Category Archives: Arts & Humanities Month

Little Rock Look Back: Mayor W. E. Lenon, father of LR City Hall

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OMayor Lenonn October 8, 1867 in Panora, Iowa, future Little Rock Mayor Warren E. Lenon was born.  He was one of eleven children of John D. and Margaret M. Long Lenon.

Lenon came to Little Rock in 1888 after finishing his schooling in Iowa.  He helped set up an abstract company shortly after his arrival.  In 1902 he organized the Peoples Savings Bank.  Among his other business interests were the City Realty Company, the Factory Land Company, the Mountain Park Land Company, and the Pulaski Heights Land Company.

From 1895 to 1903, he was a Little Rock alderman, and in 1903, he was elected Mayor of the city. A progressive Mayor, he championed the construction of a new City Hall which opened in 1908.  At the first meeting of the City Council in that building, Mayor Lenon tendered his resignation.  His duties in his various business interests were taking up too much of his time.

Mayor Lenon had been a champion for the establishment of a municipal auditorium. He had wanted to include one in the new City Hall complex. But a court deemed it not permissible under Arkansas finance laws at the time.  He also worked to help establish the first Carnegie Library in Little Rock which opened in 1912.

Mayor Lenon continued to serve in a variety of public capacities after leaving office.  In the 1920s, he briefly chaired a public facilities board for an auditorium district. It appeared he would see his dream fulfilled of a municipal auditorium.  Unfortunately the Arkansas Supreme Court declared the enabling legislation invalid.

In 1889, he married Clara M. Mercer.  The couple had three children, two of whom survived him.  A son W. E. Lenon Jr., and a daughter Vivian Mercer Lenon Brewer.  Together with Adolphine Fletcher Terry (also a daughter of a LR Mayor), Mrs. Brewer was a leader of the Women’s Emergency Committee.

Mayor Lenon died June 25, 1946 and is buried at Roselawn Cemetery.  Lenon Drive just off University Avenue is named after Mayor Lenon.

Creative Class of 2015: Sericia Cole

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sericiaSericia Cole has quietly and quickly transformed the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center.  She was named interim director in July 2012 and permanently took the post in November of that year.  Since then, she has expanded programming and outreach efforts of the museum.

Under her leadership, Mosaic Templars has started lunchtime lecture series and has expanded its exhibition schedule.  She has also worked to ensure that special events take place year-round at the museum.  In addition to exhibits on a variety of aspects of African American history in Arkansas, the museum is the permanent home of the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.

A Little Rock native and UALR graduate, she has previously worked for Governor Mike Beebe, Philander Smith College, Wildwood Park for the Arts, and KATV.

 

 

Tonight at South on Main – Dana Falconberry headlines Oxford American Local Live

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llsom dana gTonight at 7:30 at South on Main, this week’s installment of the Local Live concert series features Dana Falconberry!

Presented by the Oxford American magazine, Local Live showcases the best of local and regional music talent and is always free and open to the public. Call ahead to South on Main to make your reservations and ensure a table: (501) 244-9660.

Dana Falconberry, an Austin songwriter and Michigan native, is best known for her eloquent interpretations of nature and wildlife in her music. Her 2012 album Leelanau, written as an ode to her childhood visits to the Michigan peninsula of the same name, is a more direct example of such inspiration. Leelanau was heralded by critics for it’s gentle but complex orchestration and garnered Falconberry widespread recognition which grew steadily over 2013.

Backed by her five-piece band, Falconberry proceeded to travel all over the United States, touring as support for other acts and blazing their own paths into unforeseen house shows and DIY spaces. The group was also presented with great opportunities to play festivals like ACL Fest, SXSW, and Noise Pop Festival. The critical recognition only grows further as music writers and radio programmers encounter the well-crafted sound of their live show.

On Walking/Walking On steps out for UALR Theatre Arts & Dance season

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7.8.15-3The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s first theater production of the 2015-16 season will take an in-depth look at an ordinary activity  — walking — starting at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, in the University Theatre.

“On Walking/Walking On” is an ensemble-based, devised performance on the activity, theme, and significance of walking using improvisation, storytelling, music, and comedy.

Performances run from Oct. 7 to Oct. 11. Wednesday through Saturday shows are at 8 p.m., and the Sunday show will commence at 2:30 p.m.

Ticket prices are $10 for the public and $5 for UALR students, employees, and seniors.

For more information or advance tickets, call the Box Office at 501.569.3456. Tickets will also be available the day of each show one hour before show time.

“This piece is about walking as an activity, walking as a fundamental means of experiencing the world, walking as metaphor,” said Dr. Lawrence D. Smith, director and assistant professor of theatre.

Walking is a commonplace and universal experience, Smith said.  “We seldom really pay attention to it; however, walking informs language and how we think about life.”

“On Walking/Walking On” is a point of departure, a short journey, a number of entrances, crosses, and exits; arrivals, climbs, descents, circles, and returns; the end of a journey, coming full circle, starting anew.

The cast members are UALR students Emily Bruner, Gabrielle Confer, Keaton Duersch, Corrie Green, Katherine Greer, Yannick Ibanez, Dustin Rhodes, Mike Vowell, Cory Watson, Priscilla Webb, and William Wofford.

Creative Class of 2015: Katie Campbell

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Katie CampbellKatie Campbell is a director, performer, and teaching artist. She is originally from North Carolina but for six years has found an artistic home in Little Rock as a company member with the Arkansas Art Center Childrenʼs Theater (AACCT), director and performer with the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, and improvisor with ImprovLittleRock and The Joint Venture.  She is also the co-founder and co-director of the youth improv comedy company, Armadillo Rodeo.

Campbell is a 2015 Jim Henson Family Grant recipient for her devised and directed shadow puppet play for young people, The Ugly Duckling.  That production recently played to sold out houses at the AACCT Studio Series enrapturing children and adults alike.

She has an MFA in directing Theatre for Young Audiences from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is also an alumna of the North Carolina School of the Arts where she studied acting with Tanya Belov, voice with Mary Irwin, circus arts with Dikki Ellis, and movement/mask work with Robert Francesconni and Mollie Murry.

Some of her favorite roles include Adriana in The Comedy of Errors with the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre (2010); Roxanne in Cyrano de Bergerac and Barbara in Night of the Living Dead AACCT Studio Series (2008);  Mouse in If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, If You Take a Mouse to School, and Merry Christmas Mouse! (AACCT Mainstage 2007-12).

Evenings with History return tonight with Dr. Edward Anson: The Augustan Transformation of Ancient Rome

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Ed-AnsonThe UALR History Institutes’ Evenings with History returns for a new year tonight.  This nationally recognized series has featured a variety of subjects.  The sessions take place at the Ottenheimer Auditorium of Historic Arkansas Museum. Refreshments are served at 7 with the program beginning at 7:30 pm. The cost is $50 for admission to all six programs.

Tonight’s program features Dr. Edward Anson speaking on “The Augustan Transformation of Ancient Rome.”

Augustus, grandnewphew, adopted son, and heir of Gaius Julius Caesar, founded the Roman Empire and was its first Emperor.  In this talk Dr. Anson shows how Augustus gained control of the state while at the same time appearing to maintain Republican traditions and serve the needs of the people.  His creation of institutions brought him power but at the same time also solved problems that had long festered during the Republic.  While his adoptive father brought about the end of the Republic, it was the adoptive son who created the governmental structure known as the Empire.

Edward M. Anson has authored or edited eight books, fifteen book chapters, and over fifty encyclopedia articles.  He is the editor of the Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World series for Lexington Books (Rowman and Littlefield), associate editor of the Ancient History Bulletin, and an Assessor for Classics for the Australian Research Council, an agency of the Australian national government that awards grants to researchers.  He received his PhD from the University of Virginia and is currently Professor of History, a faculty senator, and a former President of the University Assembly/Senate.

Friday, Eldredge, & Clark and the Union Pacific Railroad help make these lectures possible. Other sponsors are the Ottenheimer Library, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; Historic Arkansas Museum, a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage; UALR Public Radio—KUAR-KLRE; UALR public television; and Grapevine Spirits.

 

First UALR Artspree of the season features Saint Louis Brass Quintet

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SLBQNewSmall-825x510The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s first Artspree event of the 2015-16 season will feature one of America’s longest standing brass quintets, Saint Louis Brass Quintet, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall.

Originally formed by members of the St. Louis Symphony, the Saint Louis Brass Quintet has performed more than 2,500 engagements throughout the world during its 40 years.  Current members of the Quintet are Allan Dean, trumpet; Ray Sasaki, trumpet;  Jeff Nelsen, horn; Melvyn Jernigan, trombone; and Daniel Perantoni, tuba. Jernigan is the only original member still with the group.

General admission for the concert is $15 and $10 for non-UALR students. Admission for UALR students, faculty, and staff is free. For tickets call 501.569.8993 or order online at ualr.tix.com.

Artspree is a performing arts series funded in part by the UALR Chancellor’s Circle Foundation and supported by KLRE Classical 90.5.

Artspree aims to bring unique musical and cultural performances to central Arkansas. In addition to the opening concert by the Saint Louis Brass Quintet, the series will feature an award-winning mime who has appeared on Broadway and two trios — one jazz and another that specializes in a wide array of musical periods.

Thanks to a partnership with the Little Rock School District, Artspree also is steeped in its commitment to educational outreach to young students.

For more information, contact Dr. Naoki Hakutani, Artspree director at 501.683.7230 or nxhakutani@ualr.edu.