Construction on $25.2 million A-State Windgate Art Innovation Center set to begin

by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)

Construction will begin on the $25.2 million Windgate Art and Innovation Center at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro following approval by the ASU System Board of Trustees on Thursday (March 14) at its regular quarterly meeting on the ASU-Newport campus.

The new, 38,887-square-foot Windgate Center will house spaces to support learning and creative activities for the Department of Art + Design, as well as the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Funding includes $22 million in private support from the Windgate Foundation and $3.2 million in institutional reserves. Construction is projected to be finished sometime in 2027.

System Interim President Robin Myers thanked U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., for helping to secure a $10 million federal appropriation to advance development of the A-State Center for Advanced Materials and Steel Manufacturing. A-State will use the funding to invest in high-tech equipment for a multimillion-dollar facility that will support Northeast Arkansas’ position as the largest steel producing region in the country.

Construction on $25.2 million A-State Windgate Art Innovation Center set to begin

A text message helped turn the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts into a masterpiece

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

A text message received by Warren and Harriet Stephens during the week of Thanksgiving 2017 changed the scope of the major renovation of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, formerly known as the Arkansas Arts Center.

Recruited by friends and museum supporters to steer the capital campaign to raise money for mechanical upgrades to the arts center building, the Stephens had asked leaders of the Windgate Foundation to raise their initial commitment from $15 million to $25 million in hopes of doing something more transformational on the project.

The day before Thanksgiving, Warren Stephens recalls getting a text from Robyn Horn, an Arkansas sculptor and wood artist who leads the Windgate Foundation.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/04/a-text-message-helped-turn-the-arkansas-museum-of-fine-arts-into-a-masterpiece/

UAFS receives $18.77 million from Windgate Foundation for nursing, arts programs

by Talk Business and Politics (staff@talkbusiness.net)

The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith has received an $18.77 million gift from the Windgate Foundation to expand the university’s nursing and arts programs. The gift is the single largest in the university’s 94-year history.

A Friday (Sept. 9) UAFS press release noted that the money will “dramatically increase nursing graduates and cultivating an immersive arts experience for students and the public through the expansion of the Windgate Art and Design building and its offerings.”

Prior to this gift, the Windgate Foundation awarded more than $25 Million to UAFS in support of the Windgate Art and Design building and endowment, visual arts and design programming, and a comprehensive scholarship endowment for high-need students. Over the past three years, Rickman said, the university and the Windgate Foundation pivoted from discussing a single gift to improve fine art facilities at UAFS to designing the multi-tiered plan to holistically advance the health and wellness of the Fort Smith metro.

https://talkbusiness.net/2022/09/uafs-receives-18-77-million-from-windgate-foundation-for-nursing-arts-programs/

Windgate Art & Design Building on the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith campus

Windgate Foundation to Give $30 Million for Second Phase of University of Arkansas Art District

by Jeff Della Rosa (JDellaRosa@nwabj.com)

The University of Arkansas announced Wednesday (Aug. 25) a $30 million partial challenge grant from the Windgate Foundation to further expand the Windgate Art and Design District, a home for the UA’s School of Art. The money will be for the district’s second phase that will include the 58,000-square-foot Windgate Gallery and Foundations Building.

In 2017, the Windgate Foundation gave $40 million to the UA to create the Windgate Art and Design District in south Fayetteville. The district will include the Windgate Studio and Design Center, which is expected to open in fall 2022. The first phase of the overall Windgate Art and Design District project is under construction.

https://talkbusiness.net/2021/08/windgate-foundation-to-give-30-million-for-second-phase-of-university-of-arkansas-art-district/

Construction continues on the Windgate Studio and Design Center in south Fayetteville. The Windgate Foundation will provide an additional $30 million to support the further expansion of the University of Arkansas' Windgate Art and Design District.)