Texarkana Regional Arts & Humanities Council, Inc. (TRAHC) was first chartered in Texas, June 1978, in response to a community needs evaluation by the local Junior League.

TRAHC's initial mission was "to enrich the human experience in the region by increasing public awareness of, exposure to, and participation in the arts and humanities in their many diverse forms."​ In 1980, TRAHC was contracted by the City of Texarkana, TX to program & manage the newly renovated Perot Theatre as the premier venue for live performance art within a 100 mile radius. The Perot Theatre has since hosted over 2800 events and 1.6 million people.

TRAHC renovated the 1910 Federal, & then, Bowie County Courthouse. It reopened in 1992 as the Regional Arts Center with free national & local gallery exhibitions.

Education has & continues to be the foundation of TRAHC. Since 1982, TRAHC has placed artists in local schools and brought live theatre for children to the Perot Theatre. The official title, ArtsSmart Institute, began in 1989 as TRAHC's educational department, teaching local & regional teachers how to integrate arts into education and connect with the various learning styles ever present in a classroom. ArtsSmart has been affiliated with Kennedy Center Partners in Education since 2010 bringing KCP's vast resources and artists into the Four States region.

In 2001, TRAHC began its formal outreach to the African American Community through TRAHC's African American Committee. TAAC provides community-wide representation of the area's African American population and artistic interests. In addition, TAAC develops performing arts programs, visual art exhibits, special performances and information-gathering sessions.

In 2002, TRAHC's growing community outreach inspired a revision that is now the current mission statement, "Growing people and community through the arts!"​

Arts on Main (AOM) at Stewart Title is TRAHC's newest addition for teaching a variety of art forms to all ages. 

Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council, Inc.

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