SoMa 501 Launches Math on Main, a Year-Long Public Art Series Bringing Math, Art, and Food to South Main

SoMa 501 today announced the launch of Math on Main, a year-long public art and community learning series that will transform South Main Street into a walkable outdoor math experience through art, music, food, and permanent street installations.

Produced as part of the Simons Foundation’s Infinite Sums national initiative, Math on Main will feature three free public events in 2026, each unveiling a permanent, math-inspired crosswalk or mural along Main Street. Together, these installations will form the Math Path on Main, a lasting public art corridor designed to invite curiosity, slow traffic, and encourage people to walk and gather in the neighborhood.

Math on Main is produced in partnership with Dr. Annie Childers and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Math Department, whose faculty and students will help design activities and engage the public throughout the series.

“Math is a fundamental part of the most beautiful things in our world, but many people never get the chance to experience it that way,” said Elizabeth Michael, Executive Director of SoMa 501. “Math on Main is an invitation to look again and to experience math through beauty, creativity, and shared experience.”

The series unfolds across three signature events:

On Pi Day, March 14, Math on Main will launch with the unveiling of a Pi-themed crosswalk, marking the first stop on the Math Path. The day will include DJ for a Day, teaching math and music theory, the Big Bubble Blast, and activities for children under 10. Free circle-shaped foods, including pies, pizzas, and cookies, will be served to the public.

On Infinity Day, August 8, the Math Path will expand with the unveiling of an infinity-themed crosswalk. The celebration will explore infinity as both a mathematical concept and a human one, featuring a community wedding and vow renewal ceremony. Loop-shaped foods will be shared throughout the event.

The series concludes on Fibonacci Day, November 23, with a Fibonacci Friendsgiving. A communal table will stretch down Main Street for a free public meal highlighting spiral-shaped foods and natural Fibonacci patterns. During the event, community members will help install a kinetic, wind-activated mural inspired by the Fibonacci sequence, creating a permanent public artwork that moves with the environment.

Rather than presenting math as a set of rules to follow, Math on Main invites people to experience math as a series of patterns that shape everyday life. Each event combines hands-on learning, public art, and communal meals to make math accessible for people of all ages, whether math enthusiasts or math-averse.

South Main Street is one of Arkansas’s most eclectic and art-filled neighborhoods, shaped by decades of community-led revitalization. Math on Main builds on that legacy, using public art and shared experiences to activate streets, improve walkability, and create lasting neighborhood landmarks.

All Math on Main events are free and open to the public.

Math on Main is supported by the Simons Foundation and is part of its “Infinite Sums” initiative. To learn more, visit https://infinitesums.simonsfoundation.org/.

To learn more, visit somalittlerock.com/mathonmain or follow @soma_little_rock on social media.