NEW ORLEANS – During a special groundbreaking ceremony on Sept. 10, KID smART, a local nonprofit focused on arts integration, broke ground on the KID smART Center for Arts & Education. This new center, located at 2533 Columbus St. in the heart of the historic Bayou Road neighborhood, will empower the nonprofit to expand its programming, create jobs, and engage more members of the community—ensuring that every child in New Orleans has greater access to the arts.

“The KID smART Center for Arts & Education marks a significant turning point for our organization,” said Elise Gallinot Goldman, executive director of KID smART. “For the last 26 years, KID smART has made an indelible mark on more than 80,000 students and educators by bringing the arts into core curricula, raising student achievement, improving student engagement, and creating joyful learning experiences. With this new center, we are going to be able to grow our annual impact by more than 250%, securing a hub for arts education for generations to come.”

The KID smART Center for Arts & Education will feature multiple visual arts studios, a dance and movement studio, a podcasting studio, a performing arts studio, and training spaces. It will enhance current KID smART programming and enable the nonprofit to offer exciting new programming opportunities to the community. The project, designed by EskewDumezRipple under the direction of Principal and Director of Design Steve Dumez, is being built by Ryan Gootee General Contractors. The new center is set to open in spring 2026.

Expanded Programming
KID smART launched a comprehensive $5.5 million Creativity at the Center campaign in 2024, raising funds to support the purchase and renovation of the KID smART Center for Arts & Education, expanded programming efforts, strategic planning, and sustainability of the facility. The nonprofit has raised 25% of its campaign fundraising goal.

AOS & KID smART – Design at HeART Event
One example of fundraising designed to boost KID smART is the AOS Interior Environments and MillerKnoll Design at HeART event on Sept. 25 with KID smART as the partner and beneficiary. This event features 13 teams made up of an artist and a design firm who will come together to transform an Eames molded side chair, generously donated by Herman Miller, into a work of art for a silent auction to benefit KID smART’s new Center for Arts & Education.

“At AOS, we believe deeply in the power of design—not just to shape the spaces where we live and work, but to uplift the lives of the people who experience them,” said Shelby Russ, President and CEO of AOS Interior Environments. “Design at HeART is a celebration of that belief. It brings together some of our city’s most talented artists and designers in support of an organization that is truly enriching New Orleans. We’re proud to help bring this event to life and continue investing in the next generation of creative thinkers.”

Design at HeART will take place at 6:00 p.m. on Sept. 25 at Merchant Hall located at 1152 Magazine St. in New Orleans.

ART JAM
In addition, KID smART will be hosting its 12th annual ART JAM on Sept. 13 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Andre Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice located at 2541 Bayou Road in New Orleans.

This annual free family-friendly arts festival, presented by Ochsner Health, is a community celebration of all things art, education and joy that features hands-on activities, live performances, arts-based workshops and more!

“This annual family event highlights the incredible work of our partners in our schools and celebrates the creativity, connection and joy that the arts bring to all of us as a community,” said Elise Gallinot Goldman, executive director of KID smART. “We are deeply grateful to our families, partners and Bayou Road neighbors for helping us celebrate the vital role the arts play in education.”

For more information about the KID smART Center for Arts & Education and how to support KID smART’s fundraising goals, visit www.kidsmart.org/capital-campaign.

About KID smART
Over the last two decades, KID smART has collaborated with more than 40 New Orleans public schools to blend the arts into academic lessons to make classrooms more effective and joyful places to learn. Through full-year artist residencies, students in KID smART Creative Schools prove to grow academically, artistically and emotionally. KID smART also partners with national thought leaders, including Harvard’s Project Zero Classroom, to incorporate best practices in arts and education into its program model.