Monthly Archives: September 2014

Jazz in the Park tonight – Julia Buckingham Group

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jazzinparkJazz in the Park is back in Little Rock for the second half of the second season! Jazz in the Park is a free, family-friendly event featuring jazz in downtown Little Rock.

Things continue tonight from 6pm to 8pm with the Julia Buckingham Group.

The event is completely free, but no coolers are allowed. Beer, wine, soft drinks and water will be available for sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit Sculpture at the River Market. Lawn chairs and blankets are welcome, and there is some seating in the natural stone amphitheater at the History Pavilion.

This event is sponsored by Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau and the River Market, with special thanks to Arkansas Sounds Music Festival and the Central Arkansas Library System.

Jazz in the Park takes place Wednesday nights in September from 6pm to 8pm. They will take place in the History Pavilion near the Junction Bridge and the River Market.

Little Rock Look Back: Plans for new City Hall finally proceed

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City Hall circa 1908

City Hall circa 1908

After a judge ruled in August 1906 that the City of Little Rock could not build a new City Hall and Auditorium complex, it looked like Little Rock would be stuck with its existing inadequate building.

However on September 10 it became obvious that much work had been taking place behind the scenes after that ruling.  On that day, the Board of Public Affairs (a City body charged with overseeing municipal government construction projects and comprised of the mayor and two citizens approved by the City Council) voted to ask the aldermen to cancel plans and rescind legislation for the city hall, jail and auditorium complex.  The Board of Public Affairs then offered up a new plan for a city hall and jail building.  Because no auditorium was involved, these plans would not be in violation of the Chancery Court.

That same evening the City Council followed suit and revoked the plans for the original project.  The aldermen then voted to proceed with building a new city hall and jail without the auditorium.  There was only one dissenting vote; Alderman Jonathan Tuohey voted no.  He explained his negative vote was not a lack of support for the project, but he was not comfortable with the way it was rushed through.

Mayor Warren E. Lenon told the Gazette, “The Chancery Court has enjoined us from erecting an auditorium and the Board of Public Affairs has consequently rescinded all resolutions and orders pertaining to that structure.” He noted that there would “be no appeal from the injunction granted by Chancellor Hart, because there is nothing to appeal.”

The coverage of the actions of the City Council that night was in keeping with the manner in which the two daily newspapers had covered the lawsuit and the trial.  The Gazette headline cried “City Hall Ordinance Railroaded Through” while the staid Democrat merely stated “New $175,000 City Hall Provided by City Council.”  The tone of the Gazette’s article matched the headline while the Democrat’s story was more straightforward.

Architect Charles Thompson adjusted his plan for the new City Hall by removing the auditorium wing.  With the revised Th0mpson plan and the approval of the City Council, Little Rock was at last on its way to a new City Hall.  This was over two years after Mayor Lenon had first broached the subject.

Originally slated to open in 1907, the building officially opened in April 1908.

Little Rock Look Back: Battle of Little Rock

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301px-Battle_of_Bayou_Forche_mapOn September 10, 1863, Confederate forces under General Sterling Price evacuated Little Rock in advance of Federal forces, thus ending the Little Rock Campaign. By 5:00pm, his forces had left the city and at 7:00pm, civil authorities formally surrendered. Little Rock became the fourth Southern capital to come under Federal control.

The battle was the culmination of a campaign launched by Maj. Gen. Fred Steele, on August 1, 1863 to capture Little Rock. The campaign includes engagements at Westport, on 14 August, Harrison’s Landing, on 16 August, Brownsville on 25 August, the Reed’s Bridge, on 27 August, and Ashley’s Mills on 7 September 1863. After the Union army affected a river crossing east of Little Rock, effectively flanking the Confederate defenses north of the river, the Confederates staged a brief delaying action at Bayou Fourche to allow for evacuation of Little Rock.

The Battle of Little Rock is also known as the Battle of Bayou Fourche.

56th annual Delta Exhibition at Arkansas Arts Center wraps up later this month

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Mark Lewis, Peoria Avenue #7, 2011, graphite and paper collage, 2013 Grand Award

“As one of the most anticipated Arkansas Arts Center events of the year, the 56th Annual Delta Exhibition offers a unique snapshot of the Delta region,” said Arkansas Arts Center executive director Todd Herman. “The widely held exhibition sanctions local artists to lead and inspire their respective communities through art, education and cultural excellence.”

The Delta Exhibition runs through Sunday, September 28.

The Delta Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture was founded in 1956 to feature contemporary work by artists from Arkansas and the bordering states. Today, the 56th Annual Delta Exhibition has grown to encompass works in all media and is a showcase for the dynamic vision of the artists of the Mississippi Delta region. The diversity of their art reflects the region’s strong traditions of craftsmanship and observation, combined with an innovative use of materials and an experimental approach to subject matter.

The competition is open to all artists who live in or were born in one of the following states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. All work must be completed during the last two years and must not have been exhibited previously at the Arkansas Arts Center. This year’s exhibition will be on view June 27 – September 28 in the Townsend Wolfe Gallery.

Guest juror Brian Rutenberg of New York selected works for the exhibition in addition to a Grand Award, with a cash prize of $2,500, and two Delta Awards, with cash prizes of $750 each, for the top works in the show. Juror Rutenberg earned his Master of Arts degree from New York’s acclaimed School of Visual Arts and went on to become a Forum Gallery artist in 2001. He has since had three successful solo exhibitions and actively exhibits throughout the United States and Canada.

For more information, visit arkansasartscenter.org/delta or call(501) 372-4000.

Creative Corridor work to close a block of Main Street for a few weeks

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Main Street closureBeginning Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 7 a.m., Main Street between Third and Fourth streets will be closed to thru vehicle traffic.

The closure is expected to last three to four weeks.  During this time period, pedestrian and bicycle traffic to businesses, residences and job sites will be allowed at all times.

The closure is needed to continue progress on the Main Street Creative Corridor project. The lack of vehicular traffic will maintain a safe working environment for construction crews and the general public.

The 300 block of Main Street will be one of the gateways to the Creative Corridor, featuring a plaza with rain and light gardens.

 

Nine Arkansans received Individual Artist Fellowships from Arkansas Arts Council

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Arkansas_Arts_Council_logo_2The Arkansas Arts Council is pleased to announce the nine recipients of its Individual Artist Fellowship awards. The artists will be recognized at a reception, co-sponsored by Historic Arkansas Museum, on Friday, October 3, from 6-8 p.m. at the museum on 200 E. Third St. in Little Rock. The reception is free and open to the public. Seating is limited; reservations are required. For reservations, call (501) 324-9766.

Fellowships are awarded annually in the amount of $4,000 each to Arkansas artists in recognition of their individual artistic abilities. These fellowships enable artists to set aside time for creating their art and improving their skills. Three artistic disciplines are selected each year as categories for the awards.

The three categories for this year are Literary Arts: Short Story Writing; Performing Arts: Directing of Theater Productions; and Visual Arts: Works on Paper.

The following recipients were selected by a jury of professional artists, writers, performers and art administrators:

Literary Arts: Short Story Writing

Marla Cantrell, Alma

Alice Otto, Fayetteville

Hung Pham, Fayetteville

 

Performing Arts: Directing of Theater Productions

Amy Herzberg, Fayetteville

Kassie Misiewicz, Bentonville

Rebekah Scallet, Little Rock

 

Visual Arts: Works on Paper

Sheila Cantrell, Batesville

Delita S. Martin, Little Rock

Kathryn (Kat) Wilson, Fayetteville

Final Day for two exhibits at Historic Arkansas Museum

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Two exhibits at Historic Arkansas Museum close today.

“So What!” It’s The Least I Can Do… new paintings by Ray Wittenberg

Little Rock artist Ray Wittenberg’s large-scale paintings explore a turn away from the conjuring marks of expression toward a search for pictorial simplicity. These whimsical paintings explore nothing more than the relationship between the elements of line and color with the goal to strip everything down to the essentials and achieve simplicity. The pared-down design elements, along with repetition, “desirably get the painter out of the equation,” states Wittenberg.  His Caribbean Sea on Fresh Tangerine is shown at right.

Kateri Joe: Thank Your Lucky Stars

Kateri Joe is a painter living just outside of Little Rock, Arkansas. Self-taught in art, but academically trained in psychology, her two passions converge in her mixed media pieces. Her pieces are often reflective, eccentric and made with unconventional media—such as dirt, gold leaf and fingerprints. This is her first full exhibition and is based on the universal relationship of humanity and the Cosmos.

Historic Arkansas Museum is a division of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.