Fort Smith Regional Chamber Of Commerce: The Governor And First Lady Are Coming To Fort Smith To Celebrate The CSA Center

Fort Smith AR

30 April, 2022

12:23 PM

Description

Press release from the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce: April 28, 2022 Community School of the Arts is pleased to host the Honorable Governor Asa Hutchinson and First Lady Susan Hutchinson on Tuesday May 10 at 11am on the site of the future Center for the Creative Arts located at 1101 Riverfront Drive. The event is open to the public and is a celebration of what the new Center will represent for Fort Smith and the region, and the impact the center will have on students in arts education. The 11am Ceremony will include remarks by Mayor George McGill as well as Governor Hutchinson with a performance of the National Anthem by CSA student Carolyn Young and a special thank-you to our Governor by CSA Instructor Cody Walls for his support of arts education. The Governor and First Lady are coming to celebrate with our community the milestone reached by CSA in raising $7.5 million over the past 3 years, and to encourage everyone to continue to support the project to its completion and beyond. The Governor is speaking on the transformative nature of the Center and its economic and cultural impact. The First of its kind in Arkansas, the facility and its programs serve as a model for Arkansas and beyond. First Lady, Susan Hutchinson is serving as an Honorary Co-Chair to the CSA Inspiring Excellence Campaign, along with Co-Chairs Mary Carleton Young and Kathy Coleman. Susan is a strong advocate for arts education and knows the kind of impact it has on children and youth. CSA is honoring the First Lady by naming the current after-school programs the Susan Hutchinson Community Arts Connection. Construction has begun on site for the Center with a completion date set for August 2023. The celebration will take place directly in front of what will be the main entrance to the facility once constructed. Parking is available on site. The Center is a 40,000 square foot facility that includes educational spaces for six major arts areas; music, theatre, dance, visual art, film, and culinary. Specialized spaces are also included in the new Center such as a state-of-the-art recording studio, a 350-seat performance hall, restaurant style kitchens, and high-tech digital art spaces. Current after-school programs for children and youth will be housed in the new facility and expanded to include additional arts offerings. The facility will also house the new Institute for the Creative Arts, a special program for high school students in grades 9-12 who live within a 60-mile radius of Fort Smith. In cooperation with potentially 39 school districts, students will participate daily in a specific arts program and receive high school credits yearly at their school. Through the after-school programs and the new Institute, CSA is a leading service provider to countless students across the area, and one of the top partnering organizations in the community. Quote: Dr. Rosilee Russell, CSA Executive Director We are so excited to be hosting our Governor and First Lady for this very special event! We're grateful for their tremendous support of CSA and the new Center, as well as their support of the importance of arts education in Arkansas. They truly understand how participation in the arts transforms lives! I hope to see our community come out to our May 10 Celebration. For questions about this event, or to find out more about CSA programs, contact CSA at 479-434-2020 or email [email protected]. Visit the website at csafortsmith.org. This press release was produced by the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author's own.