Monthly Archives: October 2012

Boo at the Zoo – October 19 – 21; 26-31

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Boo at the Zoo is the largest family Halloween festival in Arkansas.

Now in its 21st year, Boo at the Zoo has become a family tradition.  Boo at the Zoo features trick-or-treating in a safe environment along with several amenities and attractions including: a hay maze, carnival rides, fair-style food & other concessions, the haunted train, a haunted house for older kids, a costume contest, Ghost Roast s’mores area, Frankenstein’s Dance Party, and much, much more.

Freaky fun and spooky animals are lurking at every term all over the park. Live music and food on the weekend will keep the parents entertained. Kids will be fascinated by all the animals and the keepers’ extensive knowledge. Live musical groups will keep things lively on the Elephant Stage and free magic shows for the kids start around 6:30pm.

On Thursday, October 18, the Zoo will host an Adults-only preview party.  Enjoy some fun libations as you preview Arkansas’ largest Halloween festival, Boo at the Zoo! Guests to this special adults-only preview night will “trick-or-treat” for some special concoctions and get a chance to experience all the fun of Boo at the Zoo including the haunted train, haunted house, Frankenstein’s Dance Party, and a costume contest!  Food truck vendors will be available for you to purchase some delicious snacks, too.

Art of Architecture series returns tonight with Professor Mark Boyer

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Mark Boyer will present a lecture titled “New Ground, Notable Projects” on Oct. 16 in Little Rock, as part of the Architecture and Design Network’s 2012-2013 Art of Architecture lecture seriesThe “Art of Architecture” series kicks of 2012-2013 with Professor Mark Boyer discussing “New Ground, Notable Projects.”  It will take place tonight, October 16, at the Arkansas Arts Center. The lecture will begin at 6 p.m. in the center’s Lecture Hall, following a 5:30 p.m. reception.

Boyer is head of the department of landscape architecture in the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He also currently serves as second vice president of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, the national organization of landscape architecture educators. He earned a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Kentucky and a Master of Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State University. He is the first landscape architect to participate in the Art of Architecture lecture series program, now in its ninth season.

Boyer will present an overview of several exciting and timely departmental programs and the creative contributions of both students and faculty members to those programs. For example, he’ll discuss a memorial for fallen police officers in West Memphis; the Campus RainWorks Challenge, a design competition run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and a project and research involving the Rohwer War Relocation Center in southeast Arkansas. In addition, he’ll describe green roof research, research of Roosevelt Era communities and a potential Haiti project.

The 2012-13 Art of Architecture lecture series is sponsored by the Architecture and Design Network, with support from the Central Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Arkansas Arts Center and the Fay Jones School of Architecture.

Preservation Conversations Tonight

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The Quapaw Quarter Association’s monthly Preservation Conversation continues tonight.

This month Riley May of Riley May Restoration, creator of the new floorcloth in Curran Hall, will talk about floorcloths.  The floorcloth was installed at Curran Hall in September.

The program takes place this evening at Curran Hall, 615 East Capitol Avenue. From 5 to 5:30 a reception will take place. The program will run from 5:30 to 6:30.

The Quapaw Quarter Association’s mission is to promote the preservation of Little Rock’s architectural heritage through advocacy, marketing and education. Incorporated in 1968, the QQA grew out of an effort to identify and protect significant historic structures in Little Rock during the urban renewal projects of the early 1960s. Throughout its existence, the QQA has been a driving force behind historic preservation in Greater Little Rock.

Sculpture Vulture: Collen Nyanhongo’s “Resting Angel”

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The Sculpture at the River Market show and sale starts this coming Friday evening and runs through next Sunday.  To mark this, the October Sculpture Vulture is highlighting sculptures from previous shows.

Today’s is Collen Nyanhongo’s Resting Angel.  Carved out of stone, this features both rough and polished surfaces of a variety of textures. On one side, it appears that an angel’s wing is emerging from a stone pillar.  The other side depicts a profile of the angel’s face in the same shape as the wing.

Collen Nyanhongo’s homeland is Zimbabwe, which means “large house of stone.” He is a member of the most significant family of artists in Zimbabwe and learned the craft of using simple hand tools to sculpt his stones from his father, Claude Nyanhongo, a first-generation artist who helped create the Zimbabwe Sculpture Movement fifty years ago. The Zimbabwe Sculpture Movement is heralded as the most prominent art form to emerge from Africa in the 20th century.

Forging his own vision from his powerful artistic roots, Collen Nyanhongo blends traditional figurative form into metaphorical abstract expression that transcends his past and establishes him as an eminent world artist whose work has been honored in Zimbabwe, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, Holland, England, Switzerland, Germany, South Africa and the United States.

Collen sculpts in all sizes, from a 15 ton marble stone for a public art project in Fort Collins, Colorado to smaller pieces that demand to be held and caressed. He prefers working with hard stones like Springstone, Serpentine and Lopidolite and ships them in from Zimbabwe quarries to wherever he is living and working.

Ballet Arkansas premieres AMERICAN IMAGES

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Just a few short years ago, Ballet Arkansas pretty much existed to produce the annual production of The Nutcracker.  Now, they are in the position to present an evening of six newly commissioned dance pieces!  Congratulations to all who have made this possible.

Tonight, Ballet Arkansas kicks off the 2012-2013 season with American Images, an evening of six commissioned works each built around the American cultural landscape.  The works are:

Times Torn
A Civil War ballet by Marla Edwards, the ballet’s new Ballet Mistress, herself a former soloist with Ballet Arkansas and a veteran of the Houston Ballet School.
American Dream
Choreography by Stephanie Thibeault, Associate Professor of Dance at UALR.
Pop
Choreography by Michelle Alexander, based on the art and writings of pop culture icon Andy Warhol.
Delta…Push Up Open
Choreography by Little Rock native Leslie Schickel, which premiered in March, 2012.
Spectre
A silent-film era pas de deux choreographed by former Ballet Arkansas guest dancer Edmond Cooper
Nowhere/Now Here 
Choreography by Tong Wang, currently assistant professor at University of California – Irvine Department of Dance. Wang is a former principal dancer at Ballet West in Salt Lake City and has worked with Shanghai Ballet, Tulsa Ballet Theatre, Dayton Ballet,
and Colorado Ballet, among many others.

 

The works premiered last night and will continue today at 4:00pm and tomorrow at 2:00pm at Wildwood Park for the Arts.  Also, while at Wildwood, enjoy this weekend’s Harvest Festival.

2012 Arts & Humanities Month 2nd Friday Art Night

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October is Arts and Humanities Month.  What better time to try out 2nd Friday Art Night for the first time? Or to make a repeated visit?

Tonight from 5pm to 8pm at various downtown museums and galleries, guests can view art and enjoy live entertainment.  Admission is free.

Here are just a few of the highlights.

Christ Episcopal Church.  Watercolors by Kuhl Brown.  A resident of Hillcrest, Kuhl’s paintings are realistic landscapes and other subjects also in the realistic style. The show will run through Dec. 14.

Historic Arkansas Museum will feature live music by the Smittle Band as visitors view the current exhibits. Included at HAM are:

  • Recent Acquisitions: A Collection Vision, 2008 – 2012
  • The Civil War in Arkansas
  • Barbie: The 11 1/2 –inch American Icon
  • The Knife Gallery
  • Arkansas Contemporary: Selected Fellows from the Arkansas Arts Council
  • We Walk in Two Worlds: The Caddo, Osage and Quapaw in Arkansas

The Butler Center Galleries are located within the Arkansas Studies Institute building.  The galleries this month feature: Arkansas League of Artists and Solastalgia.  The Arkansas League of Artists is a group of artists and art enthusiasts who gather to learn from one another by exploring new techniques, working in various media, and sharing their collective knowledge.  Solastalgia will feature artwork by Susan Chambers and Louise Halsey.

The Arkansas League of Artists is an organization formed to promote fine arts in Arkansas. This group of artists and art enthusiasts gathers to learn from one another by exploring new techniques, working in new media, and sharing their collective knowledge.

Also, stop by the third floor of the Cox Creative Center for “Equinox 2011-2012: A Retrospective curated by Alex Leme and Rachel Golden.”  This exhibit, which will run through Decmber 1, features works by Carolyn Ascher, Ashley Barker, Kae Barron, Beth Beam, Rebecca Benson, Chris Cotton, Carolyn Crocker, Starr Crow, Megan Douglas, Chris Friemel, Chelsye Garrett, Heather Harmon, Cody Henslee, Lilia Hernandez, Kelly Hicks, Steve Hollis, Linda Holloway, Zechariah McGhee, Cyrene Quiamco, Becky Robinson, Jerry Rushing, Myriam Saavedra and Lauren Sukany.

The artwork by Susan Chambers and Louise Halsey interprets the idea of solastalgia, a term coined by Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht meaning “the pain experienced when there is recognition that the place where one resides and that one loves is under immediate assault.”

Mann of the Evening

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Philip Mann, Recipient of 2012 Communicator of the Year AwardTonight, the Arkansas Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators will present the Bronze Quill Awards.  Among the recipients are Philip Mann, Music Director of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.

He will receive the Communicator of the Year Award, recognizing his innovative communication styles in creating connections between the music and the audience.

Congratulations to Maestro Mann and all the recipients this evening.

For more information on IABC, visit here.  For more information Philip Mann and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, visit here.