Month: March 2017

Downtown is planning an art-filled April! Here’s what should be on your calendar- Saturday, April 1– Texas Avenue Makers Fair with 200 + MAKERS, Sci Port’s Feather Fest, Mini Makers Activities, 3 stages of entertainment, food trucks and more. Entertainment provided by the Black Cultural Arts Coalition and Spinner Entertainment. The fun begins at 10 am along Elvis Presley Boulevard @ the Municipal Auditorium and ends at 5 pm. There is no admission charge to the Makers Fair and entertainment. Saturday, April 1– the unveiling of the 12 Uncommon Murals around the Shreveport Common art and culture district downtown. Take a trolley tour to see them all! Throughout the Month–  The Shreveport Regional Arts Council (SRAC) has awarded seven Northwest Louisiana artists the opportunity to create their own studio space in artspace (710 Texas St.) during April. They will use the space to create, work, demonstrate and sell their art to the public. Drop by to see the works and meet Lisandra T. Di Liberto Brown, Eric Francis, Sarah Joy Lewis, James Marks, Sherry Tamburo, Robert Trudeau and Kathryn Usher. Tuesday, April 4 @ 6 pm @ Central ARTSTATION, 801 Crockett St.- Critical Mass Performing Arts Showcase. Wednesday, April 5, 5-8 pm. DOWNTOWN ART WALK. This month the artwalk will be featuring large works at Minicine? (846 Texas Ave.), Central ARTSTATION (801 Crockett), the Fairmont lobby (726 Cotton. Enter on the...

It is an ironic thing that it takes a media flurry about a threatened closure to alert the community to the existence of three great museums in the heart of Shreveport. For years, the Shreveport Water Works Museum, the Spring Street Historical Museum, and the more recently-opened Shreveport Railroad Museum, have operated in relative obscurity. Though they may be little-known, their history—and the stories they tell—are big and powerful. By providing clean water to drink and ample water to fight fires, the steam-powered Victorian-era Water Works led to the development of downtown and the city. The Railroad Museum, located on the grounds of the water works, tells the importance of railroads in the early days of Shreveport, more important even than the river or cotton, or perhaps even oil. The Spring Street Museum, located in arguably the city’s oldest building, uses photographs and found treasures to tell the tale of how a muddy, rough river settlement along the Texas Trail grew from a trading post to a thriving city. All three museums are fascinating places that tell amazing historical stories, and each has their supporters, small but intensely dedicated groups of people. These groups singlehandedly built, stocked and staffed it (Railroad Museum), fundraised and wrote grants to maintain it (Water Works) and raised money, funded displays and donated exhibits (Spring Street) to it. The money from these museums’ ‘friends’...