From the Indian arts to the media arts and fashion design—check out these pretty unique NW Arkansas nonprofits.
Ra-Ve Cultural Foundation
Photo credit: Emily McArthur Photography
The Ra-Ve Cultural Foundation was established in April 2018 by a group of performing arts enthusiasts. Their mission is to bring Indian Performing Arts, with an emphasis on the classical genre, to the forefront in Northwest Arkansas. To do this, they envision a threefold approach to increasing the exposure and opportunities for performing artists in the community – education, inspiration and sustenance of Indian Performing Arts.
The year-round programming includes two sets of ‘community showcases’ a year featuring local dancers and musicians and a ‘master series’ of concerts featuring established artists from India.
Read more about RVCF HERE.
Connect with Ra-Ve Cultural Foundation HERE.
PIXEL™: A School for Media Arts
PIXEL™ is teaching children and adults how to become successful digital artists one pixel at a time. Their programs are designed to help people of all ages identify their passion, develop their skills, and set them on a path to having a successful career in the creative arts. From summer camps to high school digital art classes to post-secondary programming and training for design careers—PIXEL™ is a hub for innovators and creatives of all ages.
PIXEL’s instructors, advisors, directors, and leadership come from a wide variety of creative fields such as filmmaking, web and graphic design, jewelry design, programming, and animation. Combined, they have over 200 years of experience working for internationally-known companies and organizations including HBO, Walt Disney, and Sony. There is even an Academy Award winner among them.
Learn more HERE.
Connect with PIXEL HERE.
The Arkansas Arts & Fashion Forum
The Arkansas Arts and Fashion Forum was founded in 2017 to help creative producers in Arkansas find professional development resources, creative inspiration, and a community of support.
The mission of the Arkansas Arts and Fashion Forum is to provide educational opportunities and professional support for aspiring avant-garde fashion designers, artists, and other creative professionals. They specifically seek to serve those who are committed to building a vibrant and inspired creative fashion community in Arkansas.
To date, educational workshops provided by The Forum have touched on everything from runway modeling to makeup artistry to beginners sewing to product development and more. Many of these have taken place throughout Northwest Arkansas, engaging groups like the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese and Stitches (a Latinx youth artist collective) in Springdale. In addition to workshops, the Forum has hosted multiple student designer showcases during Northwest Arkansas Fashion Week and several panel discussions to deepen regional understanding of the art of fashion.
Read more about The Forum HERE.
RSVP to their upcoming Pop-Up Shop and Designer Panel HERE.
Connect with AAFF HERE.
Know of other nonprofits we could feature? Feel free to reach out and let us know at alicia@findingnwa.com.
