ART JAM hosted by KID smART celebrates 13 years

Written By Alicia Vial

Free family-friendly arts festival with activities, workshops and performances for all ages

‍NEW ORLEANS – KID smART is excited to host its 13th annual ART JAM on Saturday, Sept. 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Andre Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice (ACC) located at 2541 Bayou Road in New Orleans. This annual, free family-friendly arts festival is a community celebration of all things art, education and joy that features hands-on activities, live performances, arts-based workshops and more!

This year’s event is extra special as it will unfold alongside the Free People's Farmers Market in partnership with the ACC and the neighboring Waldorf School of New Orleans.

“ART JAM is the perfect way to wrap up National Arts in Education Week,” said Elise Gallinot Goldman, Executive Director of KID smART. “This annual family event highlights the incredible work of our community partners and celebrates the creativity, connection and joy that the arts bring to all of us as a community. We are deeply grateful to our families and partners for helping us celebrate the vital role the arts play in education.”

ART JAM activities will be led by KID smART teaching artists as well as Art Camp 504, NOLA Artist Incubators, Whole Village Art Therapy, New Orleans Public Library, Glass Roots, Pixie Dust, Cupcake Fairies, Community Book Center, Twinimation and more. Children will have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in activities that range from movement to dried flower arrangement, a collaboration public art project and more! Each activity highlights the ways in which arts-based instruction can advance academic learning—a hallmark of KID smART’s organizational mission.

In addition, this event will feature live entertainment by T-Ray the Violinist, Dancing Grounds youth performers, Waldorf School student performances, behR Connect performance, Mudlark Puppeteers, Young Starz, One Mind Brass Band and a read aloud workshop. For more information about ART JAM, visit https://www.kidsmart.org/art-jam.

The Free People's Farmers Market, held on select Saturdays throughout the year, runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rooted in a long tradition of self-determination and mutual care, the Market carries forward the legacy of Black and Indigenous people who built systems to feed, sustain and support one another along Bayou Road, the oldest thoroughfare in New Orleans. Presented in partnership with Recirculating Farms and Cupcake Fairies, it brings heritage food vendors, live cooking demonstrations, music and art to the ACC plaza. The Sanctuary Bar inside the ACC will serve refreshments throughout the day. More information about the Free People's Farmers Market is available at accneworleans.com/free-people.

Together, the day makes one continuous activation on Bayou Road, where a family can move from an art project to a heritage food vendor without leaving the block. Arts education, food justice and cultural preservation share one corner during Arts Education Week.

"We are grateful to activate this partnership with KID smART alongside the Waldorf School,” said Nathalie Thomas, Strategic Operations Architect at the André Cailloux Center. “Bayou Road has always been a place where people make the conditions for one another to thrive, whether that is a bag of produce, necessary school supplies, or a child's first puppet show. This is our community, a corridor deciding to raise its children together.”

Founded in 1999, KID smART has served more than 80,000 students and 11,000 teachers, providing underserved students with the opportunity to experience dynamic, creative and relevant learning through the arts.

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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.

About the André Cailloux Center

The André Cailloux Center (ACC) for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice is a 501(c)(3) Black-led performing arts institution dedicated to advancing performing arts, cultural preservation, and community-rooted storytelling in New Orleans. Learn more at ACCNewOrleans.com.

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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