First Quarter of 2023 Best Ever for Collaboration

From Diana Richards, Communications Director, Ra-Ve Cultural Foundation

January, February, and especially March were busy, busy, busy for RVCF and its artistic partners across the NWA region.

The biggest, the most ambitious, and the most popular event in the history of RVCF was in March: The Jungle Book, a tri-partite partnership between RVCF, Trike Theater, and Dhirana Academy of Classical Dance. The three organizations joined together to produce and perform an updated version of the classic novel, in a multi-media extravaganza of Indian and western dance, music, and theater.

Performed before a sold-out audience of 1200, the event proved to be a great crowd crowd-pleaser and an artistically successful cooperative effort between the three organizations.
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While The Jungle Book was our biggest collaboration, it did not stand alone. RVCF joined with a plethora of arts associations throughout the quarter. On March 3, 2023, in collaboration with Open Mouth Literary Centre, the Music Education Initiative, and Dhirana Academy we presented Matumani: Expressions of Struggles and Freedom, a celebration of the diversity of people and cultures who have resisted and overcome the shackles of slavery and servitude. 100 people attended.
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Downtown Bentonville Inc. sponsored Market at the Record on March 4th, and RVCF staffed an informational table at this popular and well-attended event. On March 14th, Mary Mae Jones Elementary School hosted Multicultural Night, where our own Vijayashri Vittal, Music and Dance Coordinator, performed for an enthusiastic audience of over 200.
 
Since its inception in 2018, RVCF has enjoyed a mutually beneficial artistic partnership with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. In this quarter, we have performed or exhibited before audiences at CBMAA several times, totaling more than 250 individuals.
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​The University of Arkansas and the Fayetteville Public library have also hosted events for us, including Master Classes and music performances.
 
The goal of RVCF has always been to spread our mission through cooperation, collaboration, and co-sponsorship with arts organizations across NWA, and the first quarter of 2023 proved to be our best ever!