The City of Texarkana, Texas and Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council (TRAHC) would like to invite the public to another open house opportunity to discuss the future development of the Perot Theatre Restoration and Art Park project in downtown Texarkana.
The NEA Our Town Grant will be featured as part of the Women for the Arts and the For Arts’ Sake Gift Shop Open House at the historic Regional Arts Center on Friday, December 4th from 10am-5pm and on Saturday, December 5th from 10am-4pm.
The City of Texarkana, Texas is one of sixty nine recipients of the National Endowment for the Arts OurTown awards throughout the United States and will receive $100,000 to support the Texarkana Perot Theatre Restoration and Art Park Project.
The Perot Theatre Restoration and Art Park project in Texarkana, Texas engages leading design experts in development of a master plan for the downtown Texarkana Arts and Historic District. The master plan features adaptive re-use of a downtown block connecting the restored Perot Theater and the historic Regional Arts Center building with an open air farmers market, outdoor stage, public art exhibition and green space. A public space master plan incorporating the surrounding blocks offers an excellent opportunity to improve livability and safety in the heart of Texarkana’s Arts District. The public is invited to the open house to become informed about plans for the space, as well as invited to provide input.
“We are very pleased to be a part of the city’s effort to revitalize what is an incredible downtown,” said Steve Luoni, director of the UA-Fayetteville Community Design Center. “Though surrounded by prosperous suburban growth, Texarkana’s sleepy historic core contains outsized architectural treasures for a city of its size – a 1,400-seat, 1920s performance hall, a long-standing regional arts center, stately federal and municipal buildings, and highly livable downtown neighborhoods. The design team’s proposal draws on the city’s legacy in the visual and performing arts as well as a burgeoning local food scene to organize scattered investment in the downtown.”
More information about the project is available on the city’s website at http://ci.texarkana.tx.us/134/Planning-Community-Development.
For a complete listing of projects recommended for Our Town grant support, please visit the NEA web site at arts.gov. Project descriptions, grants listed by state and by project type, and resources are available as well. The NEA’s online resource, Exploring Our Town, features case studies of more than 70 Our Town projects along with lessons learned and other resources.
