Historic Arkansas Museum has a special 2nd Friday Art Night with the free opening reception of Joe Barry Carroll: Growing Up..In Words and Images. It includes a gallery talk at 6 pm followed by a book signing. Enjoy live music by The Gentlemen Jazz and #ArkansasMade brews as our Year of Arkansas Beer continues with Vino’s Brewpub. The Year of Arkansas Beer is presented by the Arkansas Brewers Guild and sponsored by the Historic Arkansas Museum Foundation.  

Joe Barry Carroll: Growing Up…In Words and Images 

NBA All Star Joe Barry Carroll’s story begins in Pine Bluff, shooting baskets through a scavenged bicycle rim he nailed to the backyard shed. In Growing Up, Carroll’s colorful and evocative paintings from his memoir of the same name peer into facets of what he refers to as “shared humanity” – childhood, dreams, family ties, southern culture and self-discovery. “The best parts of my character and moral fiber flow from my family, my people and my early life experiences in Arkansas.”

Carroll led the Purdue University Boilermakers to the Final Four in 1980, graduated with a degree in Economics and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1980 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. He is now a wealth adviser, philanthropist, painter and writer.