If you’re even on the periphery of the Northwest Arkansas visual arts scene, you’re bound to have come in contact with the beaming face of Art Ventures Executive Director Lakeisha Edwards. The gregarious Edwards took over the well-established arts organization this time last year, and has spent the last 365 (or so) days becoming a known fixture on the arts circuit, forging new relationships in order to give her organization’s artists ample opportunity to display their work. One of those relationships is with TheatreSquared. Starting with “The Mountaintop” this past January, Edwards and Art Ventures have spent countless hours curating art exhibits to display in the Commons Bar/Café that perfectly complement the current production at T2.

“It’s been so easy—TheatreSquared has been an amazing partner,” says Edwards. “They've worked with our schedules for installation, they offer their own hands to help install. Everyone involved has been extremely helpful and just great. We also really enjoy people coming into our space, asking when the next T2 production is. We know that people are connecting the two—they're coming to Art Ventures, talking about TheatreSquared, and then coming into TheatreSquared, talking about Art Ventures. So I think it's a good collaboration and beneficial on both sides.”

“Miss You Like Hell” marks the fourth collaboration between the two organizations and Edwards says that this one, in particular, was an easy match for her to make: Lourdes Valverde and her daughter, Andrea Carillio are artists represented by the organization, both LatinX, just like the mother-daughter duo at the forefront of “Miss You Like Hell”.

“When this came up, I read the description and thought, perfect!” she says.” And three out of the four pieces that Lourdes is displaying are brand new—literally, you could smell the paint when she brought them in. They've never been showcased anywhere other than TheatreSquared.”

The work of Valverde and Carillio is wide-ranging, says Edwards, giving viewers a deeper understanding of Mexican culture.

“Lourdes painted a plant that they use for tequila, a bird that is native to Mexico, and a small child that is dressed culturally,” she says. “We have art that actually represents the culture, the people, and things that make Mexico so unique. The portraits that Andrea did—that's her real family. That's her father, her mother, there's a picture of a cousin. So this was very personal, because we felt like it needed to be personal—as the production was very personal. It touched on some really delicate issues in regards to relationships. It gives insight on why passing down culture and wanting to teach the next generation about the culture is so important.”

Edwards says getting Art Ventures’ artists’ work in buildings throughout Northwest Arkansas is a big part of the organization’s mission.

“Our pillars are artist representation, arts education and community collaboration,” she explains. “And we do that through extensions of the gallery. We give our artists more representation if we put them in different spaces where they have access to different audiences. We do arts education—for example, we did a class for homeschooled students at the library. We want to share these spaces, really bring people in to see what art includes—because art is everywhere, art is everything. We want to make sure that that's highlighted, and that people don't forget about local artists just because they're not specifically in the gallery at the moment.”

Viewing of the Art Ventures exhibit at the Commons Bar/Café is free; seeing the art in conjunction with the show is ideal. To purchase tickets to “Miss You Like Hell”, visit theatre2.org or call the box office at 479-777-7477.

Art Ventures/TheatreSquared collaboration offers artists more opportunities to shine