Category Archives: Museum

April 30 Architeaser

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Yesterday focused on the entrance to the old Museum of Fine Arts.  When the new Arkansas Arts Center opened in May 1963, the architectural firm of Ginocchio, Cromwell, Carter, Dees & Neyland (now the Cromwell firm) had designed a new entrance.  This one created a more modern look and reoriented the building toward the south and MacArthur Park.  Just off the entrance and lobby are studios, galleries and a theatre.

Since the 2000 renovation and expansion, this has functioned as an entrance for the Museum School and the Children’s Theatre and is now most commonly referred to as the lower lobby.

As this is the last day of April, it will be the last daily Architeaser.  Starting in May, it will shift to a twice a week (generally Tuesdays and Thursdays) feature.

April 29 Architeaser

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IMG_5067Later this week the Arkansas Arts Center will host its Tabriz fundraiser event.  In keeping with that, today’s Architeaser features the entrance to the old Museum of Fine Arts in MacArthur Park.  When the Museum was reorganized into the Arkansas Arts Center and the building was expanded, the former entrance was incorporated into the new building.

The original building was designed by architect H. Ray Burks.  It was built by the Works Progress Administration and incorporates the art deco and neo-classical elements which were usually found in WPA buildings.  The entrance typifies this.  The arches contain the ridges, clean lines and fluting often found in art deco as well as classical figures in a frieze.

Woo at Zoo tonight

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6_wooFrom the most violent mating battles, to the subtlest courting rituals; join the Little Rock Zoo for a revealing look into the intimate secrets of exotic animal mating!

Guests will also enjoy appetizers, unlimited beverages, a unique silent auction, and live music.

The event runs from 6pm to 9pm.  Tours of the Zoo start promptly at 6:15pm.

Tickets are $35 a person.

The mission of the Little Rock Zoo is to provide engaging experiences that inspire people to value and conserve our natural world.  With that in mind, the 700 plus animals at the Zoo are all important ambassadors for their animal friends in the wild.

Darwin Awards the focus of Science After Dark

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science_after_darkTonight from 6pm to 8pm at the Museum of Discovery, the monthly Science After Dark program looks at “Why People Make Mistakes” and the Darwin Awards.

This monthly event is for the grown-ups because science is fun…at any age!

Science After Dark provides visitors the opportunity to have fun and learn about science in a unique setting. Museum educators pick a science-related topic and build an entertaining, interactive evening around it.

The program is for individuals ages 21 and over.  The cost is $5 but is free for those with a museum membership.  There are refreshments and a cash bar.

Purple Moon Dance Project performs in gallery of Arkansas Arts Center

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purple-moonThe Arkansas Arts Center presents a one-of-a-kind experience today at 2pm in the Townsend Wolfe Gallery which is currently displaying the exhibit Wendy Maruyama: Executive Order 9066.

In a special collaboration, emerging within the gallery installation, Purple Moon Dance Project and Artistic Director Jill Togawa will present When Dreams Are Interrupted, a riveting site-specific performance that uncovers the profound imprint left on a neighborhood by the forced removal and mass evacuation of Japanese American communities in 1942.

Dancers Jill Togawa, Ruth Ichinaga and Sharon Sato will explore and infuse with the “Tag Project” to draw out the stories and memories amassed by artist Wendy Maruyama and to highlight local history and stories.

This production captures the painful experiences of hundreds of thousands of Americans of Japanese ancestry forced into concentration camps during World War II through a poignant and stunning combination of original choreography, music, visual art and poetry. It is through artistic and historically authentic expressions such as these that we remember, pay tribute to and honor those who suffered this unspeakable injustice, in hopes that we may prevent such a dark episode in America’s history from ever happening again.

Arkansas Literary Festival This Weekend!

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litfestlogoThe Arkansas Literary Festival, the premier gathering of readers and writers in Arkansas, has expanded to include over 90 authors in many locations on both sides of the river from April 18-21, 2013.

The Central Arkansas Library System’s Main Library campus, other venues in the River Markets and Argenta Arts districts are the sites for a stimulating mix of sessions, panels, special events, performances, workshops, presentations, opportunities to meet the authors, book sales, and book signings. Most events are free and open to the public.

Festival authors include:

Salma Abdelnour, David Abrams, Mary Stewart Atwell, Beth Ayer, Jenni B. Baker, Jan Barry, Carolyn Briggs, Kevin Brockmeier, Sam Calvin Brown, Oliver Burkeman, Mary Bucci Bush, Drew Cameron, Raquel Cepeda, Da Chen, Joseph Crespino, James Daily, Lela Davidson, Edmond Davis, Sylvia Day, James W. Erwin, Richard Ford, Ben Fountain, Tim Gallagher, Tim Gallagher, Paula J. Giddings, Kay Collett Goss, Jessica B. Harris, Ruth Hawkins, Roger D. Hodge, Ty Jaeger, Jay Jennings, Ben Katchor, Janis F. Kearney, Jeannette Keith, Brian and Terri Kinder, Steve Kistulentz, Christi Shannon Kline, Jon Krampner, Travis Langley, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Dorothy R. Leavell, Domingo Martinez, Ayana Mathis, Carla Killough McClafferty, Rosetta Miller-Perry, Lydia Millet, Pat Mora, Linda Murphy, Sara Nesson, Cynthia LeJeune Nobles, Harry Ostrer, Darcy Pattison, Lori Perkins, Leonard Pitts Jr., Garry Craig Powell, Padgett Powell, Joe Queenan, Karen Russell, Eric Rutkow, Courtney Miller Santo, Rosie Schaap, Martha Silano, Heather Sutherlin, Steve Teske, Chuck Thompson, Charles Todd, Caroline Todd, Duncan Tonatiuh, GB Tran, Dennis Vannatta, Frank X Walker, John Corey Whaley, Steve Wiegenstein, David Wesley Williams, Johnathon Williams, Rita Williams-Garcia, Christian Wiman, Jan Wolfe, Ron Wolfe, C.D. Wright, Steve Yates

This year’s Festival authors have won an impressive number and variety of distinguished awards, such as the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Pulitzer Prize for Journalism, James Beard Foundation Award, PEN/Hemingway Award, Newbery Honor, National Book Critics Circle Award, a Coretta Scott King Honor, PEN/O.Henry Prize; Pushcart Prize; Barnes and Noble Discover Prize for Fiction, Roger Ebert’s Film Festival Thumbs Up Award, Pure Belpré Award, International Griffin Prize for Poetry, International Documentary Association Best Documentary Short, Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators, and several National Book Award Finalists. Many of the presenters’ works have been translated into multiple languages and made into films.

Special events for adults during the Festival include a cocktail reception with the authors, food, wine, and spirits workshops, films, a play, and Spoken Word LIVE!, a city-wide poetry competition. Panels and workshops will feature topics such as fiction, memoir, screenwriting, super hero psychology & law, Warrior Writers Project, erotica, and more.

Children’s special events include a storytime on the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion, a book fiesta, the artmobile, plays, outdoor activities, and Super Hero Activity Afternoon. Festival sessions for children will take place at both the new Children’s Library, 4800 10th Street, and the Youth Services Department at the Main Library, 100 Rock Street.

At Level 4, the Main Library’s teen center, teens can meet authors and illustrators, participate in ComiCALS, activities and panels such as a cosplay contest, video game tournament, a writing workshop, and zombie survival activities.

Through the Writers In The Schools (WITS) initiative, the Festival will provide presentations by several authors for Pulaski county elementary, middle, and senior high schools and area colleges.

Support for the Literary Festival is provided by sponsors including Central Arkansas Library System; Friends of Central Arkansas Libraries (FOCAL); Department of Arkansas Heritage; Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau; Fred K. Darragh Jr. Foundation; Arkansas Democrat Gazette; Mosaic Templars Cultural Center; Regions; ProSmartPrinting; MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History; Historic Arkansas Museum; Clinton Presidential Center; Hendrix-Murphy Foundation; Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP, Arkansas Times; Christ Church, Little Rock’s Downtown Episcopal Church; Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center; Arkansas Library Association; Henderson State University; University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service; Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre; Arkansas Governor’s Mansion; Hendrix College Creative Writing and the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature & Language; Hendrix College Project Pericles Program; Hendrix College; University of Arkansas at Little Rock, English Department; University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Department of Rhetoric and Writing; Pulaski Technical College; Jewish Federation of Arkansas; Arkansas Arts Center; Power 92 Jams; Central High School National Historic Site; National Park Service; Literacy Action of Central Arkansas; Capital Hotel; Little Rock Film Festival; and LuLav. The Arkansas Literary Festival is supported in part by funds from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Author! Author!, a cocktail reception with the authors, will be Friday, April 19 at 8pm on the fifth floor of the CALS main library building.  Tickets are available at the door.

The Arkansas Literary Festival is a project of the Central Arkansas Library System. The Festival’s mission is to encourage the development of a more literate populace. A group of dedicated volunteers assists Festival Coordinator Brad Mooy with planning the Festival. Jay Jennings is the 2013 Festival Chair. Other committee chairs include Katherine Whitworth, Talent Committee; Lisa Donovan, Youth Programs; and Amy Bradley-Hole, Moderators.

Mixing Music, Drinks and Art at 2nd Friday Art Night

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2FAN logo Font sm2April showers us with another opportunity to enjoy 2nd Friday Art Night downtown in Little Rock from 5pm to 8pm.  Included in the various participating venues are Historic Arkansas Museum and Old State House Museum.  (For those who want to attend City Year’s Red Jacket Ball tonight honoring Rep. Darrin Williams, this works out perfectly because 2nd Friday Art Night starts at 5pm, so you can still enjoy it before RJB starts.)

At Historic Arkansas Museum, Capital Hotel Bar and Grill mixologist—and two-time Nog-off winner—David Burnette will mix and muddle, and show you how to make the perfect mint julep just in time for derby season. Ozark-inspired, funky-folk band Mockingbird will set the whole splendid night to music.

At the Old State House Museum, Tim Anthony will play jazz music.

The Arkansas Studies Institute has several exhibits including: Clinton for Arkansas, Arkansas Society of Printmakers, From the Vault: Works from the CALS Permanent Collection and No I’m Not, He Is: “A Flying Snake and Oyyo” Comic Retropsective.