Yearly Archives: 2014

Dale Chihuly Exhibit at Clinton Presidential Center

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chihuly2Dale Chihuly is credited with revolutionizing the Studio Glass movement and elevating the perception of the glass medium from the realm of craft to fine art. He is renowned for his ambitious architectural installations around the world in historic cities, museums, and gardens.

The exhibit includes new and early works representing the breadth and scope of the artist’s vision over the last four decades. The exhibit features four installations designed specifically for the Clinton Presidential Library. One installation is on-view in the temporary exhibition space, one in the Garden View Room, one in the Sky Lobby and one in the outdoor fountain.

The exhibit will run from May 17, 2014 to January 5, 2015. The Clinton Presidential Library & Museum is open Monday-Saturday 9-5 and Sunday 1-5,

ROCKing the TONY AWARDS – Claire Bloom

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Rock the Tonys486px-Claire_BloomCLAIRE BLOOM

Little Rock connection: Performed at Wildwood Park for the Arts in the 1990s.

Tony Awards connection: Nominated for Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in 1999 for Electra.

Explore Mayan culture at Museum of Discovery

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MayanThe secrets of an ancient world await in Mystery of the Mayan Medallion, the Museum of Discovery’s summer exhibit, which opened on May 24.

In this immersive exhibit, visitors are transported to Palenque, Mexico, where an archaeological team has mysteriously disappeared from a dig site while investigating rumors of a priceless jade medallion. They will follow the clues the team left behind to locate the precious medallion while avoiding the dangers lurking in the ruins.

In the exhibit, visitors will:

  • Translate glyphs
  • Discover which rainforest animals are poisonous
  • Learn how the Mayans recorded dates
  • Take rubbings from a sarcophagus
  • Interpret a “battle” mural.

Exhibit components include archeology, biology and astro-mathematic field stations, an observatory and a tomb area that yield clues to the medallion’s whereabouts.

“Mystery of the Mayan Medallion has been popular everywhere it’s been experienced, and we know museum visitors young and old alike will enjoy engaging with the many components of the exhibit,” said Kelley Bass, CEO of the Museum of Discovery. “It is a fun mix of science, history and intrigue.”

Mystery of the Mayan Medallion will remain at the Museum of Discovery through September 12.

Museum of Discovery’s mission is to ignite a passion for science, technology and math in a dynamic, interactive environment.

Museum Information

Hours of Operation: Tuesday – Saturday: 9 am – 5 pm; Sunday: 1-5 pm; Closed Monday

(open Mondays in the summer and on major holidays)

Admission: $10 adults; $8 ages 1-12; free under 1; members free

ROCKing the TONY AWARDS – Agnes de Mille

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Rock the Tonys

Photo by courtesy Anderson Ferrell

Photo by courtesy Anderson Ferrell

AGNES DE MILLE

Little Rock connection: In 1951 she and her dance troupe performed at Robinson Auditorium.

Tony Awards connection: Won Tony Awards for Choreography for Brigadoon (1947) and Kwamina (1962). Was nominated for a Tony for choreographing Goldilocks.  In 1993, accepted a special Tony for the 50th anniversary of Oklahoma!

Movies in the Park founders to be honored on June 11

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MitP 10Movies in the Park founders Heather Allmendinger, Ben Beaumont and Blake Rutherford, will be honored for their hard work and vision in creating the ever popular Little Rock Movies in the Park, celebrating its 10th season this year.

The celebration will be on Wednesday, June 11 at 8:30 p.m. at the First Security Amphitheater, just prior to the kickoff of the 2014 season.

Movies in the Park began as an idea by Blake Rutherford. While walking through the River Market one day, he wondered why the city didn’t use the amphitheater for outdoor movies. He did a little research, and found a model for Movies in the Park from the popular Summer Movie Series at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC.

Blake then called friends, Heather and Ben, and reached out to community leaders to get the idea off the ground. The movie series at the Museum of Art in Raleigh was more than 10 years old at the time, and they were very helpful in getting Movies in the Park started in Little Rock.

Comcast was the first anchor sponsor on board with the event, followed by much support from KURB B 98.5 FM, Arkansas Times, Stone Ward, City of Little Rock and more.

“One of our goals from the beginning was to ensure that the movies would be completely free for all in the community to enjoy,” said Blake Rutherford. “We received tremendous support from several organizations to get the event going and we are very happy to see it continue as one of the most popular community events in Little Rock.”

The popular outdoor free movie night, held at the First Security Amphitheater, has been going strong for ten years now. The first movie to be shown was “A River Runs Through It,” which was selected as a nod to Little Rock and the Amphitheater’s location. It drew less than 400 people. Four films were shown the first year in 2004.

Movies in the Park has now grown to a season of eight films per year, on average, reaching audiences of up to 3,000 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.

To check out more information about the movies being played this year, please visit

http://moviesintheparklr.net.

ROCKing the TONY AWARDS – Joe E. Brown

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Rock the Tonysharveybrown3JOE E. BROWN

Little Rock connection: Appeared at Robinson Auditorium in the national tour of Harvey in 1948.

Tony Awards connection: At the 1948 Tonys, received a special Tony Award for touring in Harvey while the original play still was on Broadway.  He had previously played the role on Broadway earlier in the run (succeeding original star Frank Fay). The original production of Harvey was directed by Antoinette Perry, after whom the awards were named.

The photo on the right was a publicity photo showing Brown taking down a painting of Fay with Harvey to mark the fact that Brown was taking over the role.

Final weekend of Carroll Cloar Exhibit at Arkansas Arts Center

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Carroll Cloar, The Smiling Moon Cafe, 1965, casein tempera on Masonite, 25 in. x 36 in., Private Collection, ©Estate of Carroll Cloar

There are only three days remaining to experience (or experience again) The Crossroads of Memory: Carroll Cloar and the American South exhibit at the Arkansas Arts Center.  It runs through June 1.

The paintings of Carroll Cloar (1913-1993), rank among the most haunting and beautiful evocations ever made of the American South. Drawing upon family stories, photographs of ancestors, rural scenery, small town life, and memories of his childhood on an Arkansas farm, Cloar captured the quiet richness of a simpler world.

Marking the centenary of the artist’s birth, The Crossroads of Memory: Carroll Cloar and the American South will include approximately seventy paintings, ranging from early Realist masterpieces to the poignant pictures of his later career.

An exhibition organized by the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and the Arkansas Arts Center curated by Stanton Thomas, Curator of European and Decorative Art at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, the exhibition will feature works from major public collections as well as rarely seen pictures still in private hands.

Presented in Arkansas by: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Lisenne Rockefeller; Stella Boyle Smith Trust.

Sponsored in Arkansas by: Anonymous; Bailey Foundation; Sandra and Bob Connor; Terri and Chuck Erwin; Friday, Eldredge & Clark, LLP; Eileen and Ricardo Sotomora; John Tyson & Tyson Foods, Inc.; Arkansas Farm Bureau/Agriculture Council of Arkansas; Capital Hotel; Cindy and Greg Feltus; Munro Foundation; J.D. Simpson; Don Tilton; Gus and Ellis Walton.