Monthly Archives: August 2019

Little Rock Look Back: Birth of longtime Arkansas Arts Center director Townsend Wolfe

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Townsend Wolfe, who led the Arkansas Arts Center for 34 years, was born on August 15, 1935.  He was hired to lead the Arkansas Arts Center 50 years ago this month.

Though not the founding director of the Arkansas Arts Center, Wolfe was the director for well over half of the institution’s 57 year history. Hired in 1968 at the age of 32 (making him one of the youngest art museum directors in the US at the time), he retired in 2002.  That year he was honored with the Governor’s Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Arkansas Arts Council.

A native of South Carolina, Wolfe held a bachelor’s degree from the Atlanta Art Institute and a master’s degree from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He also received a certificate from the Harvard Institute of Arts Administration, and honorary doctoral degrees from two other institutions.  After teaching some classes and seminars at the AAC in the early 1960s, he was recruited to return full-time to the Arkansas Arts Center by Governor and Mrs. Winthrop Rockefeller.

During his tenure at the Arts Center, he first was responsible for creating financial stability. After drastic cost-cutting measures, he refocused programming which led to the creation of the current Museum School, a focus of works on paper for the collection, cultivating a thriving collectors group, establishment of a children’s theatre, expansion of statewide services, and several additions to the physical structure.  He encouraged others to collect art and expanded Arts Center programming into Little Rock neighborhoods.

In addition to serving on the National Council of the Arts, Wolfe was a member of the National Museum Services Board and the board of the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in New York. He was curator for an exhibition in the First Ladies’ Sculpture Garden at the White House in 1995, and was the recipient of the 1997 Distinguished Service Award (outside the profession) by the National Art Educators Association.

Over the years, Wolfe has served in a variety of capacities for the Association of American Museums, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Wolfe, who died in 2017, was posthumously honored by the Arts Center in 2018 with one of its Portrait of a Patron awards.  In 1973, he received the first Winthrop Rockefeller Memorial Award from the Arkansas Arts Center.

Six Weeks of STAR WARS on CALS Ron Robinson Theater screen ends with RETURN OF THE JEDI

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Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi PosterFor six weeks this summer, the Central Arkansas Library System has been showing the first six episodes of the STAR WARS saga on Thursday evenings at the Ron Robinson Theater.  They are being shown in episode order, not release order, or any of the other orders dreamed up by fans.

Tonight the triple fortnight concludes with 1983’s Episode 6 – Return of the Jedi  

As an epic battle for the fate of the galaxy approaches, the Empire quickly finishes construction on another Death Star battle station, and the Emperor himself soon arrives to personally oversee the operation. Rescuing Han Solo from his captor Jabba the Hutt, Princess Leia helps organize the Rebel attack and Luke Skywalker prepares for final confrontation with Darth Vader to prove himself a Jedi and perhaps bring out the good within his father’s soul.

This is the film which (SPOILER ALERT) Boba Fett dies.  It is also the movie in which Carrie Fisher had to wear a gold bikini.

The cast includes Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Alec Guinness (in cameos), Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, David Prowse, Ian McDiarmid, and the voice of James Earl Jones.

Directed by Richard Marquand (selected by George Lucas), the film was nominated for four Oscars: Music (John Williams third nomination for the trilogy), Sound Effects, Sound, and Art Direction.  As had the first two films in the triad, it received a Special Oscar for Visual Effects.

The screening starts tonight, August 15, at 7pm. Admission is $5.00.

Tonight on South on Main stage – Bijoux’s August Session presents Nick Black

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Sessions :: Nick BlackEach month, South on Main has someone curate the Wednesday evening Sessions Series.  In August, it is singer Bijoux.  Tonight (August 14), seh presents an evening with Nick Black, a Memphis-based pop/soul artist, as part of her August Sessions at South on Main. Show begins at 8 pm. Purchase advance tickets for $7 or pay $10 at the door. Tickets do not guarantee you a seat. For reservations, please call (501) 244-9660

Nick Black is fun, optimistic, and authentic. His music is a full-embodied piece of art that will change your whole mood instantly. Influenced by the feel good music of Justin Timberlake, Al Green, Sting, and Bruno Mars, Nick has created his music to sound unique, yet familiar and nostalgic. He sees the world through a very clear lens where he takes people and experiences for what they are while also learning from them as they are. In return, both him and his music are true, honest, perceptive, and passionate.

Always wanting to be a star and perform on a stage in front of as many people as the eye could see, Nick Black is determined now more than ever to reach and exceed his goals. His stage presence is proof that he was always destined to be an entertainer. Nick pulls the audience in and doesn’t let them go. He creates an experience that he wants everyone to be part of. Pulling people up from the crowd, he has people dancing and grooving front and center.

Nick Black is quickly becoming one of the most recognizable names in the Pop/Soul music scene. He grew up between two worlds: his family’s deep ties to church, and Memphis where Soul, RnB, Rock N’ Roll, and Blues legends made names for themselves, Black’s sound is an organically grown phenomenon. Since his first album in 2012, The Soul Diaries, his authenticity and passion has been the foundation of his identity, both as a person and as an artist. Venturing into new territory with his recently released single, “Grenadine”, Nick is excited to pursue his curiosity in electronic music, adding dance beats to his extremely versatile sound.

Dr. Victoria Ramirez Is New Executive Director of the Arkansas Arts Center

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Dr. Victoria Ramirez was approved by the Arkansas Arts Center Board of Trustees today to be the next Executive Director of the institution.

She comes from the El Paso Museum of Art, where she has been Director. Previously she has worked at museums in Austin, Houston, Washington DC as well as Georgia and Virginia.

Dr. Ramirez has degrees from the University of Maryland, George Washington University, and University of Houston.

The Arkansas Arts Center was established in 1961. The facility is undergoing a two plus years renovation process.

Little Rock Look Back: The Culture Vulture Goes to School

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The Little Rock School District and many area schools start back this week.  Here is a look back to Kindergarten and First Grade for me.

PS – Just because I am wearing turtlenecks in two of the three photos does not mean I have EVER liked them.  Hated them. But when your parents buy your clothes, you wear what you have.  And hey, it was the 1970s.  The collared shirt was from Singapore, it was a gift from an uncle I had who lived there for a few years. I liked it a lot – not just because it had a collar.

Happy World Elephant Day!

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Today is apparently World Elephant Day!

The Little Rock Zoo participates in many elephant welfare and education programs through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Here are some photos of Babe and Sophie at the Little Rock Zoo that were taken a couple of years ago.  The top photo was a lucky happenstance. They saw I had a camera and posed for me!