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In Helena-West Helena, Thrive Redesigns Its Strategy for the Future

2 min read

Since launching Thrive in 2009, Will Staley and Terrance Clark have worked to design opportunity in rural Arkansas. 

Located in downtown Helena-West Helena, the nonprofit has spent the past eight years building an innovation hub and promoting economic development. After receiving a National Endowment for the Arts Our Town grant in 2015, Thrive is ready to start a new chapter in its story of redesigning the Delta. 

“This city has really embraced us,” Associate Creative Director Abby Clark said. “It’s about being part of something. We’re all art students and visual advocacy — which allows us to use our skills to give back — is really important to us.” 

It would be easy to label the community as a place incapable of reaching its former glory. The population of Helena-West Helena has dwindled by about 50 percent since 1960, while more than 40 percent of its current 11,546 residents live below the poverty line. 

Despite the statistics, signs of a revival are evident. Several historic buildings are being restored on Cherry Street, while once blighted properties have been transformed into urban gardens and community spaces. High school graduation rates have risen, new businesses are opening, the unemployment rate has fallen and the population decrease has slowed, according to the nonprofit’s website. 

Thrive has been at the center of the community’s redevelopment. Since opening in 2008, the team has used their marketing and design backgrounds to support economic development. They’ve held workshops, managed a co-working and makers space, counseled new business owners, created individualized marketing packages and hosted a monthly downtown arts event. After being awarded a competitive NEA Our Town grant, the team decided to refocus its efforts toward education through the new Thrive Arts design mentorship residency.  

“We wanted to create a model that enriched children’s education through design,” Staley said. “We hope to change people’s mindsets to continue building a healthy community.”

The nonprofit is partnering with Helena-West Helena public schools to offer innovative programming that uses current STEM curriculum provided by the state’s EAST Initiative. According to the contract agreement, four designers in residence will act as mentors both in and out of the classroom setting as student teams design solutions to community challenges. The goal of Thrive Arts is to promote creative problem solving, job skills and community pride within the region while breaking the cycle of generational poverty through arts and design. 

Clark explained that the new Thrive Arts will be an addition to the nonprofit’s existing business model. The team will continue incubating businesses in the area and are exporting what they’ve learned in Helena-West Helena by partnering with communities and agencies throughout the state for design services. 

“We still have a mountain to climb here,” Clark said. “This city has reached a tipping point though and its exciting to think about Helena’s future.”

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