Get ready to dive into a vibrant celebration of creativity! Texarkana is gearing up to host the annual Open House and Art Market presented by the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council (TRAHC). Join the local artisans and community this holiday season as the city transforms into a bustling hub of artistic expression, showcasing local talents and welcoming everyone to immerse themselves in a colorful tapestry of creativity and community spirit this holiday season.

The Women for the Arts and the For Arts’ Sake Open House Art Market was under Mary Armstrong’s direction until Jeanne Harrel took over as the art market event coordinator and became the creative pulse of the community. From a small crowd of 8-10 artists participating to grown to approximately 40-45 artisans and 1200 attendees. “You’d expect more from a town this size… It’s been a repeat for all these artisans and I don’t think they’d be here if they weren’t doing well” said Harrel. This annual celebration of art brings together a diverse array of local and regional artists and artisans, each bringing their unique vision and craftsmanship to the forefront.

The market’s ambiance is going to be a fusion of artistic expression and cultural exchange, with booths showcasing an impressive spectrum of mediums, from wood-turners to holiday crafts, traditional art, textiles, handmade soaps, and baked goods. This eclectic blend of creativity offers visitors a visual feast and provides a platform for artists to engage with the public, sharing insights into their creative processes and inspirations. “Most of everything you will see, they are not doing it in bulk there may be one or two things that may look alike but it’s pretty much one of a kind,” said Harrel.

More than a mere marketplace, the Open House Art Market is a thriving hub of artistic energy, community connection, and colorfully painting Downtown Texarkana. As visitors can meander through the stalls, they are not just patrons purchasing art and artisanal crafts; they can engage in conversations that bridge the gap between creators and audiences. The event’s interactive nature allows for a deeper appreciation of the creator’s dedication and time. This immersive experience fosters a sense of belonging and appreciation for the rich tapestry of talents thriving within Texarkana and its surrounding regions.

At its core, the Open House Art Market is a catalyst for cultural enrichment and creative exploration. TRAHC’s dedication to cultivating this event underscores its mission to nurture the arts and foster a vibrant, inclusive community. Beyond the splendor of the showcased artworks, this market becomes a canvas upon which memories are formed, ideas are exchanged, and the profound impact of art on society is celebrated and cherished.

The Open House Art Market will be Friday, December 1st from 10 am-5 pm through Saturday, December 2nd from 10 am-4 pm at the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council Building on 321 West 4th St, Texarkana, TX 75501. More information can be found on the TRAHC’s website. www.trahc.org

Lamp’s most recent full-length album, ‘Dusk to Dawn,’ consists of a track list with twenty songs. The album effectively showcases the essence of time’s passage by anchoring new memories and reminiscing the old ones throughout its runtime, while the world around us continues to evolve. The interconnection of everyday scenes evokes a subtle blend of melancholy and warm nostalgia, inviting listeners to relive fond memories.
Lamp is a Japanese indie band known for their unique blend of music styles, including pop, rock, and electronica. The band was formed in 2000 by the vocalist duo of Yusuke Nagai and Kaori Sakakibara. Lamp’s music often features catchy melodies and intricate arrangements like popular album releases ‘For Lovers’ and ‘Yūme’ making them a notable presence in Japan’s indie music scene.
The band gained recognition for their debut album, “Tokyo Sanpo,” in 2004 and has released several albums and singles. Lamp’s music can often be described by its dreamy and atmospheric sound, and they have a dedicated following among fans of indie and alternative music in Japan but have spread worldwide. Their music often features poetic lyrics and an experimental approach to songwriting and music production.
The title tracks, ‘Dusk’ and ‘Dawn’, encapsulate the transition of time from the fading embers of daylight to the soft emergence of morning’s first light, and hold within it a world of subtle beauty and transformation. As the sun sets and paints the sky in a symphony of cool colors. The world takes on a different character, one where nocturnal creatures stir, stars twinkle in the vast expanse, and the human mind finds itself at the crossroads of reflection, rest, and anticipation.
The first act of the album has a steady pleasant gradual pace opening with the title track ‘Dusk’ as the sun sets into the night. The second act of the album breaks the languidity of a tired commute home after a long day with some upbeat tracks like ‘August Calendar’ and ‘Weekend’ capturing the highs and lows of human experience. The little things that spread a smile from ear to ear and carry meanings through human existence.
The midday section contributes to the concept and self-insert storytelling yet gets overshadowed due to the length of the album and aurally blending with other tracks, it could constitute better for a short EP but overall reinforces the motif of the passage of time as experience The third act of the album rides back into the serene soundscape of the dawn of a new day with the soft vocals from Yusuke Nagai and Kaori Sakakibara as the night cycles back into a new day.

Artificial intelligence (AI), a transformative technological force that has continued evolving over the past seven decades, has manifested in remarkable innovations, ranging from automated vacuum cleaners to compact virtual assistants. Since its inception in the 1950s, AI has left an indelible mark on our lives, revolutionizing how we work, interact, and solve complex problems. In this exploration, the Program for Learning and Community Engagement: Ethics of AI Series seminar delved into the evolution and impact of artificial intelligence by guest speaker tracing its journey from its budding stages to the cutting-edge applications that have become integral to our daily existence.

The Program for Learning and Community Engagement is co-sponsored by the Office for Teaching and Faculty Advancement and the Technology Innovations and Digital Education. The departments brought in a guest speaker, Jerry Sheehan, current Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at San Diego State University (SDSU). In the information technology division, he oversees deploying infrastructure and services and supporting the university’s learning and outreach.

Jerry Sheehan opened up the seminar into basic terminology and concepts about the brief history of generative artificial intelligence from its inception to the breakthrough in 2023 with the notable company OpenAi, the creators of ChatGPT. The core concept of artificial intelligence is based on the components of language models and computer sciences with a principle that human intelligence can be defined in a way that a machine can imitate and engage in tasks known as the ‘Imitation Game’ coined by Alan Turig, one of the founding fathers behind machine learning and intelligence. There are three concepts from the presentations shown to attendees, ‘The Jagged Frontier,’ the adoption of generative artificial intelligence among users, and autopilot.

The ‘Jagged Frontier’ is an experiment that reported evidence of the effects of AI and the knowledge of workers, productivity, and quality, published by the Harvard Business School, Technology and Operations Management. The study was of two groups. One used ChatGPT AI and the other as the control, and they reported that the capabilities of ChatGPT AI created a “jagged technological frontier” where AI can quickly do some tasks. Some things are outside of the capabilities of the current AI. It was reported that the AI group had a 40% higher quality than the control group and consultants. During the significant year of generative AI, ChatGPT reached one million users in five days in comparison to other media companies, which has the highest adoption rate among people globally training the AI by machine learning, and the up-and-down arrow when information presented by AI as factual, which may be incorrect or incomprehensible to humans.

Mr. Sheehan surveyed SDSU student population, which studied approximately 32,700 students and received an estimated 25% of students providing feedback on what tools they used to identify students’ attitudes and needs with generative AI, not excluding ChatGPT. While keeping students’ identities anonymous, there were categories that they could place themselves under, like their disciplines and age demographics. Among the qualitative research, SDSU students were concerned about being flagged for academic dishonesty while their peers were actively committing academic dishonesty, how that affects the trust and power dynamic there with faculty. Some students were also concerned that it would give others an advantage and put them at a disadvantage because of the accessibility of these tools, or that having access to these tools would make the individual’s performance decrease which leads to autopilot. The autopilot feeling said by Mr. Sheehan is like “ falling asleep at the wheel… the machine can only imitate it is not actually thinking”.

“Don’t ask and don’t, AI’’ said Mr. Sheehan. “The conscious feeling among faculty and administration of knowing that students are utilizing AI, but not saying anything could lead to a dangerous situation by not acknowledging it, and [we] can start with an open conversation about generative AI” said Mr. Sheehan. AI is a nuanced complex subject with no one-fit policy or corrective action to accommodate the vast amount of variables because among all the disciplines they have different attitudes and ways they can utilize AI. At the end of the talk, the one-word strategy is to engage with the unknowing parts of generative AI.

In recent collaborations among the university and faculty involved with Teagle Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities grant to offer a certificate. The development of the foundation is to have humanities more integrated with various technical programs and tracks at TAMUT to be more integrated with the humanities. The Program of Learning and Community Engagement (PLACE) is an annual program of talks with this year’s Transformative Texts: Personal Responsibility hosted by Dr. Doug Julien and Dr. Michael Perri in the series of events throughout the semester. The PLACE Common Reader Book Club meets every Tuesday throughout the remainder of the semester and more information is on the TAMUT website about upcoming guest keynote speakers and events.

Dr. Doug Julien has been a full-time professor of the English department at Texas A&M University-Texarkana for thirteen years. He obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Minnesota for comparative studies in discourse and society and his passion for world literature, and literary theory with a concentrated fascination with continental philosophy, and critical theory. The inspiration to pursue a career in higher education stems from folks from his life as an undergraduate and graduate student. “I take my students to a place of learning,” said Dr. Julien, encouraging students to connect with their department’s faculty.

The East Texas Writing Project was developed to give local educators around the ArkLaTex area supplemental tools and opportunities to integrate contemporary writing pedagogies into their classrooms to implement a new way of engaging the classroom with the materials. “We have a bunch of new writers making their way into literature,” said Dr. Julien.

With the current trajectory of technological advancements, Dr. Julien shared his thoughts on the usage of artificial intelligence may have potential concerns in education and the workforce. “We should be mindful of not having technology use us,” he said rather than being an assistive tool as time progresses while retrospectively evaluating past innovations just like literature.

Hannah Jarret, a sophomore at Texas A&M University (TAMUT), and member of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority, was nominated as an orientation leader to attend the Emma Coleman Frost Leadership Development Institute in Kansas City this summer. “It was fun and stressful,” said Hannah. The conference was an eye-opening experience about self-reflection, work ethic, and personal growth.

Hannah is double majoring in Kinesiology and Psychology and aspires to pursue a career involving sports medicine inspired by her past physical and mental hardships she had faced as a student-athlete in high school. She is willing to push her plans to fruition by getting involved in student life, and becoming a member of the Student Government Association (SGA) serving as a sophomore senator. She is also involved in the Collective Arts Society serving as Communications officer, a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha, and is on the College Activities Board. In her time with these organizations, she has strengthened her confidence and opportunities to connect with her fellow students and faculty.

As a council member of SGA with a communal message with the council, “every student’s voice deserves to be heard,” said Jarret. The self-discipline to open new doors to experience situations such as debating on brainstorms, crafting ideas, and planning event organizations to obtain skill sets that bleed into the rest of her time at TAMUT and post-graduation.

In addition to her studies, she works part-time as a lifeguard for the Texas Independent School District Aquatic Center for advanced swimmers. She is a cashier associate trainer for a home and garden store. On the line between education and her work life Hannah said, “School comes first,” emphasizing professionalism when communicating concerns to her employer about availability when asked to advise students who may be entering the workforce while making strides to obtain their degree.