Category Archives: Design

FountainFest at the Arkansas Arts Center

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The Arkansas Arts Center’s Contemporaries auxiliary group is calling on all Arkansans to find their inner artist and share what most inspires them in preparation for this year’s Fountain Fest. This year’s fundraiser will be held today, Thursday, October 22, from 5:30-8:00 p.m. around the Carrie Remmel Dickinson Fountain at the Arkansas Arts Center.

“Over the past two years, Fountain Fest has expanded both in attendance and impact, and it is thrilling to see this group of young art enthusiasts grow with it,” said Kelly Imhoff, AAC Contemporaries president. “Ticket sales support the Arkansas Arts Center Contemporaries’ efforts to expand the AAC Collection by funding the purchase of a work of art from the Collectors Show & Sale in November, and donating it to the Arkansas Arts Center’s permanent collection.”

There are several additions to this year’s Fountain Fest including a sculpture competition and purse raffle. There has also been a design competition for a temporary installation in the fountain.  Tod Switch, Eric Spann, Brian Felland, Mike Brown, John Steward and Hunter Brown are the finalists. The winner will receive $1,000 courtesy of the Markham Group and his/her work will not be revealed until the night of Fountain Fest.

Also new this year is a raffle for a Louis Vuitton purse valued at over $1200. Raffle tickets may be purchased in advance or at the event for $10. The winner does not have to be present to win.

The 3rd Annual Fountain Fest will also feature music by DJ Mike Poe, food from David’s Burgers, desserts from Cupcakes on Kavanaugh, drinks provided by Lost 40 and Stone’s Throw Brewing and live printmaking demonstrations by Neal and Tammy Harrington.

Tickets for the event are $40 and can be purchased in advance at ArkansasArtsCenter.org/fountain-fest or at the event. Sponsors of the 3rd Annual Fountain Fest include: CenterPoint Energy, the Markham Group, Stone Ward and Donna and Mack McLarty.

For more information visit ArkansasArtsCenter.org/fountain-fest.

Creative Class of 2015: Reese Rowland

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reeserArchitect Reese Rowland has literally changed the landscape of Little Rock.  He has designed some of Little Rock’s most recognized buildings, including Acxiom’s River Market Tower Headquarters, Bank of the Ozarks Headquarters, Heifer International’s Education Center, the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Arkansas Studies Institute and Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library.

Reese has been rewarded with over 60 National, Regional and State Design Awards in the last twelve years. His Heifer International World Headquarters design received the Nation’s highest honor for architecture, the 2008 AIA National Institute Honor Award, one of 13 awarded. The South’s first LEED Platinum building was also named a National AIA/COTE Top 10 Green Building in 2007. In 2011, his Arkansas Studies Institute design received a National AIA/ALA (American Library Association) Award of Excellence, one of five awarded in the biennial competition, honoring the best in library architecture worldwide. In 2015, his Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library won the same Award.

Arkansas Business named Reese to its prestigious list of “25 Entrepreneurs & Innovators of the last 25 years”, crediting his work with helping to transform downtown Little Rock through modern architecture. His work has been published in 25 national and international periodicals, as well as 13 books. AY Magazine named Reese to its list of “12 Powerful Men in Arkansas” for having influence, making a difference, and serving others. Additionally, Arkansas Times Magazine named him as one of “50 Influential Arkansans” as well in 2012.

In recognition of his commitment to design and the architectural profession, Reese was selected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2014.  This designation goes to fewer than 4% of all architects.

Architecture & Design Network focuses on architectural photographer Pedro E. Guerrero

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pedro e guererroTonight at 6pm at the Arkansas Arts Center, the Architecture and Design Network, in collaboration with the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN), will present an  American Masters Series film “Pedro E. Guerrero: A Photographer’s Journey.”
Following the film, there will be a panel discussion with Dr. Ethel Goodstein-Murphree, Associate Dean, Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, and Professor of Architecture, Chair; Brian Lang, Chief Curator, Arkansas Arts Center; and Tim Hursley, architectural photographer. A reception at 5:30 will take place prior to the screening and discussion.
Directed and produced by the award winning team of Ray Telles and Ivan Iturruaga, the American Masters Series film, Pedro E. Guerrero: A Photographer’s Journey, recounts the Arizona native’s life (1917-2012) and remarkable career. In 1939, the then 22 year old Guerrero, a novice photographer who had studied photography at the Art Center in Pasadena, CA, was hired by Frank Lloyd Wright to document the construction of Taliesin West, then being built on a site overlooking Paradise Valley. Wright’s spur of the moment decision to hire him led to a relationship that lasted until Wright’s death in 1959, interrupted only by the young man’s Army Air Corps service during WW II.
Guerrero’s twenty year association with Wright catapulted him into the center of modernist art and architecture. Moving to New York City following the war, while still working with Wright, Guerrero was much sought after by major magazines that focused on architecture and design. He also went on to photograph the work of sculptors Alexander Calder and Louise Nevelson as well the artists themselves.
In addition to  excerpts of interviews with art historians and critics long familiar with Guerrero’s work, the film offers a view of  his early life experience – his growing up in an Arizona town, not far from Taliesin West, where educational opportunities for offspring of families with Mexican roots were limited. While  he intended to study art after high school, his introduction to photography altered his course.
Support for  Architecture and Design Network (ADN), a non-profit organization, is provided  the Arkansas Arts Center, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, the Central Arkansas Section of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and friends in the community. The film’s showing and the reception that precedes it are free and open to the public. For  additional information contact ardenetwork@mac.com.

Nominate an Arkansas Living Treasure for Arts Council recognition

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AACDAH Living TreasWhat do a potter, a wood sculptor, a basket maker, an egg artist, a stained glass artist, a fiddle maker, a log cabin maker, a handmade wooden plane maker, a chair maker, a quilt maker, and a bladesmith have in common?

They are all past recipients of our Arkansas Living Treasure award.

The Arkansas Arts Council is currently searching for a new artist to take his or her reign as the 2016 Arkansas Living Treasure. They are seeking an Arkansas artist who excels in the creation of a traditional craft and who actively preserves and advances his or her craft through community outreach and educating others.

Nominations are due Friday, November 6. ‪#‎AuthenticArkansas‬‪#‎SupportCraftArt‬ ‪#‎ArkansasArts‬
http://www.arkansasarts.org/…/Arkansas-Living-Treasure…/home

Now in its 14th year, the Arkansas Living Treasure program annually recognizes an Arkansas artist who excels in the creation of a traditional craft and who actively preserves and advances his or her craft through community outreach and educating others.

An independent panel of practicing craft artists and professionals in the fields of craft and folk art selects the recipient based on the following criteria: quality of work, community outreach and total contribution to the field of traditional crafts. The awardee is honored at a ceremony in May during Arkansas Heritage Month.

In 2013, the Arkansas Arts Council and Historic Arkansas Museum collaborated to produce a series of short films that celebrate the lives and work of each Arkansas Living Treasure recipient. Click HERE to view the documentaries featured in the Arkansas Living Treasure Film Project.

Creative Class of 2015: Matt McLeod

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McLeodMuralMatt McLeod is a painter, sculp­tor and mural­ist, spe­cial­iz­ing in fine art for res­i­den­tial, com­mer­cial and pub­lic art projects. His art hangs in many homes and businesses throughout Central Arkansas and beyond. Arguably his most visible work is the new mural at the corner of 6th and Main in the Creative Corridor.

After grad­u­at­ing from South­ern Methodist Uni­ver­sity in 1987, Matt spent a fifteen-year career in adver­tis­ing, before becom­ing a full-time artist. Matt spent the last eleven years in fine art, devel­op­ing paint­ings into his bold, vibrant style — what he calls Ener­getic Color.

Matt’s Ener­getic Color is included in sev­eral pri­vate and cor­po­rate col­lec­tions across the US and has brought sig­nif­i­cant recog­ni­tion, includ­ing pieces in the Delta Exhi­bi­tion at The Arkansas Arts Cen­ter and a paint­ing on the front cover of the first Arkansas Artists Cal­en­dar, cre­ated by The Arkansas Governor’s Man­sion Asso­ci­a­tion.

In 2011, Matt was the fea­tured artist for River­fest music fes­ti­val. Matt was the fea­tured artist for MusicFest El Dorado, in 2012. In 2013, Matt was the fea­tured artist for The Thea Foundation’s Annual Spring Fine Arts Fes­ti­val. This month, Matt opened a gallery in down­town Lit­tle Rock, spe­cial­iz­ing in highly col­lectible regional artists and res­i­den­tial and com­mer­cial commissions.

$1.5M Grant for Pulaski Tech Center for Humanities & Arts announced

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PTC CHARTSThe Windgate Charitable Foundation has awarded Pulaski Technical College Foundation a $1.5 million grant to furnish and equip the college’s new Center for Humanities and Arts which is nearing completion and is slated to open in January 2016.

The grant is the largest private gift in the college’s history.

“This is such an amazing gift and will be a game changer for the students and the entire community,” said Shannon Boshears, executive director of the PTC Foundation. “Many of our students have never seen a play or been to an art gallery. All of our students will benefit from this by enhancing their college experience and keeping them in school.”

The college will receive $1 million to purchase various and much needed items including musical instruments, art supplies, audio-visual equipment for the performance theater, plus tools and materials for the Big Rock Sculpture Park that adjoins the building. The remaining $500,000 will be used as a challenge grant that Windgate will match dollar-for-dollar to create an endowment to support the building’s operations.

Every student who is pursuing an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree will utilize the new building.

“We know that this gift will dramatically impact the lives of our students and community, and with its support to our Fine Arts curriculum, will cultivate an arts appreciation and perspective never before imaginable. That is a life gift for our PTC students and their families,” said PTC President Dr. Margaret Ellibee.

The 90,000-square-foot center integrates Pulaski Tech’s humanities and arts offerings including visual and studio arts, theatre, music, English, speech and philosophy. Inside are art studios, gallery and exhibit space, music rooms, a black box theatre with flexible seating, and 500-seat theatre that will be available for campus and community events.

Creative Class of 2015: Chris Hancock

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ChrisHancock_K0A1139-webSocial media at history museums may seem to be a paradox. But Chris Hancock proves that it can be a successful way to increase outreach and awareness.   As Communications Manager at Historic Arkansas Museum, he uses cutting edge technologies (and old school methods) to spread the word about Arkansas’ earliest days.

A native of Russellville and graduate of UCA, he joined HAM in September 2014.  Prior to that he was Public Information Officer at one of HAM’s sister museums – Mosaic Templars Cultural Center.

In addition to getting ready for HAM’s Candlelight Gala on November 7, he is also co-chair of Pop Up in the Rock’s Pop Up West 9th which takes place on October 24.

Hancock is a member of the City of Little Rock’s City Beautiful Commission and is on the Board of studioMAIN. He is also active in the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Create Little Rock initiative.