Author Archives: Scott

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About Scott

A cultural thinker with a life long interest in the arts and humanities: theatre, music, architecture, photography, history, urban planning, etc.

CALS Celebrates: New Year, New Reads

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 The Central Arkansas Library System is encouraging patrons to “Read in” the new year with the  winter reading program: New Year, New Reads.

From Monday, January 7 through Saturday, March 2, patrons may read any book they choose and the submit reviews one of three ways:

  1. at the branch
  2. via email to NewYearNewReads@cals.org
  3. tweet @calibrarysystem using the hashtag #NewYearNewReads.

Each branch will display the reviews submitted at their branch, and most branches will have drawings for door prizes from the reviews received. Each branch will determine the rules and prizes for their contest.

A prize of a Kindle Fire will be awarded for the Most Creative Book Review of all entries submitted online. Reviewers tweeting or emailing reviews of no more than 144 characters will be entered into the contest.

Readers can pick up reading suggestion bookmarks and review cards at the circulation desk of any CALS branch. The program is free and open to the public.

Little Rock Central High Band Marches Today in Inaugural Parade

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LR City Manager Bruce Moore presents a check to LR Central Principal Nancy Rousseau and members of the Central High Tiger Band to help defray their costs to go to 57th Inauguration.

The Little Rock Central High School Tiger Band will be marching today in the Inaugural Parade as part of the 57 Inauguration festivities.

Under the direction of director Brice Evans, the 103 member band was selected to participate in the Inaugural Parade today which will follow the second swearing-in ceremony for Barack Obama.

“The Battle Hymn of the Republic” is what the band will play at the inauguration on Monday, Jan. 21.

Central was the only school in Arkansas chosen to take part at the ceremony, marking the start of President Obama’s second term.

Bands which want to participate in the parade fill out an application online. Central’s application included the honors and awards the band has received. The school also submitted a history of the band and a letter of recommendation from Governor Beebe and Senator Pryor.

They were notified that they were chosen on Dec. 17, which gave them just over a month to raise over $100,000, which include travel expenses, hotel, food, and entertainment.

The band members raised money themselves and a community wide effort also took place.  The City of Little Rock and LR Convention and Visitors Bureau together donated $5,000 toward the goal.  The band achieved the fundraising goal and departed on January 17 by bus for the trip.

 

Mosaic Templars Celebrates Inauguration of President on January 21

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Today is officially Inauguration Day. But since it falls on a Sunday, the festivities have been moved to Monday, January 21. (President Obama is being sworn in privately today in advance of tomorrow’s festivities, as is the custom when events fall as they do this year.)

Tomorrow, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center will host an event to watch the second inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama.  The doors will open at 10am.  There is no admission fee.

Also starting tomorrow and running through June 29, Mosaic Templars will be home to a traveling exhibit which celebrates the first inauguration of President Obama.

Commissioned by Doug Morton & Marilyn Brown of Denver, this life size memorial to the historic inauguration of the first African American President, is to record and place into our American political landscape this transitional event that is destined to transform our country. It is composed of the President, the First Lady, the First Daughters, and Chief Justice John Roberts administering the Oath of Office. 

Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

STREETCAR and METAL in LR this weekend

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Two Little Rock theatre groups present offerings to heat up cold winter nights this weekend.

THE METAL CHILDRENThe Weekend Theatre, in its 20th anniversary season, presents award winner Adam Rapp’s play Metal Children.  Rapp, who is one of the most prolific playwrights today, tells the story of a small town ripped apart by a debate over a book.

When a young adult novel about teen pregnancy is banned by the local school board, it ignites a fierce and violent debate over abortion, religious beliefs, and modern feminism. A directionless New York City author arrives in town to defend the book and finds that it has inspired a group of local teens to rebel in strange and unexpected ways. The book also inspires a swarm of teenage pregnancies, a horde of pig-masked vigilantes terrorizing the populace, a suicide, and at least one murder attempt. A timely and unforgettable drama about the failure of urban and heartland America to understand each other, The Metal Children explores what happens when fiction becomes a matter of life and death.

The play is directed by Justin A. Pike (who most recently directed Annie for the Royal Players in Benton).   The cast includes Don Bright, Wendy Darr, Anna Findley, Augusta Fitzgerald, Duane Jackson, Grace Lytle, David Monteith, Samantha Porter, Donna Singleton and Evan Tanner.

The production opened last weekend and continues on Fridays and Saturdays through January 26.  The shows take place at the Weekend Theatre located at 7th and Chester.

Precipice Theatre Prepares for Opening of 'A Street Car Named Desire'One of Little Rock’s newest theatre groups, Precipice Theatre, presents Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize winner A Streetcar Named Desire.  The world of Blanche, Stanley, and STELLLLLLLAAAAA are brought to life amid the sweltering heat of New Orleans. Things are hardly what they seem in a world where a paper lantern is used to transform a plain lightbulb and light may hide more than the darkness.

The show opened last night and continues on through Sunday, January 27.  There are two performances today (2pm and 7:30pm) and a matinee tomorrow at 2pm.  Doors open 30 minutes prior to the performance.   Streetcar is being performed at the Public Theatre located at 616 Center Street.  To reserve tickets, send an email to LRprecipicetheatre@gmail.com and let us know your name, number of seats needed, and which performance you will be attending.

The production has been directed by Paul Seminara, Cory Cotham and Jennifer S. Walker.  The cast includes Heather D. Smith, Ricco Ardemagni, Rachel Bland, Paul Seminara, Brent Wood, Caitlin Selacavich, Jennifer S. Walker, Steve Sullivan, Cory Catham, Andy Stanley and Tracy Crain.

 

55th Delta Exhibition at Ark Arts Center

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The 55th Annulal Delta Exhibition officially opens today at the Arkansas Arts Center in the Winthrop Rockefeller Gallery. The Delta runs through March 10.

Since 1958, the Delta has grown into one of the most anticipated Arkansas Arts Center exhibitions of the  year!

It actually predates the opening of the Arkansas Arts Center but was originally presented at the time the plans for the Arts Center were being finalized.

This juried exhibition features innovative and provocative two and three-dimensional works in all media. Each year, more than 900 entries are received from artists who live in or were born in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee or Texas.

A guest juror selects works for the exhibition and a Grand Award and two Delta Awards for the top works in the show.  The Delta represents the dynamic vision of the artists of the Mississippi Delta region and offers visitors a glimpse into the contemporary art scene.

This year’s Delta is sponsored by Dianne and Bobby Tucker and the Munro Foundation.  The Grand Award is supported by The John William Linn Endowment Fund.  The Exhibition is supported by the Andre Simon Memorial Trust in memory of everyone who has died of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

The juror for the 55th Delta is Monica Bowman.  She is the owner of The Butcher’s Daughter contemporary art gallery in Detroit, Michigan. Since 2008, she has curated over 20 exhibitions in Detroit and New York. Her gallery regularly participates in the PULSE contemporary art fairs. The gallery has been featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and W Magazine. Bowman teaches Business Practices for Fine Artists at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies. She earned her M.A. in Museum Studies from Georgetown University with a specialization in Contemporary Art from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York. Bowman will select the artworks to be exhibited and assign the $2500 Grand Award and two $750 Delta Awards.

25th Arkansas Business of the Year finalists include cultural institutions

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Arkansas Business earlier this week announced the finalists for the 25th Arkansas Business of the Year.  The winners will be announced at a ceremony presented by Centennial Bank and Arkansas Business on Tuesday, February 26 at the Statehouse Convention Center.

As is often the case several of the finalists in the business and business leader categories are supporters of cultural life in their communities.  In addition, two of the finalists in the Non-Profit categories are connected to Little Rock’s cultural scene.

christinalittlejohnChristina Littlejohn is a finalist for Non-Profit Executive of the Year.  Since 2009 she has been Executive Director of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.  Since coming to the ASO, she has not only led it through the current recession, she also worked with the selection of Philip Mann as the Music Director.  Whereas many symphony orchestras are cutting musicians, concerts and series, the ASO has been embarking on new outreach concerts including the new Intimate Neighborhood Concert series..

Prior to joining ASO, she served as Executive Director of the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, Director of Residencies for the Cleveland Orchestra, and Executive Director of the Mobile Symphony.  She is also a cellist.

The Museum of Discovery is a finalist for Non-Profit of the Year. Established in 1927 as the Museum of Natural History and Antiquities, the Museum of Discovery is the oldest museum in Little Rock.  It has been housed in a storefront, the third floor of Little Rock City Hall, the Arsenal Tower in MacArthur Park, and since 1998 has called the Museum Center in the River Market its home.

The new facility provided more hands-on, interactive exhibits and programs, and the museum began to focus more intensely on science, technology, engineering and math. In 2003, the museum merged with the Children’s Museum of Arkansas and assumed responsibility for addressing the needs of preschool children. Also in 2003, the museum became a Smithsonian Affiliate.

In 2011, the museum closed for nine months in order to add a new entrance and undergo a total renovation. This project, funded by a grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, also provided funding for new, interactive science exhibits, completing the museum’s transformation from a collecting museum to a science center.  Nan Selz led the Museum as Executive Director from 2004 through 2012.  Kelley Bass, a former member of the museum’s board, became the Museum’s CEO earlier this month.

ASO Inaugural INC Tonight featuring Justin Bischof

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Bischof

The Stella Boyle Smith Intimate Neighborhood Concert Series is a new concert series by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, featuring fantastic music in gorgeous, acoustically unique venues around Little Rock.

The three concerts—each about an hour long—offer a special, intimate performance and the opportunity to get up-close and personal with musicians in chamber orchestra ensembles performing pieces in perfect settings. In addition to hearing these beautiful works, you are invited to mingle with the musicians after the concerts.

Organ virtuoso Justin Bischof joins Philip Mann and the ASO at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church on Thursday January 17 at 7pm.

ROSSINI: Barber of Seville: Overture
POULENC: Concerto for Organ
BISCHOF: Improvisation
IVES: The Unanswered Question
MOZART: Symphony No. 35 in D, “Haffner”

Tickets may be purchased on the ASO website or at the door.  But seating is limited.