Yearly Archives: 2014

Artful Adventures continue at the Arkansas Arts Center

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arkartsThe Arkansas Arts Center is excited to offer some of the best art classes for children of all ages. Not only are these courses so much fun, but students will learn something too! All classes are taught by area professional artists and educators!

AUGUST 9
Ages 15-18, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. (Bring lunch)
Mix it Up!
Students will use many types of painting materials, such as acrylic and watercolor, and mix them with other types of media like collage and spray paint.
$53 for members and $66 for non-members.

AUGUST 11-15
Ages 10-14, 9 a.m. – Noon
Color! Color! Color!
Students will learn the basics of color theory and paint mixing as they take a closer look at three colorful movements in the history of art: Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Fauvism. Tuition is $131 per week for members and $164 per week for non-members. Class is limited to 12 students.

AUGUST 11-15
Ages 10-14, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
The Evolution of Picasso’s Selfie
From Realism to the Blue Period to Expressionism, students will spend each day of the week creating their own selfies using one of Picasso’s many art styles.
Tuition is $131 per week for members and $164 per week for non-members. Class is limited to 12 students.

 

For more information, call 501-372-4000 or visit www.arkarts.com

 

Little Rock Look Back: William Ashley – LR’s 22nd & 24th Mayor

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On August 6, 1823, future Little Rock Mayor William Eliot Ashley was born in Little Rock.  He would go on to become the first Little Rock Mayor to be born in Little Rock.  Ashley was the son of Mary and Chester Ashley; his father would later serve as a U. S. Senator from Arkansas.  He was the second of the couple’s seven children.

Though he was raised in Little Rock, he did receive some schooling out of state. The State History Commission has correspondence between eleven year old William, studying in New York, and his father. Part of the letter is a request for money.

LR sealOn October 26, 1846, he married Frances Eliza Grafton at Christ Episcopal Church.  They were the first Little Rock residents to be married in that church.  The couple had five children, including triplets.  Only one of the children, Frances (who was one of the triplets) survived to adulthood.

Ashley was first elected Mayor of Little Rock in 1857. After completing a two year term, he was succeeded by Gordon N. Peay (another scion of a prominent Little Rock family).  In 1861, Ashley returned to the office of Mayor.  He was reelected to a third term in 1863.  In September 1863, following the defeat of Confederate troops by the Union forces at the Battle of Little Rock, the City of Little Rock ceased operations.  On September 21, 1863, Little Rock municipal government closed its doors, stopped collection of taxes and disbanded.  Thus Ashley’s third term ended.

In addition to his interest in local government, Ashley was a member of St. John’s College Board and a director of the newly-formed Little Rock Gas Company.

William Elliot Ashley died on August 16, 1868 at the age of 45.  He was buried in Mt. Holly Cemetery (which sat partially on land that had once belonged to his family). His parents, wife and children are all buried in Mt. Holly as well.

Interestingly, for someone who grew up in a prominent family, there does not appear to be a surviving likeness of Mayor Ashley – either in painting or photograph.  Several exist of his parents, but none of him.

Take Two – After a Rain Cancellation last week – E.T. Closes Out 2014 Movies in Park season

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MitP10 ETWhile federal government officials in full decontamination suits couldn’t stop E.T., Mother Nature did.  So Movies in the Park has extended a week and is screening a movie tonight.

The 10th anniversary season of Movies in the Park closes out with the 1982 classic E.T.  Steven Spielberg’s tale of an extraterrestrial who is trying to get home has been a hit since it debuted.

The film stars Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore and Robert McNaughton as three siblings who befriend the creature. Dee Wallace is their mom.  Others in the cast include Peter Coyote and C. Thomas Howell.

Bring the Reese’s Pieces, ride your bicycle and plan for a magical evening of glowing fingertips, amazement and the uttering of the name “Elliott.”

E. T. was nominated for nine Oscars including Best Picture.  It took home four trophies: Sound, Visual Effects, Sound Effects Editing and Score. The latter award went to John Williams for yet another iconic masterpiece.

Now in its 10th season, Movies in the Park is a free outdoor film series at the First Security Amphitheater in Riverfront Park.  The move starts at dark (around 8:30).

Movies in the Park has grown to a season of eight films per year, on average, reaching audiences of up to 7,000 people. It’s a staple event in Central Arkansas. Communities from across the state, and the country, have reached out for guidance as they have tried to implement similar programs in the own communities.

Since 2008, the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau has been managing Movies in the Park.

Butler Center Legacies & Lunch today at noon: Frank Sata

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legaciesEach month (usually the first Wednesday), the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies hosts “Legacies & Lunch”.  This month the program features Frank Sata discussing Unlikely Foundation: How WWII Internment in Arkansas Shaped a Family’s Life in Art and Architecture.  

Mr. Sata’s appearance is also presented in partnership with the Clinton School of Public Service’s speaker series.

sataAs a young boy, Frank Sata was one of thousands of Japanese Americans who spent time in Arkansas during World War II, imprisoned by their own country merely because of their ancestry. He was eight years old when his family was shipped from their home in California to Jerome, where one of two Arkansas internment camps for Japanese Americans was built by the War Relocation Authority. Mr. Sata’s father, J.T. Sata, was an accomplished artist who documented his family’s time in camps in Arkansas and Arizona in a series of remarkable oil paintings and charcoal drawings. Much of that art is currently on display in Concordia Hall of Butler Center Galleries, as part of Drawn In: New Art from WWII Camps at Rohwer and Jerome, and will remain in the Butler Center’s collection following the closing of the exhibition on August 23, 2014.

Mr. Sata, who lives in Pasadena, California, went on to become an architect. His own work was influenced by his experience of the World War II camps, his father’s art and photography, and famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s fascination with Asian architecture. He will discuss the internment experience, his father’s art, and the ways his work as an architect reflects his memories of his years in Arkansas.

Despite the sadness embedded in the injustice of the World War II camps, Mr. Sata says, “I have since developed a sense of comfort and place for Arkansas.” He says, “Sometimes words do not come easily for me to describe that special meaning, but he is an eloquent interpreter of the power of a harsh experience visited upon a country’s citizens by wartime frenzy and the healing power of creativity to overcome anger and bitterness.

Legacies & Lunch is sponsored in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert are provided. For more information, visit www.butlercenter.org.

Paul Laurence Dunbar School Neighborhood Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

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Built as Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, this building is now known as Dunbar Middle School. It is the centerpiece of the Dunbar Neighborhood.

Earlier today, Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola and Director of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program Missy McSwain announced the listing of the Paul Laurence Dunbar School Neighborhood Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places and discuss what that means for the City of Little Rock.

This designation is the result of several years of hard work by members of the community.  This National Register listing formally documents the neighborhood’s history, development and contributions to the City of Little Rock.  It also provides an incentive in the form of rehabilitation tax credits for many of the properties within its boundaries.

Paul Laurence Dunbar School Neighborhood Historic District in Little Rock contains buildings dating to 1890. According to the National Register nomination, the district is representative of the evolution of a neighborhood from an integrated working and middle-class neighborhood in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century to a predominantly African-American working and middle-class neighborhood in Little Rock by the 1960s. Resources within the District reflect the varied architectural styles prevalent during the late nineteenth and early-to-mid-twentieth centuries. Properties in the district exhibit a broad mix of influences and architectural variants popular during the period, influenced by regional and ethnic traditions.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archaeological resources.

Also at the press announcement, Hearne Fine Art unveiled a new sculpture, “Three Rings: Tribute to Isamu Noguchi.”

 

 

Community Theatre of Little Rock announces 2014-2015 season

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ctlrThe Community Theatre of Little Rock has recently announced their 59th Season, which has been given the theme “The Sinners and Saints Season.”

The season kicks off on August 22 with a one weekend only series of one acts.  Directed by Liz Turner, Lisa Luyet, Mark Troillett and Chris Boggs, the one acts are: “The Actor’s Nightmare” by Christopher Durang, “Private Wars” by James McLure, “Ways and Means” by Noel Coward and “30 Minutes to Charlie” by Nick Zagone.

In October, N. Richard Nash’s classic play The Rainmaker will be performed from October 3 through 19.  For the holidays the musical Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical by Dan Goggins will take the stage from November 28 through December 20.  The backstage thriller Rehearsal for Murder kicks off 2015 from February 13 through March 1.

A new play will be premiered.  Written and directed by S. Christopher Boggs, The Winning Numbers will play from April 24 through 26.  The season will conclude with the musical Sister Act from June 5 through 28.

The Community Theatre of Little Rock now performs at the new Studio Theatre in downtown Little Rock.

Little Rock Look Back: William G. Whipple – LR’s 34th Mayor

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whippleOn August 4, 1834, future Little Rock Mayor William G. Whipple was born in Connecticut.  He attended school in Massachusetts and graduated from Wesleyan University. After studying law at Albany Law School, he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In 1868, Whipple moved to Little Rock following the 1866 death of his first wife in Wisconsin. Long active in Republican politics, he quickly became involved in Little Rock’s political and social life.  Shortly after his arrival he was appointed United States Attorney and served three years.

In 1870, he married Mary S. Dodge, daughter of former mayor Roderick Lathrop Dodge MD.  They had one son Durand, who followed his father into the legal profession. The Whipples were active members of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.

In 1887, Whipple was elected Mayor of Little Rock and was re-elected two years later.  Whipple’s mayoral administration introduced electric lighting to the city beginning on September 1, 1887, paved many streets with granite and macadam, created sixty miles of new brick and concrete sidewalks, and introduced a steam dummy railway.

In 1892, he ran for Governor of Arkansas as the Republican nominee but was unsuccessful.  In 1895, he sought a third term for Mayor but was defeated by James A. Woodson.

From 1897 to 1900, he served as register of the US Land Office in Arkansas.  Whipple, who had long practiced law, was appointed United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas in 1900.  He served in that capacity until 1913.

In July 1914, Mayor Whipple died.  He is buried at Oakland Cemetery in Little Rock.