KID smART breaks ground on Center for Arts & Education

Written By Alicia Vial

Center creates vibrant hub for arts education in the heart of historic Bayou Road neighborhood

NEW ORLEANS – During a special groundbreaking ceremony today, KID smART, a local nonprofit focused on arts integration, broke ground on the KID smART Center for Arts & Education. This new center, located at 2533 Columbus St. in the heart of the historic Bayou Road neighborhood, will empower the nonprofit to expand its programming, create jobs, and engage more members of the community—ensuring that every child in New Orleans has greater access to the arts. 

“The KID smART Center for Arts & Education marks a significant turning point for our organization,” said Elise Gallinot Goldman, executive director of KID smART. “For the last 26 years, KID smART has made an indelible mark on more than 80,000 students and educators by bringing the arts into core curricula, raising student achievement, improving student engagement, and creating joyful learning experiences. With this new center, we are going to be able to grow our annual impact by more than 250%, securing a hub for arts education for generations to come.” 

The KID smART Center for Arts & Education will feature multiple visual arts studios, a dance and movement studio, a podcasting studio, a performing arts studio, and training spaces. It will enhance current KID smART programming and enable the nonprofit to offer exciting new programming opportunities to the community. The new center is set to open in spring 2026. 

KID smART launched a comprehensive $5.5 million Creativity at the Center campaign in 2024, raising funds to support the purchase and renovation of the KID smART Center for Arts & Education, expanded programming efforts, strategic planning, and sustainability of the facility. The nonprofit has raised 25% of its campaign fundraising goal. 

For more information about the KID smART Center for Arts & Education and how to support KID smART’s fundraising goals, please visit www.kidsmart.org/capital-campaign.  

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About KID smART
Over the last two decades, KID smART has collaborated with more than 40 New Orleans public schools to blend the arts into academic lessons to make classrooms more effective and joyful places to learn. Through full-year artist residencies, students in KID smART Creative Schools prove to grow academically, artistically and emotionally. KID smART also partners with national thought leaders, including Harvard's Project Zero Classroom, to incorporate best practices in arts and education into its program model.

Alicia Vial

Alicia Vial is a New Orleans native with more than a decade of experience elevating client stories and leading crisis response. As the senior director of strategy, Alicia acts as a leader within the Gambel Communications team ensuring each agency team member is positioned to deliver strategic public relations services that meet the highest standards of the industry. In addition to supporting the agency’s long-term business growth and development, she coordinates day-to-day account services and oversees strategic direction while staying abreast of best practices and industry trends to provide innovative solutions to meet client’s needs.

Before joining Gambel Communications, Alicia served as the communications director for the Louisiana SPCA, the oldest and largest animal welfare organization in Louisiana that impacts more than 74,000 animals per year. During her nearly eight-year tenure, Alicia oversaw numerous crises, served on national communication taskforces, oversaw all aspects of internal and external relations and worked alongside the development department to raise critical funding. Prior to that, she worked in the fast-paced New Orleans hospitality industry focusing on digital public relations for multiple hotels.

Alicia is a member of the Public Relations Association of Louisiana (PRAL), Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF), a board member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) New Orleans Chapter and a member of the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute. An accredited public relations practitioner (APR), Alicia is also certified in crisis communications, organizational leadership, content marketing and social media.

A well respected and trusted public relations practitioner, Alicia has been recognized by SPRF as a ‘Senior Practitioner of the Year’. Dubbed early on in her career as one to watch, she also received the ‘Rising Star’ award by PRAL and was profiled in St. Charles Avenue Magazine as part of their Young Bloods series. Most recently, she was recognized at PRSA’s annual Fleurish Awards and received four Awards of Excellence for her work along with the ‘Plate Spinner’ award for her efforts on the board of directors for the chapter.

An LSU graduate, Alicia received a bachelor's degree in mass communications with a concentration in public relations and minors in business administration and leadership development. She is a frequent speaker and presenter on public relations topics, most recently presenting at the Jefferson Economic Development Commission and SPRF annual conference.

When Alicia is not at work, you can find her at the ballpark with her three boys or cheering on the Tigers in Death Valley.

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