The 2026 Charlotte Gadberry Award presentation will celebrate John Gaudin and Corky Patton for extraordinary contributions to the arts and the Central Arkansas community.
CHARLOTTE GADBERRY AWARD HISTORY
Named in honor of the founder of ACANSA Arts Festival of the South, the Charlotte Gadberry Award celebrates individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the arts and the Central Arkansas community. ACANSA will celebrate this year’s recipients, John Gaudin and Corky Patton, on March 4th at 6pm. The fête at Argenta Contemporary Theatre includes a buffet supper, beverages, and live performances showcasing Finger Food, the Ted Ludwig Trio, and Salty Dogs. Renowned visual artist Kevin Kresse will emcee. Proceeds from the event support ACANSA’s Free Spring Break Arts Camps, free tickets for youth 18 years old and younger to attend September’s 11th ACANSA Arts Festival of the South, and in-school arts workshops. Tickets to attend the 9th Charlotte Gadberry Award Presentation are available at www.ACANSA.org. To sponsor ACANSA’s Free Spring Break Arts Camps and arts education programming, call 501-940-7475.
HONOREES JOHN GAUDIN & CORKY PATTON
Ardent supporters of the arts and the role they perform in education and in building community, John and Corky enjoy exploring all that the arts have to offer in Arkansas.
A career educator, Corky taught for many years with an emphasis on Special Education and also served as an elementary school principal in Arkansas. John, a native of south Louisiana, has called Arkansas home since 1982.
With 35 years of experience in the investment business, John has served as President of Argenta Wealth Management for 30 years. During the past two decades, John has been active in the revitalization of North Little Rock’s Argenta Arts District, scouting ways to pair once-empty, historic properties with occupants excited to envision and breathe life into creative spaces with community appeal. Attracting organizations like Thea Foundation and Argenta Contemporary Theatre to Argenta, John has helped launch arts-based programming and nonprofits, including Argenta Arts Foundation and Downtown Council, The Innovation Hub, Jazz at the Joint, Argenta Acoustic Music series, and the storytelling program Potluck and Poison Ivy. He’s been instrumental in fundraising and recruiting civic, foundational and individual support for the arts organizations in Argenta, including ACANSA Arts Festival of the South housed in Acansa Gallery on North Little Rock’s Main Street.
John has served as Board Chairman of the ACANSA Art Festival of the South and, since 2012, has represented Arkansas as a Board Member of Mid-America Arts Alliance, one of the United States’ six Regional Arts Organizations.
As the overseer of the North Little Rock Public Art Program, John’s purview includes artist selection, design and execution of murals and sculptures that inspire the community. More than 35 installations since 2020 enhance Argenta and surrounding neighborhoods. His current passion is serving as Co-Chairman of the capital campaign for the ATG Music Pavilion at Argenta Plaza. The Pavilion will house 21 bronzes created by Kevin Kresse depicting some of Arkansas’s most influential musicians.
In addition to being named as co-recipient of the Ninth Annual Charlotte Gadberry Award, John received the statewide Arts Community Development Award among recipients of the 2011 Arkansas Governor’s Arts Awards, and he has been honored in the past as one of Arkansas 10 Most Powerful Men by AY Magazine and one of the 50 most influential people in the state by Arkansas Times.
ABOUT ACANSA
Founded in 2014, ACANSA builds a more dynamic and engaging community through the arts and enriches the cultural vitality of the region. ACANSA Arts Festival of the South provides dozens of multidisciplinary arts experiences – from live music to visual arts exhibitions – in venues on both sides of the Arkansas River. The Festival has attracted audiences from more than 57 Arkansas communities and more than a dozen states. In-school artist workshops, free tickets for all students 18 and younger, and free spring break arts camps complement ACANSA’s efforts to nurture arts learning and its many scholastic benefits.
ACANSA
