7th annual AAC Fountain Fest is tonight!

What better location for the 7th Fountain Fest in the Rock, than at 7th and Rock Streets?

With construction beginning at the Arkansas Arts Center’s MacArthur Park building this fall, the Contemporaries’ 7th Annual Fountain Fest is moving a few blocks down the street. This year’s fundraiser – featuring food, music, art and libations – will be on the lawn of the Terry House at the corner of East 7th and Rock Street in downtown Little Rock on October 17.

“We’re thrilled to be able to host Fountain Fest at the Terry House this year,” Contemporaries President Heather Wardle said. “Funds raised from Fountain Fest will support the Contemporaries continuing efforts to expand the Arkansas Arts Center Collection and provide exceptional arts programming for young professionals in Little Rock.”

The 7th Annual Fountain Fest will feature food from Petit & Keet and the Chenal Country Club, desserts by UA–Pulaski Tech Culinary Arts Institute, beer by Stone’s Throw Brewing and Back Forty Beer Company, and cocktails by Roxor Gin and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Local duo Brian Nahlen and Jason Lee Hale will provide music. Museum School instructors and students will offer art-making experiences, and the Children’s Theatre will host a shadow-puppet photo booth.

“Fountain Fest is a great opportunity for the community to engage with everything the Arts Center and the Contemporaries have to offer,” Fountain Fest Chair Chris Smith said. “We’re excited to continue hosting this popular event even while the Arts Center’s MacArthur Park building is under construction.”

Fountain Fest will begin at 5:30 p.m. on October 17 on the Terry House lawn. Event tickets are $30 each or $50 for two and can be purchased at arkansasartscenter.org/fountain-fest or by calling (501) 372-4000. Sponsorship opportunities are still available; for more information contact Spencer Jansen at (501) 396-0337.

The event will also feature a chance drawing for a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 20yr Bourbon. Drawing tickets are $10 each and can be purchased at arkansasartscenter.org/fountain-fest or at the event. The winner does not have to be present to win.

Fountain Fest provides an opportunity for the community to engage with the Contemporaries, an affiliate-membership group of the Arkansas Arts Center made up of art enthusiasts who wish to expand their knowledge and appreciation of the arts. The Contemporaries programs provide young professionals with an opportunity to experience the Arkansas Arts Center and become involved with the local art community. Through exclusive tours of the Arts Center, private homes and local galleries, the Contemporaries develop a more informed appreciation of art. The funds raised at Fountain Fest support acquisitions on behalf of the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection and other programming that supports the Arts Center.

The 7th Annual Fountain Fest is chaired by Chris Smith. Fountain Fest is sponsored by CenterPoint Energy, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Datamax, and Peckham + Smith Architects, Inc. In-kind sponsors are 107 Liquor; Roxor Gin; Stone’s Throw Brewing; Tito’s Handmade Vodka; Back Forty Beer Company; Moon Distributors; O’Connor Distributing; Chenal Country Club; UA–Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute; and Argenta Downtown Council.

Artober – Patterns….Quilts at Historic Arkansas Museum

Stitched Together: A Treasury of Arkansas Quilts

Rocky Mountain Road by Elizabeth Rogers Manning and Martha Manning. part of Historic Arkansas Museum collection.

October is Arts and Humanities Month nationally and in Little Rock. Americans for the Arts has identified a different arts topic to be posted for each day in the month.  Next up is Patterns.

One way to highlight patterns is to look at some in the Stitched Together exhibit at Historic Arkansas Museum. Quilting is a skill that was carried to the New World by immigrants.  However, in the almost two and half centuries since the colonies became states, quilting has evolved into a uniquely American tradition.

Quilting is all about patterns, sometimes repeating, sometimes in response. But it is all about patterns.

Here are a few from the exhibit:

The first features my favorite fabric pattern: PLAID!

Log Cabin, a pieced quilt ca. 1950 by Clara Baker.  Part of Historic Arkansas Museum collection.

 

Signature. Made by members of the Women’s Missionary Society of Lonoke County. 1907. Part of the Historic Arkansas Museum collection.

Star of Bethlehem and unnamed pattern. Pieced and appliqued quilt. Mary Jane Vincent, ca. 1860. Part of Historic Arkansas Museum collection.

It started with seven – a decade of the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden

The original seven sculptures. Clockwise from top left: Conversation with Myself; Straight and Narrow; Bateleur Eagle; First Glance; Sizzling Sisters; Cascade; and Full of Himself

After nearly a week of rain, the skies dried up and on Friday, October 16, 2009, the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden was dedicated.

Designed and created by the staff of the Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department, the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden started with seven sculptures. These were purchased at the 2007 and 2008 Sculpture at the River Market Show and Sales.

The original seven were: Full of Himself by Jan Woods, Cascade by Chapel, Bateleur Eagle by Pete Zaluzec, Sizzling Sister by Wayne Salge, Conversation With Myself by Lorri Acott, First Glance by Denny Haskew, and Straight and Narrow by Lisa Gordon.

The sculpture garden was named after the Vogel Schwartz Foundation in recognition of its contributions to the project. The garden was dedicated on the afternoon of the preview party for the 2009 Show and Sale.

The Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden did not have seven sculptures for long. New pieces have been added every few months since then.  In 2017, an expansion was dedicated which doubled the size and allowed for larger pieces to be installed.  Today there are over eighty sculptures in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden and more than twenty elsewhere in Riverfront Park.

The 2020 Sculpture at the River Market “A Night in the Garden” party will take place on Friday, April 17, 2020, in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden.

October 2FAN at HAM – Some ballet, some music, some beer

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Join Historic Arkansas Museum for a preview of “Sleepy Hollow” presented by Ballet Arkansas.

The multimedia ballet, designed in collaboration with the creative team at Cranford Co., features projected video and photo backdrops filmed at HAM. This unique take on Washington Irving’s classic tale combines the beauty of visual art with breathtaking original choreography by Executive and Artistic Director, Michael Fothergill, and local scenery. Come experience a first look of the first production of Ballet Arkansas’ 41st season, and enjoy a Q/A with the choreographer after the preview.

In addition to the ballet performance…

🍂 Autumn activities on the Historic Grounds

🎶 Live music by The Marchese Hendricks Project

🧼 Sawmill Gap Mercantile in the Museum Store highlighting a selection of their products

The reception is sponsored by the Historic Arkansas Museum Foundation, with special thanks to 107 Liquor. Beverages and appetizers will be served in the Stella Boyle Smith Atrium including beer from Stone’s Throw Brewing. The exhibits and reception are free and open to the public.