Leah Fouste is 18 and has already achieved a great deal both academically and in art. Originally from Little Rock, she moved up with her parents, Shira and Shawn Fouste, in 2019 when they purchased the Evening Shade boutique hotel on US 62 in east Eureka Springs.
One of the top academic performers in Arkansas high schools, she attended the Arkansas Governor’s School in the summer of 2023. She has had pieces displayed and sold in numerous exhibitions at Brews in Eureka Springs. She is graduating from high school in May from the Arkansas School for Math, Science, and the Arts in Hot Springs (ASMSA).
She won second place in the school art symposium in 2024. applied to, was accepted and plans to attend the Kansas City Art Institute, which awarded her a $100,000 merit scholarship. KCAI is located on a 16-acre campus in the heart of Kansas City situated between two exceptional art galleries—an encyclopedic museum and a renowned contemporary art museum.
Fouste also applied for and was accepted to the University of Arkansas, Oklahoma State University, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
She has participated in many shows at Brews. John Rankine, a well-regarded local artist who curates the show, said Fouste is a rising star in the world of art.
She won a High Merit Award from Dick Blick, a large national art supplier that gives ten awards per high school grade level per year. Fouste will be featured in this year’s publication of selected student works called “Dick Blick: Celebrating Art.”
She was the Scholastic Books Bronze Key winner in its portfolio section. Five of Leah’s artworks were chosen to make up her portfolio, which will be digitally displayed at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
“She started with the 18 and under show,” Rankine said. “But then anytime she was around and could, she always wanted to participate in any group shows. She is just super talented, extremely smart and ambitious. And she comes from an amazing family. I know her parents really well, and they are wonderfully supportive of anything she wants to do. Her mother is a very accomplished artist herself.”
Eureka Springs is known as one of the 10 best small art towns of America. Rankine said it is great to know the town is inspiring a new generation of artists. Rankine is planning another show of young artists at Brews because he thinks it is so important to lift up this new generation of artists.
Fouste intends to major in Art History and Studio Arts. After earning an undergraduate degree, she plans to gain advanced degrees and become a college art teacher.
At ASMSA, Fouste is an admissions’ delegate student leader who hosts and guides prospective students. She is also a senior representative in the ASMSA Student Body Government and on the Student Interest and Wellness Committee that plans events for students and helps provide an active social environment.