Arts Center event lets children, parents doll up for Valentine’s Day
Early Saturday afternoon about a dozen kids and their parents gathered at the Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas to piece together a Valentine’s Day Doll Art Portfolio.
The Second Saturday Family Fun Day activity included hearts, stickers, string and other arts and crafts supplies that participants used to design individual, custom-made doll portfolios.
The day’s project was based on the work of Pine Bluff native and multimedia artist Kimiara Johnson.
While masked and socially-distanced youngsters were busy working, Johnson talked them through the process.
In addition to the usual in-person Fun Day activity, ASC staff live-streamed the art-along lesson through Facebook.
While in the past, most ASC Fun Day activities were in-person only, the onset of the covid-19 pandemic changed business-as-usual to include virtual models.
“We transitioned to both in-person and virtual programming for Second Saturday Family Fun Day,” Rahmaan said.
The 12:30 p.m. time slot was full, but the total number of students were limited because of covid guidelines.
This Fun Day event was sponsored by The Pine Bluff Area Community Foundation, an affiliate office of the
Arkansas Community Foundation Inc. and the Take & Makes kits needed to complete the activity at home were provided to the public at no charge.
After one young man proudly showed off his portfolio to the at-home audience and waved, Johnson said to her at-home audience, “Thank you for joining us.”
The video will remain on ASC Facebook for future viewing at www.asc701.org.
Forget the conventional Barbie babe
Shakeelah Rahmaan, ASC Public Programs coordinator said about the artists they invited to lead the FunDay activities, “We always like to invite artists who exhibit work in our exhibits… Kimiara Johnson is such an artist.”
This gives the staff and the young participants the opportunity to learn from her.
“Johnson’s love of fashion is reflected in her pieces. Much of her recent work has been in painting and crafting one-of-a-kind, artistic Barbie dolls,” Rahmaan said.
A decade ago, Johnson was injured in an accident and left immobile and unable to walk. She withdrew from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Over the next few years, she practiced her art, relearned to walk and graduated with a degree in Human Development and Families Studies in 2013.
In November 2020, Johnson participated in the “Barbie: Reclaimed & Reinvented” exhibit, held at the Sonoma Community Center in Sonoma, Calif.
She created three Barbie dolls for the show, including “Tropical Treasure Barbie,” “Jewel Barbie,” which included a wheelchair and a ramp, and “Mosaic Rose Barbie,” with a prosthetic leg.
Her painting, “Nola Reception Couture Gown,” earned a spot in the Arkansas Art Council’s 2020 Small Works on Paper and is now part of ASC’s permanent collection.
Her piece, “Ruby’s Reprise,” will be on view in ASC’s ARTSpace on Main this summer.
The next Second Saturday Family FunDay, Comic Book Mania, is Saturday, March 16 from 1 until 3 p.m.
The Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas is located at 701 S. Main St. in Pine Bluff, and is open Tuesday through Fridays from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
All visitors 2 years and older are required to wear a mask, fully covering the nose and mouth.
The number of visitors is limited to 10, and people are welcome to reserve a time slot in advance by contacting Matthew Howard, Visitor Relations Coordinator, at (870) 536-3375 or email mhoward@asc701.org.