Member News and NASAA Resources

Leadership Change in Arkansas

Arkansas Arts Council Director Patrick Ralston retired in July. Ralston helped the Arkansas Arts Council (AAC) significantly increase its outreach, engagement, performance and services to make more arts are available to more Arkansans statewide. During his tenure, from 2017 to 2025, AAC bolstered support to individual artists and built collaborations between state agencies, regional arts organizations and others. Individual artists benefitted from increased professional development services and funding, and the Arts Across Arkansas program supported high-school creatives in multiple genres. AAC’s Lunch & Learn workshop program helped nonprofit organizations in remote and rural areas of the state to connect with resources and succeed. Under Ralston’s leadership, AAC implemented a new grant to help communities across Arkansas, specifically in remote or rural areas, fund arts events, festivals, murals and more.

Arkansas Arts Council Interim Director Brazier Watts

Ralston partnered with Mid-America Arts Alliance to fund, through the state, the Artist INC program, increasing professional development for Arkansas artists. The state sponsorship allowed fees to be waived and led the way to joint state partnerships. For example, AAC will partner with Missouri to hold a joint-Artist INC program in Branson, Missouri, this spring.

AAC Grants Program Manager Brazier Watts has stepped into the role of acting director. Watts has served the agency for more than 15 years.

A Steady Voice for the Arts

Amid all the noise, one thing stays clear: the arts are essential. You can count on NASAA to stay nonpartisan, grounded in research and committed to keeping public funding for the arts strong and secure. That’s how we help protect National Endowment for the Arts resources year after year, and why policymakers on both sides of the aisle trust NASAA as a steady voice for the arts. Our advocacy work is possible thanks to donors like you. Your generosity strengthens NASAA’s advocacy so the arts remain a shared resource for everyone. Please give today. Thank you!