The Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (ACNMWA) has selected Leianna King to receive the organization’s 2026 Internship Award.
King is pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with an Emphasis in Illustration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In collaboration with the Thea Foundation, King will create nine lesson plans that combine STEM subject matter with artistic pursuits as a part of Thea’s Art Closet Program, which helps educators secure funding for art supplies and projects. Learn more about the ACNMWA Internship here.
“We were incredibly impressed by the number and quality of applications this year, which clearly reflect the strong guidance and support students are receiving from academic mentors in their home universities and colleges,” said Dr. Gayle Seymour, who leads the ACNMWA Internship Committee. “Leianna King's proposal stood out for its creativity, clarity of purpose, and meaningful impact on arts education in our state.”
“As someone who plans to illustrate for and develop educational children’s media in the future, this internship with Thea will allow me to gain insight into how to better incorporate educational material into my artistic practice,” King said. “And I will be able to connect and build professional relationships with educators and work with them on how to enhance artistic endeavors in STEM-based education.”
King’s Project Proposal
My internship at the Thea Foundation would involve me creating nine lesson plans that combine STEM subject matter with artistic pursuits as a part of Thea’s Art Closet Program, which helps educators secure funding for art supplies and projects. These lesson plans would correspond to state-set academic standards and curriculums for middle school students, specifically focusing on scientific fields and topics. Additionally, the lesson plans will be rendered in a digital deliverable/downloadable format, such as a pdf packet and printable worksheets, for easy accessibility. These materials would be completed by August 13, 2026, and distributed amongst educators before the start of the 2026-27 school year.
With the lesson plans, arts programming can be spread into math or science classrooms, increasing the reach of the arts in public schools. More students can be exposed to the arts, without necessarily needing to deliberately take an art class. Overall, the lessons generated from this internship directly support Thea Foundation’s mission, as more students can be positively impacted by the arts, and gain a passion that they might not have known they had.
About Thea Foundation
Thea Foundation’s mission is to motivate K-12 students through involvement in the arts and advocate for the inclusion of arts programming in public schools. Learn more at theafoundation.org.
About ACNMWA
Founded in 1989, ACNMWA is a nonprofit volunteer organization that highlights the accomplishments of Arkansas women artists and shares the groundbreaking work of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C., with a statewide audience. Learn more at acnmwa.org. For more information about NMWA, visit nmwa.org.