The Shreveport Regional Arts Council was founded in 1976 for the purpose of producing, presenting, promoting and educating the community about all of the Arts disciplines in a manner that targets under-served populations in Shreveport and Northwest Louisiana. The Shreveport Regional Arts Council believes that engagement in the Arts is a necessary experience for all humans and therefore seeks to develop high quality Arts programs and events for all people, and targeting those who, ordinarily, would not have the means to access the experience. Shreveport Regional Arts Council accomplishes this mission through direct services to constituents through relationships with Social Service Organizations and also by providing grants to other nonprofit Arts organizations who provide access to high quality Arts programming to under-served populations. The Shreveport Regional Arts Council works through contracts with the National Endowment for the Arts, Louisiana Division of the Arts, and City of Shreveport to award grants with a staff member – Community Development Director -that oversees these grants to 65 area arts organizations. Shreveport Regional Arts Council’s programming staff is responsible to identify innovative outreach efforts and targeted audiences for all programs.
Shreveport Regional Arts Council also takes it action steps from the ARTS CONGRESS a quarterly convening of all artists and arts organizations in the area with an over-arching goal of achieving regional unity among the diverse Arts groups/artists. The ARTS CONGRESS is convened by the Community Foundation of North Louisiana and has developed a “Bill of Rights” that encourages greater Visibility, Access, Equity, Education, and Collaboration among the Arts and other institutions.
The development of SHREVEPORT COMMON – an area envisioned by Artists, Arts Organizations and Historic Preservationists, and developed to become a Cultural Community created on principles of Authenticity, Sustainability, Creativity, and Community – is surrounded on all sides by Social Service Organizations that provide programs for the homeless, those in family crisis, and those that are HIV / Aids Positive. At the center of SHREVEPORT COMMON is the new home for the Shreveport Regional Arts Council and the Arts Community, the soon to be renovated and historically restored, Central Fire Station to become the Central ARTSTATION. The Shreveport Regional Arts Council has assembled a Design Team and Advisory Committee, appointed by Mayor Cedric Glover, to address the development of this “uncommon” niche area in a manner that embraces the services and clients of these organizations, while attracting new residents and visitors to the area.