Yearly Archives: 2014

ArtPlace America Awards $345,000 to Little Rock for Main Street

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ArtPlace_MAP_OCD_trans-520x337ArtPlace America announced today that the City of Little Rock has been awarded a $345,000 grant to enhance its creative placemaking project on Main Street Creative Corridor – a four block area of Main Street where arts organizations are relocating.  Little Rock is one of only 55 of 1,300 communities selected to receive 2014 funding.

In Little Rock the money will be used in a four block area of the Creative Corridor to enhance streetscapes, signage, artwork and an opening celebration.

“We are delighted to share this exciting news with our community. While we know first-hand that deploying the arts can transform communities, having our work recognized by a generous grant from ArtPlace further supports and validates our efforts to use the arts to revitalize our city,”  said Mayor Mark Stodola.

“Investing in and supporting the arts have a profound impact on the social, physical, and economic futures of communities,” said ArtPlace Executive Director Jamie L. Bennett. “Projects like these demonstrate how imaginative and committed people are when it comes to enhancing their communities with creative interventions and thoughtful practices.”

About ArtPlace America

ArtPlace America (ArtPlace) advances the field of creative placemaking, in which art and culture plays an explicit and central role in shaping communities’ social, physical, and economic futures.  To date, ArtPlace has awarded $56.8 million through 189 grants to projects serving 122 communities across 42 states and the District of Columbia.

ArtPlace is a collaboration among the Barr Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Ford Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The William Penn Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Rasmuson Foundation, The Surdna Foundation, and two anonymous donors.

ArtPlace seeks advice and counsel from its close working relationships with the following federal agencies: the National Endowment for the Arts, the US Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Education, and Transportation, along with leadership from the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Domestic Policy Council.

ArtPlace has additional partnership from six major financial institutions: Bank of America, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Chase, MetLife and Morgan Stanley.

Little Rock Creative Corridor schematic designs for Main Street are on the City’s website: http://www.littlerock.org/!userfiles/editor/docs/The%20Creative%20Corridor_Final%20Report.pdf.

 

Picnic at Movies in the Park with EAT PRAY LOVE

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The 2010 film Eat Pray Love MitP10 EatPrayLoveis tonight’s film at Movies in the Park.

Directed by Ryan Murphy of “Glee” fame, it stars Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem.  Others in the cast include Billy Crudup, Viola Davis, James Franco, Mike O’Malley, Welker White, and Michael Cumpsty.  Arkansan Ashlie Atkinson is also featured.

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 4,000 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 and Visitors Bureau has been managing Movies in the Park.

 

 

 

Lights Camera Action – The Science of Making Movies tonight at the Museum of Discovery’s Science after Dark; for ages 21 and up

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06 14 science after darkIrving Berlin wrote “There’s No Business like Show Business.” Some argue that film is an art not a business.  But the reality is, without science, there would not be film. The act of capturing images and sound on a thin strip of plastic is the result of a great deal of science over the past 150 years.

Tonight at the Museum of Discovery, it is the monthly Science After Dark feature for adults.  This month explores the Science of Making Movies.  Learn about the science of lights, camera and even action tonight.

The program runs from 6pm to 8pm at the Museum of Discovery. It costs $5, but is free to Museum Members.  If you attend several of these a year as well as visit the museum once or twice, you MORE than make up your membership fee.

(And after you have learned about the science of making movies, you can attend Movies in the Park tonight just outside the museum in Riverfront Park.)

Summer is here, take your kids to the museum.  If you don’t have kids, borrow some from a friend, neighbor or relative — you’ll be their hero.  Or just go by yourself – the Museum of Discovery offers activities and exhibits designed to engage literally all ages.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS at Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre

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PrintFor the past several years, the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre has created a condensed version of one of the Bard’s tales geared specifically for younger audiences.  This production tours the state as well as playing at the AST home on the UCA campus.

In this gleeful adaptation especially for young audiences, The Comedy of Errors offers double the fun as two sets of of long-lost twins cause chaos and comedy by ending up in the same place at thesame time.  Their grossly mistaken identities lead to trouble in love and with the law.  This hour-long production will be great fun for the family to enjoy together.

The cast for this comic romp includes: Adam Frank (Aegeon, a merchant from Syracuse looking for his sons; Dr. Pinch, a schoolmaster engaged as an exorcist);  Matthew Kyle Holcomb (Antipholus of Syracuse, traveler in search of his mother and his twin brother; Antipholus of Ephesus, a citizen of Ephesus);  Hannah Moulder (Luciana, Sister to Adriana; Lady Abbess Aemelia, head of a priory in Ephesus);  Jordy Neil (Dromio of Syracuse, servant to Antipholus of Syracuse; Dromio of Ephesus, servant to Antipholus of Ephesus) and  Jessica Dean Turner (Solinus, Duke of Ephesus; Adriana, Wife to Antipholus of Ephesus; Angelo, goldsmith in Ephesus).

Performances are at 2:30pm today, Thursday the 26th and Saturday the 28th.

Little Rock Look Back: Buddy Villines – LR’s 69th Mayor

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judgebuddyOn this date in 1947, future Little Rock Mayor (and current Pulaski County Judge) Floyd G. “Buddy” Villines was born.  A 1969 graduate of Hendrix College, he served in Vietnam in 1970 and 1971. He later graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law School.

Villines’ first interaction with Little Rock City Hall was as an employee in the City Manager’s office.  After joining the private sector, he returned to City Hall in 1985 serving on the Little Rock City Board of Directors.  He was re-elected in 1989.

While on the City Board, he was chosen as Vice Mayor for a two year term in 1987 and 1988.  The following year he was selected as Mayor for a two year term.  In 1990, Villines was elected Pulaski County Judge; he resigned from the City Board in December 1990 to take office.

Villines has served as Pulaski County Judge since January 1991.  He is leaving office this December after 24 years.  He is the longest serving County Judge in Pulaski County history.

PIPPIN to do, just for you at Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre

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PrintThe Broadway smash hit Pippin is coming to central Arkansas!  This winner of the 2013 Tony for “Best Musical Revival” is the story of a young man (who happens to be the son of the great King Charlemagne) and his  journey to find where he belongs in the world, his “Corner of the Sky.”  With a cast of colorful characters, lively dancing, soulful tunes from Stephen Schwartz (Wicked), and direction and choreography by North Little Rock-native Jeremy Williams, this musical will have you mesmerized from beginning to end.

Performances started earlier this month and continue today at 2pm, at 2pm & 7:30pm on Wednesday, June 25 and 2pm & 7:30pm on Friday, June 27. It is performed at the Reynolds Center on the UCA campus.

Garrett Whitehead plays the title role. Others in the cast are Evan Tyrone Martin, Dan Matisa, Matthew Holcomb, Holly Ruth Gale, Laurie Pascale, Kelly Karcher, Drew Price, Jonathan Altman, Rebecca Kuo, Hannah Moulder, Moriah Patterson, Fernando Quinones, and Benjamin Stidham.

Celebrate Juneteenth at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center

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Juneteenth logoAs part of the local Juneteenth celebration, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center hosts a day long event featuring activities, vendors, food and entertainment for the entire community. Events run from 11am to 5pm.

This year’s music line-up includes Ricky Howard, Delya Russell, Foreign Tongues, Steven Young – Artists United, Butterfly featuiring Irie Soul, Epiphany and the Big John Miller Band.

The museum will also celebrate an opening of a new exhibit on Arkansas African American legislators.

At 1pm, MTCC, in partnership with AETN, PBS and the UALR Institute on Race and Ethnicity, presents this free documentary film premiere of American Experience: Freedom Summer.

FreedomSummer-PosterCMYK for webThe screening is in advance of the national broadcast premiere. This 2014 Official Sundance Selection from acclaimed filmmaker Stanley Nelson will premiere at MTCC in conjunction with the Annual Juneteenth Celebration of Freedom. This summer will mark the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Freedom Summer.

As the campaign launches, 700 student volunteers are trained to register voters, teach in Freedom Schools, and help establish an alternate political party to represent the rights of those previously disenfranchised.

After learning of these impending summer activities, the white establishment in Mississippi prepares to fight off an invasion. Young activists, students, and local citizens work through their fear together, hoping to make a difference in black communities. As the summer wears on, many of their fears are realized.

A panel and Q & A will follow the premiere.

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. From its Galveston, Texas, origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond.

Today, Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement. It is a day, a week, and in some areas a month marked with celebrations, guest speakers, picnics and family gatherings. It is a time for reflection and rejoicing. It is a time for assessment, self-improvement and for planning the future. Its growing popularity signifies a level of maturity and dignity in America long overdue. In cities across the country, people of all races, nationalities and religions are joining hands to truthfully acknowledge a period in our history that shaped and continues to influence our society today. Sensitized to the conditions and experiences of others, only then can we make significant and lasting improvements in our society.