Category Archives: Government

The Arkansas Arts Center Artmobile receives grant from Kum & Go

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The Arkansas Arts Center received a $7,500 grant from Kum & Go to support the Artmobile’s 2019–2020 touring season. 

The Artmobile – the Arkansas Arts Center’s “gallery on wheels” – is one of very few mobile museums in the country, and the only program of its kind in Arkansas. This unique gallery space features themed exhibitions of works from the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection.

The Artmobile’s current exhibition, The Spirit of Independence, takes its name from Kent Bicentennial Portfolio: Spirit of Independence, commissioned in 1976. The exhibition presents a selection of works from the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection that reflect on American history and ideals. The featured works explore movements and moments in American history, from the Great Migration to the Civil Rights and Women’s Rights movements. Other works explore the American experience through the symbols most often associated with the country. Through these works, Artmobile visitors are invited to reflect on their ideas of freedom, democracy and equality.

The Artmobile travels with an onboard educator will help visitors engage with the art and invite discussion in the context of visual arts, geography, economics, English language arts, environmental science, and technology. A curriculum guide offers a wide range of activities that fulfill Arkansas State Standards and frameworks – from quick-start activities to comprehensive lesson plans designed for K-12 audiences. Community Nights provide schools with an opportunity to invite the greater community into the gallery outside of normal school hours.

The Artmobile will be visiting libraries, community centers, fairs, and festivals throughout the state during the 2019-2020 season. When the Artmobile isn’t touring throughout the state, it will also be available for scheduled tours at the Arkansas Arts Center’s Riverdale location.

For more information, follow the Artmobile’s journey online at arkansasartscenter.org/community or on Twitter at twitter.com/ArkArtmobile.

Hey You Guys! – CALS Ron Robinson Theater is showing GOONIES tonight!

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The Goonies (1985, PG)

From the imagination of Steven Spielberg, The Goonies plunges a band of small heroes into a swashbuckling surprise-around-every corner quest beyond their wildest dreams!

See it on the big screen tonight (9/6) at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater.

Following a mysterious treasure map into a spectacular underground realm of twisting passages, outrageous booby-traps and a long-lost pirate ship full of golden doubloons, the kids race to stay one step ahead of a family of bumbling bad guys…and a mild mannered monster with a face only a mother could love.

Directed by Richard Donner and starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Martha Plimpton, Kerri Green, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano, Anne Ramsey, Lupe Ontiveros and Mary Ellen Trainor, The Goonies is a film that still delights the young and the young at heart.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Film starts at 7:00 p.m. Beer, wine, and concessions will be available!

The Arkansas Arts Center was formally established on Sept 6, 1960

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Architectural model of the original Arkansas Arts Center which would open in 1963.

On Tuesday, September 6, 1960, the City of Little Rock Board of Directors adopted ordinance 11,111 which formally established the Arkansas Arts Center.

In July 1957, the City Council of Little Rock granted the Museum of Fine Arts the authority to solicit and receive funds for expanding that museum’s physical plant.  During that process, it had been decided that the museum needed an expanded mission and a new name.  By the summer of 1960, the museum supporters had raised sufficient funds to proceed with constructing the new facility.  Therefor the new ordinance was prepared and submitted to the City Board.  (In November 1957, the City Council had been replaced by a City Board.)

Ordinance 11,111 set forth that the Museum of Fine Arts would be known as the Arkansas Arts Center and that the previous museum’s board would serve as the board for the new museum.  The Board of the Arkansas Arts Center was given the authority to have the new building constructed in MacArthur Park and the existing building modified.  As a part of the planning for the new museum, the City committed $75,000 for the capital campaign.

The groundbreaking for the new museum would take place in August 1961.  Mayor Werner Knoop, who signed Ordinance 11,111, took part in the groundbreaking.

Media attending the September 6, 1960, City Board meeting were more interested in discussion about a potential leash law for dogs within the City limits.

Sandwich in History at Ferncliff Camp today

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You are invited to join the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program’s next “Sandwiching in History” tour, which will visit Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center at 1720 Ferncliff Road in Little Rock beginning at noon on Friday, September 6, 2019.

Currently sitting on approximately 1,200 acres, Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center began in the 1920s as a camp for some of Little Rock’s prominent families. Since the 1930s, the facility has been a camp and conference center owned by the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA). Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center offers retreat and meeting facilities along with recreational facilities and hiking trails.

Sandwiching in History tours are worth one hour of AIA continuing education credit. If you would like to receive email notifications of upcoming tours instead of postcards or need additional information, please contact Callie Williams, Education and Outreach Coordinator for AHPP, at 501-324-9880 or Callie.Williams@arkansas.gov.

 

September 5, 1961 – the Duke Ellington concert in Little Rock that wasn’t

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Newspaper ad for the concert that was not to be

In August 1961, it was announced that Duke Ellington would perform in concert at Robinson Center.  He had previously played there in the 1940s and early 1950s.  His concert was set to be at 8:30 pm on Tuesday, September 5.

Due to the changes of times, the NAACP had a relatively new rule that they would boycott performers who played at segregated venues.  When it became apparent that Robinson would remain segregated (African Americans restricted to the balcony), the NAACP announced they would boycott any future Ellington performances if he went ahead and played Robinson.

The music promoters in Little Rock (who were white) petitioned the Robinson Auditorium Commission asking them to desegregate Robinson – even if for only that concert.  The Commission refused to do so.  Though the auditorium was finding it harder to book acts into a segregated house, they felt that if it were integrated, fewer tickets would be sold.

On September 1, 1961, Ellington cancelled the concert.

Robinson remained segregated until a 1963 judge’s decision which integrated all public City of Little Rock facilities (except for swimming pools).

Step into the 1970s with Old State House Museum’s September edition of Nights at the Museum

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Image may contain: outdoor, text that says 'NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM Old State House Museum'Step back into the ‘70s at the Old State House Museum’s next Nights at the Museum event Thursday, Sept. 5, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.!

Get hip to the groove to some disco and soul tunes from DJ Brae Leni (from Brae Leni and The Blackout), or play along with game shows, like “Name That Tune” or “Soul Train” Scrabble.

Come dressed in your trendiest ’70s threads!

As always, there will be plenty of food and libations available to purchase.

Nights at the Museum is an event for ages 21+ on the museum’s iconic front lawn that takes place the first Thursday of each month seasonally, March-October. (In case of inclement weather, the event will be indoors at the museum.)

Arkansas State House Society – Friends of the Old State House Museum, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting OSHM and its programs, hosts the Nights at the Museum.

Admission is $5; food and beverages will be available for purchase at the event. Tickets may be purchased in advance at https://squareup.com/store/ArkansasStateHouseSociety/ or at the gate.

The museum can validate parking at the DoubleTree hotel; metered parking near the hotel is free after 6 p.m.

The Little Rock Zoo wants input from kids

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The Little Rock Zoo is looking for kids ages 7-12 to provide input for the Mayor’s Task Force on the Future of the Little Rock Zoo. Applications can be downloaded from Little Rock Zoo.com and are due by September 10, 2019 at noon.

During the two sessions held on September 14 and September 21, 2019, the Kid Task Force will be asked what they want to see happen at the Little Rock Zoo. Their opinions will be sought on what kind of new animal habitats the Zoo should offer, what new experiences the Zoo should provide and what other amenities should be added.

As a part of Task Force membership, the children will learn about Zoo operations in a fun setting and get a chance to meet some animals up-close-and-personal. The Zoo’s Education Department will lead a series of roundtable assessments with the Task Force that will include creative “play” sessions to uncover creative thought. Such sessions are used in both adult and child settings to encourage unique thought and creative thinking. 

If you have a child interested in taking part in the Task Force, please apply by September 10, 2019, at noon by downloading the application found at LittleRockZoo.com and sending it to mgates@littlerock.gov. Applications may also be mailed to:

Michael Gates
Little Rock Zoo Kid Task Force
1 Zoo Drive
Little Rock, AR 72205