Category Archives: Design

GEE’S BEND at Arkansas Rep

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Quilts are not just coverings for warmth, they often tell a story.  The quilts and quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama are the focus of the play Gee’s Bend, which opened on Friday night at the Arkansas Rep and continues through February 1

Gee’s Bend was written by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder.  It follows a group of women as they turn to quilting to provide comfort and creative expression to their lives. Pieced together from discarded clothes and seasoned with laughter and tears, the women sew a patchwork of inventive abstract designs in rich, blazing colors.

The play opens in 1939, with the beginning of the era of African-American land ownership. The story then advances to 1965, in the midst of the Civil Rights movement and the historic visit to Gee’s Bend by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. The production concludes in 2002, on the eve of the unveiling of “The Quilts of Gee’s Bend” exhibition organized by the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas.

Gee’s Bend was commissioned by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s Southern Writers Project, where it received a staged reading in 2006 and premiered in January 2007. A graduate of the dramatic writing program at New York University, Wilder received the American Theatre Critics Association’s 2008 Elizabeth Osborn New Play Award for an emerging playwright.

Gee’s Bend is directed by Gilbert McCauley, who has directed several plays previously at the Rep.  The cast features Corey Jones, Nambi E. Kelley, Shannon Lamb and Monica Parks.   The design team includes Mike Nichols (scenery), Yslan Hicks (costumes), John Horner (lighting), Allan Branson (sound) and Lynda J. Kwallek (props). Robert Hupp is the Producing Artistic Director of the Arkansas Rep.

The Rep’s production of Gee’s Bend is supported and sponsored by The Design Group, Philander Smith College, Arora, Delta Airlines and the Little Rock Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.  It is also made possible in part by a grant from the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation, a component fund of the Arkansas Community Fund.

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.

Two new exhibits at UALR galleries

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Two new exhibits opened yesterday in the UALR Art Galleries.

“Collecting Prints” features fine art prints from the UALR Permanent Collection that have been acquired over the past 15 years. The majority of the permanent collection is made up of late 20th century and contemporary drawings, prints, paintings, sculptural objects and ceramics by professional artists and UALR students. This exhibition will be open in Gallery I through March 11. A reception will take place Jan. 25.

This exhibition celebrates art Professor Win Bruhl’s love of the diverse media found in the print studio and to honor his tenure on the eve of his retirement in June 2013. Bruhl became chair of the art department in 1998 and counts printmaking among his studio passions.

“Surface Space (Sundial Face)” features recent paintings by UALR Artist in Residence Taimur Cleary. Cleary’s work centers around connections to and perception of the landscape, with influences that  include landscape paintings, the quality of sunlight and reflected light, the seasons, meteorology, clouds, satellite imagery, memory, reading, and traveling. This exhibition will be open in Gallery II from Jan. 14  through Feb. 8.   An artist talk will be held Jan. 31.

Cleary is the fourth person to hold the artist-in-residence position in representational painting within the art department at UALR. He began his residency in August 2011. He has taught at The Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio. Prior to that, he taught art as an assistant professor in Lahore, Pakistan.

Reel Classics with Rep: The Quilts of Gee’s Bend

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quiltsofgeesbendIn conjunction with the upcoming play Gee’s Bend, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s monthly film series tonight will feature The Quilts of Gee’s Bend.  Reel Classics with the Rep starts at 6:00pm.

Set in the quiltmaker’s homes and yard, and told through the women’s voices, this music-filled, documentary takes viewers inside the art and fascinating living history of a uniquely American community and art form.

Prior to the film, members of The Rep’s creative team will discuss Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder’s play Gee’s Bend.  Reel Classics with the Rep takes place at the Laman Library in North Little Rock.

Gee’s Bend runs from Janury 23 through February 10.  Opening night if January 25.

The story of the women of Gee’s Bend has already touched millions who viewed their stunning work through a national exhibition tour and features on National Public Radio, Newsweek  and O Magazine.  “The Quilts of Gee’s Bend” have been exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among others.

The Arkansas Rep’s production is made possible in part by a grant from the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation, a component fund of the Arkansas Community Fund.

Arkansas Arts Center exhibit – Museum School Faculty Exhibition: Past and Present

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David Bailin’s Anticipated Exile, 1988
charcoal and oil on canvas
Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection:Purchase, Grand Award, 31st Annual Delta Art Exhibition

In conjunction with the Arkansas Arts Center 50th Anniversary celebration, a new exhibit has just been installed.

The Museum School Faculty Exhibition: Past and Present pays tribute to the Museum School faculty. The Arkansas Arts Center first began offering art classes for children and adults during the spring of 1960, prior to the construction of the new facility.

When the new Arts Center was completed in May of 1963, it included studios that comprise the Museum School in which a full schedule of art classes was offered.

The Museum School Faculty Exhibition: Past and Present highlights work created by current Museum School Faculty along with work from the permanent collection by former faculty members. Works in a variety of media are featured. This exhibition is the final installment in the series.

The exhibit runs through March 10.

The Arkansas Arts Center galleries are open:

Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Martha Miller new director at Department of Arkansas Heritage

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MARTHA MILLER: New Heritage leader.Last week, Governor Mike Beebe announced that Martha Miller would be the new Director of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.  She succeeds Cathie Matthews, who retired at the end of 2012 after serving for 15 years.

In making the announcement the governor noted, “Martha is a life-long Arkansan who has strong experience within the department and with state government. Promoting her from her position as deputy director was an easy and sensible decision in light of Cathie Matthews’ retirement.

Miller, 60, previously served as Deputy Director for the Department of Arkansas Heritage Museums. Formerly a self-employed attorney and lobbyist, she has served on the boards of Lyon College (her alma mater), the Little Rock Interfaith Hospitality Network and Audubon Arkansas.

The Department of Arkansas Heritage’s mission is to identify Arkansas’ heritage and enhance the quality of life by the discovery, preservation, and presentation of the state’s cultural, historic and natural resources. The agency oversees the Arkansas Arts Council, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Delta Cultural Center, Historic Arkansas Museum, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and the Old State House Museum.

CALS Hosts 2nd Annual LEGO Competition at Thompson Library

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The Central Arkansas Library System is hosting its 2nd Annual LEGO contest today at the Roosevelt Thompson Library.

The fun begins at 9am and continues until 5pm.  From 9am to 12 noon, contestants can bring their LEGO creations.  These will be judged from 1pm to 3pm.  From 3pm to 5pm the public will have the chance to view them.  At 5pm the winners will be announced.

For more information on the rules, contact the library at 501-821-3060.

The Roosevelt Thompson Library is located at 38 Rahling Circle.