Category Archives: Design

53rd Young Arkansas Artists Exhibit at Arkansas Arts Center through July 27

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The Arkansas Arts Center, the state’s leader in international, visual and performing arts, presents the 53rd Young Arkansas Artists exhibition, on view May 9 – July 27, in the Alice Pratt Brown Atrium and the Sam Strauss Sr. Gallery.

“At the Arkansas Arts Center, we believe that the arts have the ability to educate and empower our children while cultivating a positive form of self-expression,” said Arkansas Arts Center executive director Todd Herman. “We strive to promote quality arts education initiatives and achievement in the visual arts and through this exhibition, we are offering a wonderful platform to celebrate artwork created by our very own Arkansas youth.”

First presented in 1961, the 53rd Young Arkansas Artists exhibition is a celebration of both the creative achievements of young artists and the youthful spirits of Arkansans. Now in its sixth decade, this annual children’s art exhibition showcases artwork by Arkansas students from with hopes to ensure learning, inspiration and creative expression are occurring in our state’s classrooms. In 2013, teachers from 127 schools across Arkansas submitted 508 works for consideration. Of those, 102 works were selected for inclusion in the exhibition.

The exhibition is open to all Arkansas students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Art must be original and completed within the current 2013-2014 school year. Original works in all media including drawings, paintings, prints, photographs, collages, crafts, and sculpture are eligible. Teachers may submit only one artwork per grade level per school or program. Entries must be made through a public, private or home school teacher or instructor of an art program. All artists whose works are selected will receive notification on March 18 and the deadline for delivery of all selected entries is April 11.

arkartsWorks will be selected for the exhibition by the Arkansas Art Educators Association. A juror selects one Best of Class and two Honorable Mentions for each grade, and each winning artist’s school receives a monetary award to supports its art program. Selected works from the exhibition travel to schools and other venues around the state as part of the Arkansas Arts Center’s State Services Program. The juror will also select the following awards: one Middle School and one High School level Art and the Written Word Award, the Ray Smenner Best in Show Painting Award and the Mid Southern Watercolorists Best in Show watercolor award.

The 53rd Young Arkansas Artists exhibition is sponsored by Barbara and Steve Bova, Dale and Lee Ronnel, The Philip R. Jonsson Foundation and The Central Arkansas Library System. Awards for the exhibition are sponsored by Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Today there will be a Family Festival and Awards Ceremony in celebration of the 53rd Young Arkansas Artists exhibition on May 10 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Activities for kids of all ages will be offered and awards will be presented at 1 p.m. in the Lecture Hall. The events are free for members and exhibition artists, $5 for a non-member individual and $20 for a non-member family. Guests are similarly invited to enjoy a matinee performance of Sleeping Beauty at 2 p.m. in the Children’s Theatre that will also be held on May 10.

For more information, visit arkansasartscenter.org/yaa or call (501) 372-4000.

Arkansas Arts Center programs are supported in part by: the City of Little Rock; the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau; the City of North Little Rock; and the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Rediscovering Fourche Bottoms is focus tonight at studioMAIN

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20140508-222311.jpgTonight from 5pm to 9pm, studioMAIN (1423 South Main Street) will be showcasing “Unearthed: rediscovering the Fourche Bottoms.” It is an exhibition of work created by 3rd and 4th year landscape architecture students at the University of Arkansas.

The work addresses the potential of the Fourche Bottoms as a resource for the city of Little Rock. One of the largest urban wetlands in the country, the Fourche Bottoms serves as a drainage basin for over 90% of Little Rock and provides a wealth of ecosystem services such as reduced flooding, improved air quality, and important habitat for fish and wildlife.

This exhibition showcases a range of projects that represent ongoing research and an expanded vision for community access, recreational opportunities, improved water quality and habitat, and increased public awareness and enjoyment of the Fourche Bottoms.

Steve Wiesenthal FAIA discusses Architectural Heritage + Innovation at the University of Chicago

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WiesenthalTonight the Architecture and Design network presents Steve Wiesenthal, FAIA discussing “Architectural Heritage + Innovation at the University of Chicago.”  He is currently Senior Associate Vice President for Facilities & University Architect at the University of Chicago.

The program begins at 6pm in the lecture hall of the Arkansas Arts Center. A reception precedes the lecture at 5:30.

The University of Chicago campus, rooted in the tradition of grey stone Collegiate Gothic and taking inspiration from the forward looking spirit of America’s premier city of architectural innovation, is in the midst of an historic transformation.

In the first two decades of the 21st century, the campus has undergone more change than it ever did in its 110 year history. Guided by principle and overarching planning themes, the University’s campus has buildings designed by a number of architectural luminaries – Helmut Jahn, Tod Willams, Billie Tsien, Jeanne Gang, Ann Beha, MIchael Van Walkenberg, Rafael Vinoly, Ricardo Legoretta among them. In spite of transformative physical changes to its campus, the University remains committed to its core values.

Weisenthal, who has been at the University since 2008, earned undergraduate degrees in architecture and urban studies at the University of Maryland and a Master of Liberal Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Subsequent employment included six years as an architect with Venturi Scott Brown and Associates, the internationally acclaimed architectural firm. Prior to coming to the University, he oversaw the development of the University of California San Francisco’s Mission Bay research and academic campus.

Supporters of the Architecture and Design Network, include the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture, the Central Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Arkansas Arts Center and friends in the community. All ADN lectures are free and open to the public. For additional information, contact ardenetwork@icloud.com.

2014 Sculpture at the River Market this Weekend

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Sculpture at the River MarketHundreds of sculptures and thousands of visitors will again populate the River Market Pavilions when Sculpture at the River Market returns for the seventh year on April 26 and 27.

The sculptures will be on display in the River Market Pavilions and in the adjacent area of Riverfront Park. The works featured will include all types of media, style, subject matter, and size.

Admission to Sculpture at the River Market is free. Sculpture at the River Market Market will run from 9AM to 5PM on Saturday, April 26 and from 10AM to 4PM on Sunday, April 27.

This evening there will be a preview party where patrons will get the first chance to see the artwork, visit with the sculptors, and purchase sculptures. Tickets for the preview party are $100.   The entertainment will be provided by Dizzy 7.  Following the preview party, “Bronze and Brewskis” will take place beginning at 8:30.

On Saturday at 1PM and 3PM and again on Sunday at 2PM, Segway tours of the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden will be offered.  There will also be food trucks set up in a special Food Truck Plaza next to the River Market pavilions.

The sale and show is sponsored by the City of Little Rock and the National Sculptors’ Guild. Proceeds from the sale of artwork will fund upgrades in Riverfront Park and the River Market.

Among the artists are Lori Acott, Virginia Annett, Terry Bean, Gregory Beck, Hunter Brown, Shelly Buonaiuto, Kathleen Caricof, Tim Cherry, Dee Clements, Merrilee Cleveland, Darrell Davis, Jane DeDecker, Clay Enoch, Steve Frank, Jim Green, Denny Haskew, Damian Jones, Rollin Karg, Ana Lazovsky, Bryan Massey, Ryan Mays, Julie McCraney-Brogdon, Ken Newman, James Paulsen, Ed Pennebaker, Merle Randolph, Kevin Robb, Dale Rogers, Timothy Roundy, Emelene Russell, Wayne Salge, Ted Schaal, Valerie Schafer, Adam Schultz, John Sewell, Stephen Shachtman, Kim Shaklee, Gene Sparling, Pati Stajcar, Charles Strain, Tod Switch, Darl Thomas, Michael Warrick and C.T. Whitehouse.

Arkansas Literary Festival continues today with panels and Author! Author! party

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AR Lit Fest 2014The 11th annual Arkansas Literary Festival continues today and runs through Sunday. Unless otherwise specified the events are free.

 

Highlights for today are:

11 a.m. – Pulaski Technical College Wills Lecture Hall
“Complex Glories of Love in Varied Forms” featuring Charlotte Pence (The Branches, The Axe, The Missing) and Adam Prince (The Beautiful Wishes of Ugly Men). Sandy Longhorn will be the moderator

 

12 noon – Arkansas Arts Center
“Crafty Allure” – Amy Azzarito (Past and Present) with Brian Lang as moderator

 

12 noon – Clinton School of Public Service at Sturgis Hall
“Shaping Dixie” – Angie Maxwell (The Indicted South) with Skip Rutherford as moderator.

 

12 noon – Darragh Center at CALS Main Library
“Kill ‘em Clean” – Catherine Coulter (The Final Cut) – Paid event

 

6:30 pm – Darragh Center at CALS Main Library
“Penning in Piggott, Eureka!” – Adam Long and Linda Caldwell. Stephanie Vanderslice as moderator

 

8:00 pm – 5th Floor of CALS Main Library
“Author! Author!” – Paid event, reception to meet authors and moderators for the weekend.

 

The Cox Creative Center will be having a used book sale on Friday from 9am to 5pm. In addition there will be a used book sale in the CALS basement from 10am to 4pm.

Little Rock Look Back: 106 Years at LR City Hall

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CityHa78106 years ago today, Little Rock City Hall officially opened at the corner of Markham and Broadway.

On April 15, 1908, the Italian Renaissance Revival style building, which had been designed by local architect Charles Thompson, played host to an open house. Staff had started moving into the building in March of that year.   This was, as often is the case, behind schedule.  The date in the cornice toward the top of the building is 1907, but the building was not completed until 1908.

In 1903, W. E. Lenon became Mayor of Little Rock. Back then, the terms were two-year terms.  By the start of his second term in 1905, he realized that the City was outgrowing City Hall, which was, at the time, on the northeast corner of Markham and Louisiana – where part of the Statehouse Convention Center sits today.

In February 1906, Mayor Lenon appointed a committee of five aldermen to over see the planning for the building of a new City Hall. In July 1906, the City Council approved plans, which called for a City Hall with an municipal auditorium wing. There was some hue and cry about wasteful spending and a resulting lawsuit, so, in September 1906, those plans were scrapped and a simpler City Hall was approved for the cost of $175,000.

The last resolution in the old City Hall called for the banning of smoking in the new Council Chambers – while the Council was in session. This may well have been the first smoking ban in a public government building in the history of Arkansas.

When the building opened, the third floor was not finished out. The space was not needed. When the Museum of Natural History and Antiquities (now the Museum of Discovery) moved into City Hall in 1929, they had to finish out their space.

In 1913, the new Central Fire Station, designed in the Beaux Arts style, was constructed adjacent to City Hall. During the 1930s, as the City grew, more space was needed. A garage, designed in the “austere, utilitarian” style was built in 1936 and a City Jail Annex, built by the WPA in the modified Art Deco style was built in 1938.

City Hall prior to 1912

By 1955, the copper-clad dome which sat on top of City Hall needed severe repairs. The wooden supports and the copper cladding were both in dire shape. Mayor Pratt Remmel set aside money for the dome to be repaired. After defeating Remmel in his bid for a third term, Mayor Woodrow Mann scrapped plans for the repair and, indeed, scrapped the dome.

Following the lead of County Judge Arch Campbell who had removed the tower at the County Courthouse, Mann proposed removal of the dome. He had an informal survey which had three options: repair the dome, replace the dome with an aluminum one, or remove it. This was open to anyone to respond – voting eligibility or Little Rock residency did not matter. By a slim margin, remove the dome won – so the dome was removed.

In 1960, as air conditioning was installed, windows were bricked in to promote energy efficiency. At the time, the feeling was that a new City Hall would be constructed in the 1970s somewhere more central to the growing city. Relocation talk persisted throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. By that time, City Hall had been modified a great deal – with no thought about historic preservation. When the Police and Fire Department had moved out into their new facilities, their old spaces had become storage.

By 1984, the decision was made to stay at Markham and Broadway. An extensive renovation and restoration effort was undertaken. In 1988, the building reopened, and the interior had been restored to its 1908 appearance.

Deadline for Ark Arts Center Delta Exhibition is this week

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arkartsApril 17 is the deadline to submit to be included in the Arkansas Arts Center’s annual Delta Exhibition.

The Delta Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture was founded in 1956 to feature contemporary work by artists from Arkansas and bordering states. Today, the annual 56th Delta Exhibition has grown to encompass works in all media and is a showcase for the dynamic vision of the artists of the Mississippi Delta region.

Brian Rutenberg will serve as juror for the 56th Annual Delta Exhibition. Born and raised in the Lowcountry of coastal South Carolina, Rutenberg is an artist now living and working in New York City. Rutenberg holds a B.A. from the College of Charleston and M.A. from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Rutenberg will select the artworks to be exhibited and will assign the $2500 Grand Award and two $750 Delta Awards. Additionally, a $250 Contemporaries Delta Award will be selected by the Contemporaries, an auxiliary membership group of the Arkansas Arts Center.

To enter, visit here.