Category Archives: Museum

Arkansas Arts Center open on July 4

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Celebrate Independence Day at the Arkansas Arts Center! Visit the AAC on Wednesday, July 4 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Visitors to the Arts Center can enjoy the cool air conditioning and hot exhibits that are on display.
View the exhibitions Tattoo Witness:Photographs by Mark Perrott, 11th National Drawing Invitational: New York, Singular Drawings, The New Materiality: Digital Dialogues at the Boundaries of Contemporary Craft, Doodle 4 Google and The Rockefeller Influence. Shop in the Museum Shop.
Then leave your car parked at the AAC free of charge and hop on the Rivermarket trolley for Pops on the River. The AAC will be a stop on the trolley route, which will circle continuously throughout the day stopping at the AAC Atrium Entrance, River Market, Clinton Presidential Center and the US Post Office.
The Trolley will run from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Remember, admission to the Arts Center is free everyday. Happy July 4th!
Best Impressions Restaurant will not be open on July 4.

Museum of Discovery Executive Director Nan Selz to retire at end of 2012

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Nan Selz, who has led the Museum of Discovery since 2004 and revitalized the once-struggling museum announced her intention to retire at the end of 2012.

Since joining the Museum in February 2004, Selz has used her leadership to ensure that the Museum has become central Arkansas’s premier math, science and technology center. She has nearly 50 years executive, development and teaching experience having worked in corporate, non-profit and education sectors.

“Before I ever thought about working here, I visited the Museum of Discovery with my oldest grandson, Josh. It was then, and remains, a wonderful place for families to play and learn together. I will miss the energy and enthusiasm of our wonderful staff and board, but I am leaving this place in great hands! And I will, of course, be back as a visitor quite often,” said Selz.

Selz has volunteered for numerous organizations and served on many boards for more than 40 years. She plans to continue her community involvement, and enjoy time with her family.

The Museum’s board of trustees has formed a search committee and is conducting a search for Selz’s successor.

Established in 1927, the Museum of Discovery is Little Rock’s oldest museum. Following its closing and a 10-month renovation, the Museum of Discovery re-opened in January 2012. It is central Arkansas’s leading informal educational resource in areas of science, technology, math and engineering. The Museum’s mission is to ignite a passion for science, technology and math in a dynamic, interactive environment.

Ark. Arts Center Lecture: National Drawing Invitational

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Charlotta Kotik, guest curator for the Arkansas Arts Center exhibit 11th National Drawing Invitational: New York, Singular Drawings exhibition, will lead a gallery talk. Ms. Kotik is the Curator Emerita at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.  The program will be this Sunday, June 24 at 2pm in the Jeannette Edris Rockefeller Gallery.

Ati Maier

The 11th National Drawing Invitational continues the Arkansas Arts Center’s commitment to collect and exhibit drawings of all periods. The Arkansas Arts Center began its collection of drawings in 1971 when AAC Director and Chief Curator Townsend Wolfe purchased Willem de Kooning and Andrew Wyeth works on paper. Today the drawing collection includes over 5,000 sheets. In 1986, Wolfe created the first National Drawing Invitational to further advance the Arts Center’s commitment to collect and exhibit drawings and to focus on living American artists and their work. Guest Curator Charlotta Kotik puts together an exhibition that features drawings by New York artists whose work borders on obsession.

The exhibit runs through September 9.  It is sponsored by Friday, Eldredge and Clark, LLP.

Ark Arts Center opens new exhibit on art of tattoos

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The Arkansas Arts Center kicks off the 2012-2013 exhibition season with Tattoo Witness: Photographs by Mark Perrott on Friday, June 22. A reception for AAC members will take place tonight. The exhibit is organized and toured by the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, PA.

Perrott’s photographs, which document 25 years of tattoo culture, highlight the artistry of the tattoos as well as the individuals who have stories to tell. Tattoos are one of the oldest subjects in art, dating back over 5000 years.

The exhibit features 25 large-scale black and white photos of men and women and their tattoos.
It grew out of a project which Perrott began in 1979 when he started hanging out at a tattoo parlor in Pittsburgh. That led him to continue to explore the artform in a widening area. Between 1995 and 2003 his continued curiosity compelled him to visit ten American mid-career tattoo masters at their studios, scattered across the country.

Mark Perrott – TONY, 1992

Mark Perrott has worked as a professional photographer for the past 40 years. In addition to his commercial work, which includes portraiture and photography for annual reports, Perrott has taken photographs that document Pittsburgh’s citizens and its rich industrial landscape. His photographs are included in the permanent collections of a number of museums, including Carnegie Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Baltimore Museum of Art and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

The exhibition will showcase a collection of murals painted by local tattoo artists including Robert Berry from 7th Street Tattoo in Little Rock, Richard Moore from Backroads Tattoo in Russellville, Caleb Pritchett from Electric Heart Tattoo in Little Rock, Chris Thomas from Golden Lotus Tattoo Studio in Sherwood, Brooke and Ryan Cook from Lucky Bella in North Little Rock, Nancy Miller from Main Street Tattoo in Jacksonville and Scott Diffee from The Parlor in North Little Rock.

A section in the exhibition called Arkansas Tattoo Witness Corner will feature a selection of videos created by local individuals telling the stories behind their tattoos. To be included in the Arkansas Tattoo Witness Corner section of the exhibition, people can submit videos telling their tattoo story. Videos should be three minutes or less in length. People can upload their videos through the Arkansas Arts Center web site at http://www.arkarts.com. Videos will be accepted throughout the run of the exhibition.

RELATED PROGRAMS
The lecture TATTOOED: The Sociogenesis of a Body Art by Michael Atkinson, Ph.D. will be held Thursday, June 21, 2012. A reception will be held at 5:30 p.m., and the lecture will begin at 6 p.m. Dr. Michael Atkinson, sociologist and tattoo enthusiast, authored the book Tattooed: The Sociogenesis of Body Art. In this lecture, Dr. Atkinson will discuss the change in tattoo culture in North America in the past decade including the role of women and other influences. Admission to the lecture is $5. Arkansas Arts Center Members attend free.

The Arkansas Arts Center will offer free public tours of Tattoo Witness: Photographs by Mark Perrott by docents on Saturdays at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. and Sundays at 1 and 2:30 p.m.

Live demonstrations will reveal the art and technique of tattooing by local tattoo parlors from 2 to 4 p.m. on the following dates (visitors cannot receive tattoos at the Arts Center):

June 24: Golden Lotus Tattoo Studio, Sherwood
July 15: Lucky Bella, North Little Rock
August 5: 7th Street Tattoo, Little Rock
August 26 : Electric Heart Tattoo, Little Rock

Museum of Discovery Summer Fun Extravaganza

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As people begin to start the summer season, the Museum of Discovery wraps up its Summer Fun Extravaganza event Today. Visitors will learn the science behind some of the most popular summertime activities.

As museum-goers arrive, they will be greeted by an extensive shell and coral display. The experience will continue in each of the three science galleries as specific exhibits will be featured to show how they relate to the summer season. Discovery cart demonstrations will be presented throughout the day relating to the ocean, like why one can hear its waves in a seashell. Also, sunblock protection will be emphasized as ultraviolet rays and their harmful effects will be examined.

Additional programming will focus on the science of air pressure as a pvc pipe ball launcher will serve as a make-shift water squirter, and a marshmallow shooter. There will even be a few surprises with bubbles.

“Summer is in a word – fun!” smiled Nan Selz, executive director for the museum. “Whether it’s boating on one of Arkansas’s beautiful lakes, spending time at the pool, or heading to the beach, we like to soak up as much fun as we can in a few short months. But our favorite past times can teach us a lot about science,” she added.

Discovery Cart Demonstrations:
10 am; 12 pm; 2 pm; 4 pm

Discovery Court Programs:
11 am; 1 pm; 3 pm

On Sunday at the museum, Dads will get in free for Father’s Day.

Arkansas Statehood Celebration – Saturday

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Tomorrow, the Old State House and Historic Arkansas Museum will present a salute to Arkansas’ statehood. These two museums of the Department of Arkansas Heritage will offer a glimpse of what life was like during the 1836 Presidential election, the first one after Arkansas became a state.

Visitors will have the chance to experience the politics, entertainment and commerce of the period. From 9am to 12 noon the program will be at Historic Arkansas Museum. At noon, participants will parade from the Historic Arkansas Museum to the Old State House waving flags and banners for the presidential candidate of their choice. The program will continue at the Old State House until 5:30pm.

There is no admission charge. Visitors will also be able to cast votes in a mock election.

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Sid McMath Centenary

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Community organizations and the McMath family are working together to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Governor Sidney Sanders McMath with activities on June 14-15 at Central Arkansas Library System venues.  Gov. McMath was born on June 14, 1912.

These organizations were important to Governor McMath at different times in his life, and the activities reflect those connections. The celebration will begin with a Historical Perspectives conference on McMath’s history and accomplishments on Thursday, June 14, from 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the Arkansas Studies Institute building, 401 President Clinton Ave. Individuals who knew or worked with McMath in various projects and offices will offer presentations with subjects including The Making of a Governor, Confronting Jim Crow, and Man of Faith.

A Centennial Salute and Reception will be held on Friday, June 15, at 10 a.m. at McMath Library, 2100 John Barrow Rd. Presentation of the colors will begin the program, which will include a speaker from the McMath family. Governor Mike Beebe will speak about the significance of McMath’s time as governor. A reception in the McMath Library meeting room will be followed by family activities of health and vision screenings, mobility demonstrations, Marine Corps and college information, and a children’s book giveaway. Parking is limited, but additional parking is available at Parkview Arts/Sciences High School, 2501 John Barrow Road.

All activities are free and open to the public. The celebration is presented by the McMath family, the Central Arkansas Library System, Henderson State University, Lion’s World Services for the Blind, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, U.S. Marine Corps, Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, University of Arkansas, and Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church.