glass as well as produce a public art project.

SciPort Discovery Center will feature their robotics programs along with Bricks4Kidz and Challenge Island. SciPort now has a FIRST® LEGO® League program which introduces science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to children ages 4-16 through fun, exciting hands-on learning. Participants gain real-world problem solving experience through a guided, global robotics program, helping today’s students and teachers build a better future together. Youth are inspired to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding, and design skills through hands-on STEM learning and robotics.

It takes a village—really an entire community—to showcase the positive impact of Arts Education at ArtBreak 38 through the promotion of the Arts Curriculum, programs, and professional artists across Northwest Louisiana. These community partnerships are our way of keeping the momentum strong and the love of the arts thriving.