Category Archives: Museum

STAR WARS Science today at the Museum of Discovery

Posted on by

The Force will be strong today (Saturday, January 19) in the River Market district as the Museum of Discovery presents Star Wars Science.  It is from 10am to 3pm.

Bring your little Jedi for a day of Star Wars Science and

  • Meet Star Wars characters (501st Legion)
  • Use “The Force” to move objects
  • Be amazed in the Star Wars Science shows at 10:30 a.m.; 11:30 a.m.; 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
  • Witness Sith Lightning Tesla Shows at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
  • Learn coding, but not just any form of coding – Star Wars coding!
  • See how George Lucas created some Star Wars scenes by using stop motion animation and make your own movie magic
  • Build LEGO dioramas
  • Make Sith lightning
  • Guide your BB-8 through a magnetic maze
  • Make dry ice cryo hovercrafts
  • Get down with droid disco dancing
  • Explore the Glow Lab
  • Play with shadow and light to make moving works of art

Star Wars Science is included in regular museum admission or free for museum members.  For non-members, tickets can be purchased here.

One month left to submit for Arkansas Arts Center’s 61st Annual Delta Exhibition

Posted on by

The deadline to submit art for the Arkansas Arts Center’s 61st Annual Delta Exhibition is February 13. That means there is still one month remaining.

The Annual Delta Exhibition presents a vision of contemporary art in the American South. Founded in 1958, the exhibition provides a unique snapshot of the Delta region.

The Delta Exhibition reflects the region’s strong traditions of craftsmanship and observation, combined with an innovative use of materials and an experimental approach to subject matter.

A guest juror will select the artworks to be exhibited and assign the $2500 Grand Award and two $750 Delta Awards. Additionally, a $250 Contemporaries Award will be selected by the Contemporaries, an auxiliary membership group of the Arkansas Arts Center.

The exhibition is open to all artists who live in or were born in one of the following states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Art must be original, completed in the last two years, and not previously exhibited at the Arkansas Arts Center.

For guidelines and the entry form, visit here.

2nd Friday Art Night – Old State House Museum

Posted on by

Celebrate the New Year with a musical journey!

During 2nd Friday Art Night on January 11, the Bob Boyd Sounds will perform a mix of popular standards, swing, and popular jazz spanning several decades.

Stone’s Throw Brewing will serve Arkansas-made brews, including the award-winning Pre-Prohibition Porter.

 

 

 

2nd Friday Art Night – Historic Arkansas Museum offers Dave Miller and Rocktown Revival

Posted on by

There may not be a Nog Off this month, but 2nd Friday Art Night at HAM still offers a lot of fun!

Historic Arkansas Museum is kicking off the first 2nd Friday Art Night of 2019 with Little Rock’s Dave Miller and Rocktown Revival!

Miller is a musical storyteller, evoking images of places and relationships in the Sotuh and who “entertains audiences with his ready wit and warm expression of a kind of Ozark-bred joy and wonder.”

The Water Buffalo and Buffalo Brewing Company will be serving up the brew for the evening.

Exhibits at the museum include:

  • Face to Face: Contemporary Portraits
  • More or Less: Liz Smith & Katherine Strause
  • History in Color: The Spectrum of Daily Life in Early America

Little Rock Look Back: John Gould Fletcher, patriarch of Little Rock civic and cultural leaders

Posted on by

Future Little Rock Mayor John Gould Fletcher was born on January 6 in 1831.  He was a mayor and civic leader at a crucial time in Little Rock’s 19th century life. But his lasting legacy is probably more his remarkable children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. (Undoubtedly his great-great-great-grandchildren will be equally remarkable.)

The son of Henry Lewis and Mary Lindsey Fletcher, he later served as a Captain in the Capital Guards during the Civil War. One of his fellow soldiers was Peter Hotze. Following the war, he and Hotze began a general merchandise store in Little Rock. They were so successful that they eventually dropped the retail trade and dealt only in cotton. Peter Hotze had his office in New York, while Fletcher supervised company operations in Little Rock. In 1878 Fletcher married Miss Adolphine Krause, sister-in-law of Hotze.

John Gould Fletcher was elected Mayor of Little Rock from 1875 to 1881. He was the first Mayor under Arkansas’ new constitution which returned all executive powers to the office of the Mayor (they had been split under a reconstruction constitution). Following his service as Mayor, he served one term as Pulaski County Sheriff. Mayor Fletcher also later served as president of the German National Bank in Little Rock.

Mayor and Mrs. Fletcher had five children, three of whom lived into adulthood. Their son was future Pulitzer Prize winning poet John Gould Fletcher (neither father nor son used the Sr. or Jr. designation). Their two daughters who lived to adulthood were Adolphine Fletcher Terry (whose husband David served in Congress) and Mary Fletcher Drennan.

In 1889, Mayor Fletcher purchased the Pike House in downtown Little Rock. The structure later became known as the Pike-Fletcher-Terry House. It was from this house that Adolphine Fletcher Terry organized the Women’s Emergency Committee which worked to reopen the Little Rock public schools during the 1958-1959 school year.

In the 1960s, sisters Adolphine Fletcher Terry and Mary Fletcher Drennan deeded the house to the City of Little Rock for use by the Arkansas Arts Center. For several decades it served as home to the Arts Center’s contemporary craft collection. It now is used for special events and exhibitions.

Mayor Fletcher died in 1906 and is buried in Mount Holly Cemetery along with various members of his family. Several of his descendants still reside in Little Rock.

42 bar and table, Clinton Museum Store remain open during government shutdown

Posted on by

While the government shutdown continues, two spaces inside the Clinton Presidential Center remain open.  Both 42 bar and table as well as the Clinton Museum Store are open.  They have “Shutdown Specials” for the duration of the shutdown.

42 bar and table is open for lunch from 11am to 2pm Mondays through Saturdays. It is open for dinner Thursdays through Saturdays from 5pm through 10pm.  Bar hours are Thursdays through Saturdays from 4:30pm to midnight.

The Clinton Museum Store is open 9am to 5pm Mondays through Saturdays and from 1pm to 5pm on Sundays.

This is also a good time to highlight recent staffing additions at 42 bar and table.

In November 42 bar and table, the full-service restaurant located inside the Clinton Presidential Center, announced new additions to its culinary team. André Poirot has assumed the role of executive chef over restaurant, banquet, and catering operations; Jeremy Pittman joins the team as a pastry chef; and Jason Morell will serve as the new chef de cuisine at 42 bar and table.

“We are thrilled to welcome these talented team members to the Clinton Presidential Center and look forward to working together to continue to provide our guests with excellent cuisine and spectacular service,” said Chef Michael Selig, director of Food, Beverage, and Events. “Our staff is already top shelf; these additions will further enhance the presidential experience that our guests have come to expect from us.”

Chef André Poirot was born and raised in France and received his culinary diploma in 1977. He then began his traditional European apprenticeships, serving as a commis at the Ets Blache restaurant in Remiremont, France, and in the kitchens of The Savoy on the Strand in London. In 1989, Poirot began a 14-year career at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in New Orleans as gourmet chef at the celebrated Begue’s restaurant. In 2004, The Peabody Hotel Little Rock recruited him to serve as executive chef to supervise food and beverage operations at the hotel and at the Statehouse Convention Center. In 2013, when The Peabody Hotel rebranded to a Marriott property, Poirot was asked to join the food and beverage team at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Little Rock and then the Capital Hotel.

Poirot won the title of Arkansas Iron Chef at the 2006 and 2009 Arkansas Hospitality Association celebrity Iron Chef competitions; gold (2009), silver (2010), bronze (2011), and people’s choice award (2011) medals at the Culinary Classic competition; and was awarded first place at the Little Rock Regional Chamber’s Taste of the Rock four years in a row (2008-2010). He was the recipient of the Arkansas Hospitality Association’s Salut au Restaurateur award in 2011 and mentor of the year in 2012. The American Culinary Federation also recognized him as a leading advisor to young people starting in the culinary profession.

Jeremy Pittman joins the staff as a pastry chef. He was the co-owner and chef of Pizzeria in the Heights and previously owned Palette Catering and Gourmet To Go. Pittman is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.

Jason Morell is the new restaurant chef at 42 bar and table. He was the chef and owner of Starving Artists Café from 2006 to 2014 and was previously chef at Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, Simply the Best Catering, and Philander Smith College. Morell graduated from the Florida Culinary Institute.

18 Cultural Events from 2018 – First Arts Advocacy Day at the Arkansas State Capitol

Posted on by

On Wednesday, November 7 at the Arkansas State Capitol, Arkansans for the Arts and the new Arkansas General Assembly Legislative Arts Caucus participated in the first Arkansas Arts Advocacy Day.

That morning there were sessions on the Creative Economy 101 (Dr. Lenore Shoults of the Arts & Science Center for SE Arkansas), Arts Education Advocacy (Steve Holder, Vice President of Arkansans for the Arts), and Arts Funding Opportunities 101 (Dr. Gayle Seymour of the University of Central Arkansas).  It was followed by a Creative Economy Networking Business Exchange.

Mid-day, the Legislative Arts Caucus was introduced.  The inaugural members of the caucus come from each of the Arkansas Arts Council’s eight districts. The members are: Senators Ron Caldwell, Eddie Cheatham, Breanne Davis, Joyce Elliott, Scott Flippo, Missy Thomas Irvin, Matt Pitsch, and Larry Teague. The House members are Representatives Sarah Capp, Carol Dalby, Janna Della Rosa, Deborah Ferguson, Vivian Flowers, Michael John Gray, Monte Hodges, Reginald Murdock, and Les Warren.

In addition to the sessions, there was an Arts Talent Showcase on the front steps as well as in the rotunda.  Performers came from Alma, Ashdown, Conway, Dover, Earle, Hamburg, Hot Springs, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Morrilton, Russellville, Searcy, Van Buren, and Walnut Ridge,