Texarkana Entertainment Blog

at Spring Lake Park. Robots below were found today at the park; I took a few pics this afternoon. It’s a public art installation from the TRAHCies folks (who did the “Book City” project and the art memorial to Albert Pike victims). Go make friends with these robots; they won’t harm you.

Edited Sunday a.m. to add: Looks like the robots are coming down today, so go see them while you can! Here’s an explanation of the project at the TRAHCies Tumblr site: When Robots Invade.

- Aaron Brand

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The TRAHCies folks set up a public art memorial this fine Saturday morning. Area residents created artwork in response to the Albert Pike flood that tragically claimed the lives of 20 people earlier this year. The memorial honors the memories of those lost and sits across the street from the Perot Theatre in downtown Texarkana right on Main Street. (It’s next to the Arts on Main building.) I got a chance to zip downtown and take a few snapshots, which I’m posting below. Thoughtful work submitted, full of heart. Go check it out.

- Aaron Brand

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The Albert Pike flood disaster two weeks ago in Southwest Arkansas hit the Texarkana area hard. Several of the 20 victims lived here in the area and many folks here knew someone affected in some way by this senseless tragedy. As well, local residents could very easily picture themselves on the river because Albert Pike is a popular destination. In many ways, this event was traumatic for Texarkana, but people find many ways to heal. One of them is through self-expression, communicating and reaching out to others at a time of great sorrow.

A new TRAHCies project invites people to express themselves in memory of the Albert Pike flood victims. Using an 8.5 x 11 inch piece of paper, people can create an image, letter, poem, message, or scripture—something of their choice—to honor the flood victims. The TRAHCies, a TRAHC-affiliated group that works on public art projects, will collect the messages and then display them in downtown storefront windows to create a temporary public memorial. When TRAHCies take the pieces down, they’ll give them to flood victims’ families if they want to have them.

Submissions will be accepted until Friday, July 23, at either the Perot Theatre box office, which is located at 221 Main St. in Texarkana, or the Regional Arts Center, 321 W. 4th St. If you’d like to send a digital image, e-mail it to tpitman@trahc.org. More info: call Traci Pitman at 903-792-8681, ext. 204.

- Aaron Brand

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Unveiled today is a new public art project from the TRAHCies, a group of TRAHC-affiliated arts lovers and arts promoters who’d like us to see art active in our everyday lives. That’s a pretty awesome purpose, if you ask me, and they’ve been hard at work for months now on a project now called Book City. What’s Book City, you wonder? It’s something of a landscape (or cityscape, rather) assemblage of book-based structures in the storefront of an unoccupied building in downtown Texarkana. Book City (presented in conjunction with Main Street Texarkana) resides at 120 W. Broad Steet across from the Bi-State. Look for the word “Mayfair” (and a big old letter “M”) in the entryway and, behind the storefront windows, donated books stacked on top of each other to resemble skyscrapers and intriguing architectural oddities. There are little cutout people there too, and looking down the alleys you’ll find surprises. Godzilla makes an appearance. Pages are opened to interesting places. Read them and check out the pictures. You can see the progress catalogued through photos here: TRAHCies Talk. But the best thing to do is get yourself downtown and see it in person. Edited to add: See the Accent page soon for photo coverage and a full story.

- Aaron Brand

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TRAHCies are hard at work creating an art project for the downtown cityscape. Who are the TRAHCies? A group of folks bringing art right to the community through the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council. According to their Blog, they would like to “show people that art is not restricted to a gallery setting — it can live where you least expect it.” They recently put out a call for books, received a hearty response, and are incorporating those discarded tomes into a sculpture project at a downtown building. You can even check out their progress on the Net. They’re updating at the TRAHCies Tumblr page: TRAHCies Talk. Check it out. Art is alive in Texarkana.

- Aaron Brand

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Got a pile of books sitting around just taking up space? Old textbooks collecting dust? Technical manuals with outdated technology? Encyclopedias buried in a closet?

TRAHC can use them — specifically, the TRAHCies, a group of folks who like to promote art in the community. They’re collecting the books to make temporary public art that will be situated somewhere in downtown Texarkana. Those books that are intact after the art is dismantled will be donated to the local library book sale. Some of the books will be altered in order to make the art. They’ll take any books you have but hardbacks would be super cool to donate. They need a lot of books, so you’re welcome to donate a lot of them!

Where can you bring them? Bring them to Traci Pitman at the Perot Theatre Box Office at 221 Main Street, the corner of 3rd and Main in downtown Texarkana. The hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Donations will be accepted through Friday, Jan. 22. Got questions or need to donate books at a different time? Call Pitman at 903-792-8681. Or e-mail her at tpitman@trahc.org.

- Aaron Brand

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