TRAHC & Regional Arts Center

TRAHC is a people-building and community-building organization - a leadership organization of arts and ideas that works to create an energized, creative, connected community.

Formed in 1978 by community leaders with generous assistance from the Junior League of Texarkana, TRAHC's goals were to protect, develop, take advantage of, and provide all citizens with access to our own cultural resources. As we have progressed, the "arts" have also proven to be a wise economic investment as well as a tourism stimulus. TRAHC is both a presenter and a preserver of historical legacies for the Perot Theatre and the Regional Arts Center.

Performances!

• Perot Theatre Series in the beautiful Historic Perot Theatre, is now in its 30th year of presenting world-class national and international touring shows.
• TRAHC's Theatre for Young Audiences in the Perot Theatre brings professional children's theatre to thousands of area school children each year.

Inspiration!

• Gallery Exhibits in the historic Regional Arts Center showcases national and regional touring exhibits plus local visual artists 12 months a year.
• WRITE on Art! allows students and adults to express their thoughts based on a piece of artwork in the galleries.
• ARTSclasses for all ages at TRAHC's Arts on Main annex grow people and community through the arts!

Education!

The ArtsSmart Institute for Learning is a year-round program of professional development and research utilizing Teacher Workshops, Artists-in-Residence and other Arts Education Resources to assist all classroom educators in being more effective at and willing to use the arts to reach their curricular objectives. ArtsSmart serves over seventy-five campuses from over forty school districts (in excess of 40,000 individuals per year). As part of the process, more than 30 professionals in varying arts disciplines are brought in each year to both train teachers and model best practices in the classroom.

The Kennedy Center Partnership TRAHC and all four Texarkana school districts (Texarkana Independent School District, Pleasant Grove Independent School District, Liberty-Eylau Independent School District, and Texarkana AR School District) are now members of the elite Partners in Education program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Selected because of their demonstrated commitment to the improvement of education in and through the arts, the Partnership Team participates in collaborative efforts to provide professional development opportunities in the arts for educators. Texarkana was one of only 14 new teams from across the U.S. selected this year and is the FIRST to have multiple districts represented. Developed in 1991, only 300 teams in the nation are in this prestigeous program.

ArtsSmart Consultants are reaching national and regional audiences by presenting the ArtsSmart Model of Excellence at conferences, conventions, and training workshops. School districts in other states are now integrating this model under the direction of TRAHC consultants in theatre, visual arts, and music.

TRAHC's ArtsSmart Model was presented to a joint session of the Texas Legislature in the fall of 2009, and TRAHC consultants are now adjunct professors for A&M Texarkana's new arts program with classes taught at the Regional Arts Center.

Education Programs are available to the general public, many at no charge. In cooperation with ArtsSmart, TRAHC provides special educational workshops to coordinate with the Perot Series presentations, designs and conducts training for Docents, offers tours of the Historic Perot Theatre and Regional Arts Center Exhibits, and develops learning experiences for all ages through Occasional Thursdays and Arts on Main.

A BEST PRACTICES FORUM on achieving Educational Excellence Through the Arts is attended annually by hundreds of educators from Memphis to Fayetteville, Oklahoma City to Denton, and all points in between! With a different nationally-known facilitator each year, educators, administrators, parents, and the public have access to the latest learning modules and best practices from around the country.

Reaching Out!

Community Outreach Initiatives offer lifelong learning opportunities for all ages through a number of different avenues: arts-based classes at the Arts on Main annex, Occasional Thursdays, master classes, workshops and seminars, pre-and post-performance lectures, TRAHCkids, TRAHCies (Young Professionals), Women for the Arts, TRAHC's African-American Advisory Committee, and TRAHC's Latino Outreach Committee. The Performing Arts Committee and the Visual Arts Committee provide additional opportunities for public input.

Encouraging Local Visual and Performing Artists is part of TRAHC's mission, as well as supporting other cultural and arts organizations. Various classes provide opportunities for artists to share their expertise and love of arts; regional juried shows offer area artists a competitive opportunity for exhibiting their work; and the Hall Galleries offer a showcase to individual artists in a professional setting. Additionally, workshops are regularly held for Life Drawing and Kindermusik, and performing artists have the chance to display their talents several times during each year.

Professional Leadership by TRAHC enhances community understanding and use of the arts to purposefully build an energized community full of engaged, creative citizens! Staff expertise is regularly sought by individuals and groups around the region and the country.

Press and Global Attention comes through contacts with 143 media outlets including magazines, newspapers, television and radio, plus multiple websites, chambers of commerce, state travel divisions, and more. TRAHC programs and events are regularly highlighted by such diverse mediums as a tour manual in Canada and the Tourism Division of the Associated Press in the United Kingdom.

TRAHC is a facilitator, an instigator, a mediator, and an integral part of the Texarkana regional community. TRAHC provides models of excellence not only for local and area associations but also for national forums. TRAHC provides outlets for artistic expression and continues to focus on building foundations for our own "creative economy".

And after 33 years, TRAHC is still "...growing people and community through the arts."

WE EDUCATE. WE ENTERTAIN. WE INSPIRE!

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