Several Art organizations around Arkansas have designed a new art tool to help students collaborate on projects. The Walton Arts Center and Creative Arkansas Community Hub and Exchange recently designed the new art tool Northwest Arkansas Artlook. This tool allows students to see programs that are offered in and across other schools, gives a plethora of different outside art organizations, while also having a listing of contacts of individuals who could help in the art process. This program was focused around students who use the K-12 program that needed to communicate and collaborate better.

I feel like this is an amazing development to art and communication in Arkansas. Arkansas has been needing better art programs and better communication across programs like K-12, as it feels like none of the schools around here have anything more to offer than just a single art class. I never really got to properly learn how to make anything beyond basic drawings, and I want people around here to learn how to properly express themselves through art. 

Some people might say that art isn’t important, and I have to strongly disagree. I wholeheartedly believe that art is just as, if not more important than something like language. Art is a part of everyday life, and I feel that no one really notices that. “Art can promote a sense of community when it represents the history of a group of people,” said Jennifer Merriott, “Art evokes emotion, and can spur further creativity.” We see art everywhere, and everyone has at least some sort of art style that they draw in without even realizing it. In most cases art is even as important as math or science, and there is math and science behind art. 

In any case, art is something that we cannot live a fulfilling life without. So this program trying to get more people interested in art is very important. I believe that even more schools should make tools and programs dedicated to the creation of art and music. I hope that, in the future, art will be a more focused point of learning.