UA Little Rock School of Art and Design

Three spots left!
Email [email protected] to register!

Tomorrow!!!
Join us in WCAD 101 at 12:30p to hear what some of our Art & Design faculty members have been researching this past year.

Deitra Blackwell: Forging a New Leaf exhibition reception. A fun gathering of family, friends and a quartet from the Arkansas Symphany Orchestra (A*O). The exhibition in the North and South Galleries runs to July 2. Among the attendees were: son Andy Blackwell, School of Art and Design (SoAD) BFA Furniture Design 2017; daughter Amy Bennett, SoAD BA Ceramics 2007; and Amy's husband Trevor SoAD BFA Ceramics 2009. .creations

Art & Design students are showing off their creative exploration today at the 2026 UA Little Rock Research and Creative Works Expo.

Are you a current or incoming student looking for extra financial assistance? Our assistantship program puts extra money in your pocket, while you gain career skills through your involvement in the School of Art and Design operations.

Get your Fall 2026 application in by May 1st!
APPLY HERE >>>>> https://ualr.edu/art/undergraduate-assistantship-app/

You must be sponsored by a faculty member. (Faculty sponsors listed at the link.)

Please reach out with questions.
[email protected]

Pictured: Gallery Assistant, Kat Kearns with Gallery Director, Brian Young

Packing up a recently completed exhibition.

Painting Fundamentals II student Jae Jae Langley, working on a uniquely shaped support for the final course project. This support was made with Aqua-Resin, in a workshop conducted by our current artist-in-residence Mark Joshua Epstein.

Aggregate: BFA Projects
Brad Cushman Gallery & Maners Pappas Gallery
Windgate Center of Art + Design
April 30 - May 17, 2026
Reception: April 30, 2026, 5-7pm

Production and Connection: A Dinner Set, is an exploration of function and connection through the creation of production based, wheel-thrown pottery. To me pottery offers a bridge for connection, either through connection of the user to myself as the maker, or through connection to loved ones a piece of pottery might be shared with. For this project, I have created a thirty-three piece dinner set with my own custom formulated glaze series. The pottery I make is a reflection of my personal interests and experiences. I make vessels for me and in turn decorate them in a style I resonate with, often using bright colors and nature-inspired illustrations. Green and purple are the colors of my favorite flower, the iris. My grandma has planted hundreds of the iconic purple irises all over my grandparents property, and I associate them with her. These glazes resonate with me not only by being my personal favorite colors, but also through my association with the nostalgic green and purple combination.

I create pottery because it fulfills my soul in a way that no other art form does. I love making functional art as it feels like the pottery I create has a deeper purpose, and the feeling I get when I’m able to drink from a cup I created in its entirety is unexplainable. The need to make vessels out of clay exists in every single culture across the world: it’s human nature. Pottery is not just about form and function, it encapsulates survival and growth of a society. As a potter, I aim to create a vessel not only I feel a deep appreciation for, but a vessel I hope others can find connection in as well. Pottery as a form of self expression and as a necessity has always existed within humanity. To me it is an aspect of human nature, a natural inclination found within every culture that I have happily and eagerly thrown myself into.

Students had an amazing time this weekend at Michael LaBlanc's Low Relief Metal Casting Workshop as a part of our artWORKS Program.

Our artWORKS workshops are free and open to the public. Stay tuned here or check out our website to stay in the loop! If you'd like to be added to the artWORKS email list, reach out to [email protected]

BFA Talks are underway! 1 down and 3 to go. Spread the word and come support these über talented students. Dates are on the graphic! Questions? Contact the UA Little Rock School of Art and Design today.