It’s Shark Week! Celebrate this popular summer TV tradition by taking a photo with Greta the Great White Shark in the Clinton Center’s Washed Ashore exhibit.
Greta is 16 feet long and made entirely of plastic debris collected from beaches. Explore the rest of the exhibit and see more than 20 giant sea life creatures, all made from beach toys, flip flops, bottles, and more!
Join the Old State House Museum for some dino-sized fun Thursday, Aug. 1, from 6 to 9 p.m. for their next Night at the Museum!
“Territorial Arkansas: The Wild Western Frontier” will open at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History August 1st, 2019.
The exhibit will have a month long run and will end on August 26th.
The traveling exhibit consists of 15 panels that explore the history of Arkansas Territory though the collections of the Arkansas State Archives and their branch archives, the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives in Powhatan and the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives in Washington.
The Little Rock Zoo is proud to announce the birth of a baby female Northwest Bornean orangutan born to mother Berani and father Bandar on July 28. This is the first infant born to Berani and the fifth born to Bandar.
The baby can be seen at the great ape habitat with Berani. She carries the baby with her while she’s outside but does often shield the baby from public view by turning her back.
The birth comes at the recommendation of the Orangutan Species Survival Plan® (SSP), a program that cooperatively manages orangutan species in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to further conservation goals. Developed in 1988, this SSP Program coordinates species conservation, research, husbandry, management and educational initiatives. The Little Rock Zoo also participates in the AZA SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) program for orangutans. AZA SAFE programs combine the collective strength of AZA organizations to help save species in the wild.
Native to the Borneo, Northwest Bornean orangutans are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), meaning there is a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future. Their vulnerability is mainly caused by habitat loss and fragmentation of their home. It is estimated that between forty-five and sixty-nine thousand (45,000 and 69,000) Northwest Bornean orangutans remain in the wild.
There is a shark on display in Little Rock which can be visited during Shark Week (and for a few weeks more.)
The Clinton Presidential Center’s temporary exhibit, Washed Ashore is a family-friendly exhibit that will feature more than 20 giant sea life sculptures – made entirely of trash and debris collected from beaches. This exhibit poignantly illustrates the toll trash takes on our oceans and waterways.
The incredible marine life sculptures will be accompanied by educational signage allowing visitors to learn about the fascinating species, environmental stewardship, responsible consumer habits, and how “every action counts” to help save our waterways.
Washed Ashore is a visual reminder of the disposable products that end up in our waters, and that each of us can take action to prevent further pollution. “Hope, creativity, [and] imagination will be required to meet the challenges that we face with our oceans,” said President Bill Clinton to the National Oceans Conference in June 1998. “But they are the traits that first enabled and inspired explorers to take to the sea. They are traits that allowed us to look at our inextricable ties to our environment and invent new ways to protect our natural wonders from harm in the last three decades. In the 21st century, these traits – hope, creativity, imagination – they must lead us to preserve our living oceans as a sacred legacy for all time to come.”
The Washed Ashore exhibit will be primarily displayed inside two of the Clinton Center’s
galleries. Visitors will see Eli the Eel, walk through the Reef at Risk, and be able to play the Styrofoam Drum Set. The exhibit will open to the public on April 27; a second phase featuring additional sculptures will open in June, when Priscilla the Parrot Fish, a 16-foot-long, 1,500-pound brightly-colored sculpture will greet visitors from the water fountains located outside the front doors.
“The sculptures are beautiful, truly works of art, but they are a poignant reminder that our oceans and waterways are precious resources that need our attention now more than ever,” said Stephanie S. Streett, executive director of the Clinton Foundation.
“From the student visitor to the grand parent, we hope that everyone who has the opportunity to enjoy Washed Ashore walks away with a renewed sense of awe and responsibility.”
Washed Ashore presents an opportunity to reflect on the Clinton administration’s efforts to safeguard essential bodies of water and promote environmental stewardship. “President Bill Clinton’s administration took strong action to protect our coasts and waterways,” said Terri Garner, director of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library. “He signed crucial legislation and issued key executive orders designed to improve water quality, protect wetlands and coasts, and reduce waste while increasing the use of recycled products.”
Four different, completely separate, initiatives arts/entertainment-related initiatives are the talk in certain sectors Little Rock this week. And because they are hitting public consciousness at around the same time, there seems to be some confusion – or at least the need for some explanation.
1 – On Tuesday (7/23) evening, the Little Rock City Board of Directors is slated to consider the adoption of rules for the creation of an Entertainment District. Once this is adopted (providing it is), there is an ordinance to create one in downtown Little Rock, specifically a few blocks in the River Market. This is an initiative which has been studied and promoted by the Downtown Little Rock Partnership and the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as some business owners and property owners in the River Market. It is essentially to allow for open containers in public spaces. Creation of such a district was authorized by the Arkansas General Assembly earlier this year.
2 – On Wednesday (7/24) evening at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, there is a public meeting about the possibility of Artspace coming to Central Arkansas to establish one or more artist live/work spaces. Artspace has already created more than 40 of these throughout the US. They work with local entities to create them but maintain ownership of them in order to ensure that they continue to be affordable spaces in which artists and other creative practitioners can live, work, and have a place to display or perform. This public meeting is being sponsored by several entities including the Windgate Foundation and the Arkansas Arts Council. They have been working with local governments and local cultural leaders to explore spaces and to get a better understanding of the needs and desires of the Central Arkansas creative community.
3 – Recently a “Little Rock Arts District Neighborhood Association” was announced. It is not related to either of the above initiatives. Just as with other neighborhood associations, it is a grassroots effort by a group of Little Rock residents. They have defined their own boundaries, which as a private group is their right. The expressed desire is to support “the arts of all kinds and small business as well as beautification of our district.” This has gone through the same process at the City as any neighborhood association does, but is not a corporate entity or a program of the City. Organizers of the district have promised more information is forthcoming about their plans. The timing of the announcement within the same few days as the two previously mentioned endeavors has caused some confusion.
4 – On Monday, July 22, a collaboration called Rock the Arts was announced. It involved Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Celebrity Attractions, Ballet Arkansas and Opera In The Rock offering the opportunity to purchase a sampling of the performing arts offerings in central Arkansas in a special season sampler package. This limited opportunity to get tickets to specific offerings from these five entities is not related to anything previously mentioned.
The takeaway is this: much exciting possibilities abound in Little Rock and Central Arkansas. There are many ideas and much passion for the creative economy. Add to this the Zoo’s new task force looking at the future of that cultural institution. More possibilities are on the horizon.
As they say, Stay Tuned…..
City of Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. and the Arkansas Zoological Foundation announced today the formation of a task force to study planning and development for the Little Rock Zoo’s future.
The task force is part of an initiative of Mayor Scott’s to improve quality of life and to Revitalize, Reimagine, and Reinvest in the War Memorial Park area.
“As one of the largest tourist attractions in the state and the only accredited zoo in Arkansas, the Little Rock Zoo is an important part of War Memorial Park and our City,” Scott said.
Task Force Members will consist of:
Zoo Director Susan Altrui, City Manager Bruce Moore, and Jay, Chessir, President and CEO of the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, will serve in Ex-officio roles.
The Task Force for the Zoo’s Future will review the Zoo’s current business model, help develop an action plan for future funding and also review the Zoo’s current facilities Master Plan developed in 2014 to look for new opportunities in animal habitat design, guest amenity and park design. The task force is comprised of a diverse range of individuals who offer a variety of perspectives.
Zoo consulting firm Schultz & Williams has been tapped by the Arkansas Zoological Foundation to assist with the task force. Schultz & Williams has decades-long experience working with zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and assisting them with business planning specific to developing public/private partnerships. Dozens of zoos and aquariums have used Schultz & Williams to develop future plans for long-range financial and organizational success.
Little Rock Culture Vulture 