North Texas-based Big Thought steps into the spotlight as SLANT 45 architect

By Steve Pate

September 21, 2009

Big Thought is not just the light bulb turning on in a child’s head. It is the switch allowing the child to see the beauty in the light.

If Mona Lisa is the work of art, Big Thought is the smile behind the canvas.

Just this summer, Americans for the Arts honored the North Texas-based, nonprofit organization with its prestigious 2009 Arts Education Award.

In 2004, the President’s Committee on the Arts & the Humanities graced Big Thought with its Coming Up Taller Award.

Big Thought has become ingrained in America’s educational process by expanding what a child learns in the classroom into the community.

It all began in 1987 when civic leaders Mitch Jericho and Edith O’Donnell founded the Dallas chapter of Youth Audiences for the purpose of staging arts performances at schools. The name was changed to Big Thought in 2004 to capture the ever-broadening brush the organization has applied to the educational landscape.

The organization has grown to serve children, teachers and parents in more ways than its founders ever imagined. Today, Big Thought has programs that address academic achievement, family services, life-skills and workforce development.  

“We coordinate big nonprofit and public systems for kids,” says Giselle “Gigi” Antoni, Big Thought’s President & CEO. “So if you’re in North Texas and you’re interested in developing young people, chances are Big Thought may be working with you in some way.”

Big Thought’s success is built upon a foundation of powerful and effective partnerships with civic, educational, arts and cultural resources.  

The Thriving Minds program is a big component of the overall impact Big Thought has on school children. Thriving Minds is a citywide system that joins the City of Dallas, Dallas Independent School District and more than 100 city organizations with Big Thought as the managing partner.

“Thriving Minds operates in school, during out-of-school time and after school,” says Chris Orzechowski, Director of Marketing. “The program integrates the arts into the classroom experience, connects community partners during out-of-school time, and also leverages resources to provide quality after-school creative-learning experiences.”

Annually, Big Thought delivers more than one million hours of programming and individual creative instruction. Program focus ranges from arts appreciation to literacy to intellectual development to creative expression and beyond. Big Thought focuses on the holistic approach to learning.

“Children in the Thriving Minds program are able to get tutoring, snacks, creative activities and more,” Orzechowski says.  “And all of this is for free. It’s about filling in the gap.”

Hand in hand, Big Thought and the SLANT 45 program with the Host Committee of Super Bowl XLV will be filling gaps for bright children from now until the game’s kick-off in February 2011.

Somewhere, Mona Lisa is smiling.