Artists and Conway residents gathered Jan. 21 for the announcement of the Central Arkansas Collective’s upcoming plans for its new gallery located in The Studio Downtown.

Collective President Faye Hedera said, “I’m thrilled that it’s happening and it’s coming together, and we have so much community support. It’s kind of humbling to think that in two years, we were able to start from the ground and build something that was a unified vision for the collective.”

For over a year the Central Arkansas Collective — a diverse group of professional artists — held exhibitions in a temporary location on 1120 Oak Street. With its new, permanent location in The Studio Downtown on 1100 Oak Street, the collective hopes to continue spreading its roots in the Conway community.

“First and foremost, it’s a testament to Conway’s willingness to see our artists,” Hedera said. “When we originally started the collective, some of the creatives were in a place of discouragement, as they felt like there wasn’t something for professional artists, and the gallery has given them an ability to see that the public appreciates what they do.”

The Central Arkansas Collective’s move was made possible through a $20,000 donation from the Adcock Family Foundation.

According to a press release, Hedera said, “Our artist collective is extremely grateful to Bunny and Carol Adcock and the foundation. Since 2014, they have contributed change-making grants to foster new programs and improve facilities. We are fortunate recipients and appreciate the opportunity to witness and facilitate both. Through the new ARC [Central Arkansas Collective] Gallery, we can responsibly provide ongoing exhibitions of excellent professional art, conduct arts programs, and host visiting artist presentations and workshops in collaboration with arts services from across the state such as the Arkansas Arts Council.”

Another big addition to the collective is its induction into the non-profit organization, the Blackbird Art Collective.

“It [the partnership] will allow anyone who wants to support what we’re doing to donate to a nonprofit organization, and it gives us the ability to create programming and get grants and funding for those things,” Hedera said. “So it’s going to be immensely helpful for us to continue to grow and then be able to serve Conway in a different way.”

Unlike the Oak Street location, The Studio Downtown will allow for the collective to have more freedom in its gallery.

“The plan is to build a first-class art gallery,” collective member James Volkert said.

With the new space, the collective can move and organize the exhibit panels in whatever formation it deems best, fitting in around 30 pieces of art at a time.

“All of these pieces in the middle, those T-shaped panels, are free-standing,” Volkert said. “They can be moved, but they’re not permanent. This wall along the back side is a set of individual panels.”

“We’ll change shows every six weeks or so, we’ll have first class, quality lighting, we’re going to grow the collective to be up to 15 [members] for now,” he said.

In addition to the added space, the gallery will also offer the collective smaller rooms to be used.

Volkert said, “There are other rooms where we could have artist talks or lectures or workshops or that sort of thing. We didn’t have that there [Oak Street].”

The new location will also allow the collective’s gallery to be open week-round.

“When we were in the smaller space down the block, we could only open as we artists could staff it because we all have stuff we’re doing,” Volkert said. “So it was only open three days a week, but this will be open all week. We’ll have staff here, not artists, but we’ll have staff here.”

The Studio Downtown will hold an unveiling celebration for donors March 6, with a public opening of the gallery March 7, coinciding with the First Friday Art Walk of 2025.

The first exhibition will feature art from current and upcoming Central Arkansas Collective members, as well as a fiber arts workshop with artist Lisa Thorpe.

Hedera said, “It feels like we’re on the cusp of a big boom in terms of the creative culture in Conway, and I know the art gallery is going to be a catalyst for bringing a lot more interest to supporting the creative community, even more than there is right now.”