“Storytelling Through the Arts: Banned Books & Beyond” featuring the innovative works of artist Loni Harshaw, a Little Rock native and art educator. Check out the upcoming events for this powerful exhibition:
Artist Reception Friday, August 8, 2025 - 5:30 pm
Artist Talk : Saturday, August 23, 2025 - 2 pm
Media Specialist Panelist Discussion - Saturday, August 30, 2025 - 2 pm
Loni Harshaw is the Visual Arts Chair at Little Rock Southwest Magnet High School in Little Rock, Arkansas and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Philander Smith University, where she has taught Art Fundamentals for the past 7 years.
She earned her B.S. in Visual Arts Education at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 2009, her M.S.E in Educational Theory and Practice from Arkansas State University- Jonesboro in 2012, and her ESOL Certification 2023. Harshaw is a proud member of the Tau Rho Zeta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. and Lambda Nu chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota, International Music Fraternity for Women. She has been teaching for 15 years.
Harshaw is very passionate about the arts and education. She has mostly taught ART I, II, and III, Drawing I & II, Applied Art, and Art Appreciation for the Little Rock School District. She has served as an Art Facilitator for the Timmons Arts Foundation, Say It Loud! Readers and Writers, and various churches around the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock. She has been a club sponsor and co-sponsor for several art and social justice clubs at each school she has worked. Harshaw has taught all levels of education and has taught around the world; in Boston, MA, Zanzibar, Tanzania, and Kampala, Uganda.
Harshaw has helped build the Visual Arts Department at Southwest High by developing the mission and vision for the art programs, Senior Art Night, Community Art Nights, SEL Maker’s Space for Faculty and Staff, and visiting Middle Schools for recruitment. She has shown her dedication to the arts, on the district and state level, by leading professional developments, serving on the Artistry in the Rock Committee, and developing the first Middle School Portfolio Day.
As an Art Educator, Harshaw has chosen Art Literacy, telling and creating stories through art, as her primary mission. Her first body of art, as an emerging artist, focuses on banned book authors and is entitled “The Banned Book Series”. In this 25 piece series, she highlights authors of various ages, genres, and genders. Her professional debut was at the “Conversations with Artist Frank Frazier” as a visiting artist in December 2024. Her artwork is currently a part of the “HerSTORY & Beyond” exhibit at the Spellman Museum of Forney History in Forney, TX and the “In Search of Myself” exhibit at the ArtsXchange in East Point, GA. She will be a guest on The Finesse Media Podcast in April, 2025, where she will discuss the importance of Art Literacy.
Loni Harshaw’s most recent body of work is dedicated to musicians and the stories they tell. The purpose of this body of work is to spark a dialogue about each musical artist and the relevance of them being showcased together. She wants the viewers to search the musicians, listen to their music, and see how the generations have influenced the others. So often we forget about the foundation of different genres of music and how all of them are truly connected; this body of art is meant to ignite that forgotten curiosity about music, its origins, and its original story.
