ART JAM hosted by KID smART celebrates 11 years

Written By Alicia Vial

NEW ORLEANS – KID smART is excited to host its 11th annual ART JAM on Saturday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside of the Andre Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice located at 2541 Bayou Road in New Orleans. This annual free family-friendly arts festival, presented by Ochsner and The Sunstone Project, is a community celebration of all things art, education and joy that features hands-on activities, live performances, arts-based workshops and more!

“This annual family event showcases the amazing work happening in our schools, and focuses on the creativity, connection and joy that the arts bring to all of us as a community,” said Elise Gallinot Goldman, executive director of KID smART. “We extend our deepest gratitude to our families, partners and Bayou Road neighbors for helping us celebrate the importance of the arts in education.”

ART JAM activities will be led by KID smART teaching artists as well as NOLA Artist Incubator, ArtCamp 504, NOLA Nature School, Community Book Shop, MESS Arts, Cupcake Fairies, Broadmoor Improvement and Le Petite Theatre. Children will have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in workshops that range in topics from gardening, mask making and even creating one-of-a-kind clay creations. Thanks to The Sunstone Project, KID smART will be giving away books to event attendees. 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, sparkle station with Pixie Dust, poetry reading by Renard Boissiere and book reading of “Who Let The Brave Out?” by author Loreal Ivory. Attendees are encouraged to support Bayou Road favorites like Pagoda, Leo’s and Coco-Hut with food and beverage purchases during the event.

For more information about ART JAM and to RSVP to the event, visit https://www.kidsmart.org/art-jam

Founded in 1999, KID smART provides public school students with greater access to arts-rich education. In its 25-year history, KID smART has served more than 63,000 students and 11,000 teachers in schools throughout New Orleans. With the belief that the power of the arts should be available to all New Orleans children, KID smART works within public schools to reach underserved children with the most to gain from an arts-rich, social-emotional education. 

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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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