About Art Ventures

Art Ventures is a non-profit charitable and educational organization dedicated to providing access to Art for Everyone.

Art for Everyone improves quality of life.

We envision inclusive communities characterized by mutual understanding and respect and communication across cultures through art.

Art Ventures promotes the visual arts in Northwest Arkansas by actively collaborating with the community, supporting artists working to the highest standards, encouraging education and public engagement in the arts, and providing accessibility to under-represented communities.

Quality of life is greatly improved through exposure to art.

The universal language of art facilitates learning and cross-cultural communication.

Individuals and communities participate in creative learning practices when they can identify culturally.

Opportunities for cultural micro-communities to share their stories serve to enrich our entire population, send a direct message of inclusiveness, and encourage education and public engagement across diverse communities.

Developing young artists adds value to the community.

Supporting and educating artists and providing exposure for their work allows them to work to the highest standards.

Art Ventures has been a part of the NWA community since 2009 when it opened in the basement of 1 East Center Street on the Fayetteville Square as Fayetteville Underground. We moved to 101 W. Mountain on the southwest corner of the Square in 2012 and qualified for our 501c3 non-profit status in late 2014, which has allowed us to apply for key funding support from foundations and agencies. From 2012 until 2014 the organization was supported by the Fayetteville A & P Commission. Since 2014 we have been supported by the Windgate Charitable Foundation, the Walmart Foundation, Arkansas Arts Council, Arkansas Community Foundation, and individual donations. The sale of artworks by artists who live the mission also brings in supporting revenue.

Our Exhibitions and Gallery programming are free to the public, which allows everyone to participate in the gallery experience as we live our values and achieve our mission.

Art Education

Art Ventures takes a defining step to introduce the exhibition phase and socially conscious aspects of art creation to youth and young children. Our inaugural children’s exhibition premiered in November 2017, in support of hurricane relief in the United States and its territories.

Art Business Practice

We engage students in the curatorial process from concept to reality. University students get practical work experience in the arts, including accounting and other disciplines related to successful business practice. Artists can learn concepts to develop reality-based and tested business practices. We introduce investors to artists who represent a significant possible return on investment through art purchases.

Fine Art Galleries

We provide a venue for high-quality and innovative art. Until Art Ventures set the stage in 2009 as Fayetteville Underground, most artists would vie for places on the walls of coffee shops and farmers’ market stands in Northwest Arkansas. These opportunities still exist and provide much-needed exposure, but we provide artists a dedicated and reliable space to exhibit their work and for the community to gather around Art for Everyone.

Serving Micro-Communities

We focus on representing artists from diverse backgrounds and art that tells the story of diverse cultural experiences. In 2017, we presented shows based on the contemporary Native American experience, women in art, exposing the face of racial hatred, and more. We collaborate with the NWA LGBTQ+ community, we have raised money for cystic fibrosis, and we are working on an exciting educational initiative for local Marshallese children.

Arts Incubator & Collaborator

Art Ventures identifies promising artists to help them advance their arts education and practice through workshops, artist talks, mentoring, and direct contemporary educational written and oral materials, and time. Our work with potential artist exhibitors has positively affected the strength of their own understanding about why they do what they do, their ability to discuss the focus of their work, and their ability to build an exhibition that is deliberate and profound.

Land acknowledgement

Art Ventures acknowledges and pays respect to the Osage, Caddo, and Quapaw peoples and to their elders past, present and future, offering deep gratitude for their ancestral stewardship of the land dating from time immemorial and upon which we now live. It is within the responsibility of Art Ventures’ educational mission and our commitment to diversity and inclusion that we disseminate knowledge about Native peoples and our history with them. Art Ventures works to build authentic and lasting relationships with Native American communities through our programs, art exhibitions, partnerships, community service and cultural education efforts.

Legacy of slavery acknowledgement

Art Ventures acknowledges that we all live in a house that slavery built, perhaps not literally in every case, but generally true for this nation in which we live. We accept responsibility of this national debt that we owe to enslaved peoples and their descendants for over four hundred years including especially all those that contributed to the economies of Northwest Arkansas. Art Ventures works to build authentic and lasting relationships with descendants of enslaved people and all African-Americans through our programs, art exhibitions, partnerships, community service and cultural education efforts.

Legacy of nuclear bomb testing acknowledgement

Art Ventures acknowledges the deliberate exposure of inhabitants of the Marshall Islands to nuclear fallout. Many of these peoples and their descendants have chosen to live in Northwest Arkansas and have made significant contributions to the economy of NWA. We welcome them and extend our acknowledgement and respect. It is within the responsibility of Art Ventures’ educational mission and our commitment to diversity and inclusion that we disseminate knowledge about Marshallese Island peoples and our history with them. Art Ventures works to build authentic and lasting relationships with Marshallese communities through our programs, art exhibitions, partnerships, community service and cultural education efforts.

Our all-volunteer board...

Sharon is a passionate advocate for discovering cultural connections through the universal language of art. This passion was alive in her throughout her youth and was spent initially to connect her to her own life as one of six siblings in Kingston, Jamaica, and then in Harlem, New York City.

One of the most significant moments in Sharon's life was being shown a letter from the Metropolitan Museum of Art asking her art teacher to recommend students who might be interested in life drawing classes, and her saying she thought that student would be Sharon. This was the real beginning of her life of freedom and independence. Art in all its challenge brought her to new worlds every day after that, both figuratively and literally.

In her work life and as a volunteer she strives to be that person who gets the chance to give a child, a youth, and also adults, the opportunity to be elevated and equalized through art. As president of the board of Art Ventures, Sharon gets to make a similar life-changing impact through art, helping to move the needle toward improving quality of life and cultural understanding through art.

Karolyn Farrell has enjoyed painting, drawing and winning awards since an early age. She was able to study and visit art museums often. Although she had scholarships offered to prestigious art schools, she combined art, science and education into her undergraduate degree (MO) then completed a Master’s and Educational Specialist (AR) degree with Creativity in the older adult emphasis. Additional certification was completed in ESL, grant writing, and others. She has successfully taught (art and sciences) and served as an administrator in public and higher education, in DC area, KC area, and AR. She retired as Director of Fayetteville Schools Adult and Community Education and workforce development programs.

She is a signature member of National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society (juried shows and award of excellence) and Artists of NW AR (juried). Selected honors include awards in Illinois River Salon shows, Sager Creek Regional Shows, Arts in Ed shows (Little Rock), AAUW Invitational in KC., NOAPS show at Cape Cod, NOAPS show in Castle Gallery, Ft Wayne and NOAPS show at Bolivar, MO. Her art is in private, corporate, and medical offices throughout the USA and some in Asia. Clients have burst into tears of joy when viewing her commissioned work which they state has brought them moments of serenity and joy!

Whitney Throop, made her way to (NWA) in 2007 where she would establish herself and her family as individuals driven by compassion and dedication.

Her journey service began at an early age, as she started volunteering for causes that were close to her heart at just 13 years old. The leaders and role models she met at her first station for the Lupus Foundation of Arkansas instilled a profound understanding of the power of collective action and the impact that individuals can have on the lives of others. Her deep sense of empathy and desire to make a difference drove her to contribute her time and efforts to several charitable organizations such as Susan G. Komen and the American Red Cross and community projects through Fayetteville Youth Baseball and various Fayetteville Public School PTO boards.

During her youth, she found fulfillment in theater and sprung an interest in combining the arts with community enhancement. This curiously later allowed her to coach several Odyssey of the Mind teams for FPS, bringing STEM, the arts, and community together at the 2014 OotM World Finals.

Now an adult, and currently serving as Chapter Administrator to the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, Whitney remains deeply committed to making a positive impact on the world around her all the while balancing her professional pursuits and personal interests. Her unwavering dedication to service acts as a driving force as she continues to grow and evolve. The lessons and values cultivated through her community involvement make her a socially conscious leader who inspires others to contribute to their communities and create meaningful change.

Steven Dominguez is an Application Specialist at Medical Associates of Northwest Arkansas. In his work he specializes in database administration and analysis. He is also well versed in web development and design with facility in HTML5, CSS3 and more.

Steven is a long-time proponent of Art Ventures, as both a viewer and a participant in the arts practice space. He is an avid cyclist and foodie.