NEW ORLEANS (press release) – KID smART, a local nonprofit focused on arts integration, broke ground on the KID smART Center for Arts & Education. Organizers share this new center, located at 2533 Columbus St. in the heart of the 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 new center is set to open in spring 2026.
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.
For more information about the KID smART Center for Arts & Education and how to support KID smART’s fundraising goals, please visit www.kidsmart.org/capital-campaign.
