Category Archives: Museum

The Arkansas Arts Center seeking entries for 58th Annual Delta Exhibition

Posted on by

58thDeltaThe Arkansas Arts Center, the state’s premiere center for visual and performing arts, announces a call for entries for the 58th Annual Delta Exhibition which will be on display June 10 – August 28, 2016. The deadline to submit entries is March 11.

“As one of the most anticipated Arkansas Arts Center events of the year, the 58th Annual Delta Exhibition offers a unique snapshot of the talent located in the Delta region,” said Arkansas Arts Center Executive Director Todd Herman. “This exhibition allows artists to lead and inspire their communities through art, education and cultural excellence.”

The competition 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. All work must be completed during the last two years and must not have been exhibited previously at the Arkansas Arts Center.

Elizabeth K. Garvey will serve as juror for the 58th Annual Delta Exhibition. Garvey is the co-founder and owner of Garvey-Simon Art Access, Inc. Prior to her current role, she was co-director of the venerable Schmidt-Bingham Gallery in New York, where she worked from 1989-1998; and then president and owner of EKG Art Advisory, (1999-2009). She has been a fine art dealer and advisor in New York City for over 20 years and leverages her professional relationships with galleries, auction houses, private dealers and artists to offer clients a relaxed entry into the often intimidating visage of the New York art world. Garvey maintains a boutique gallery in Manhattan that is focused on drawing, works on paper, unusual materials and design; while also acting as curator and advisor to select private clients. She is a member of ArtTable, and a founding member of the New York chapter of the Association of Women Art Dealers.

Garvey will select the artworks to be exhibited and will assign the $2,500 Grand Award and two $750 Delta Awards. Additionally, a $250 Contemporaries Delta Award will be selected by the Contemporaries, an auxiliary membership group of the Arkansas Arts Center. Artists and AAC members will be invited to attend a special reception and exhibition preview on Thursday, June 9 during which the 58th Annual Delta winners will be announced.

The Delta Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture was founded in 1958 to feature contemporary work by artists from Arkansas and the bordering states. Today, the Annual Delta Exhibition has grown to encompass works in all media and is a showcase for the dynamic vision of the artists of the Mississippi Delta region. The diversity of their art reflects the region’s strong traditions of craftsmanship and observation, combined with an innovative use of materials and an experimental approach to subject matter.

Artists will be responsible for all shipping arrangements. Interested parties may enter their information and upload images of their work at ArkansasArtsCenter.org/delta by March 11, 2016. The entry fee is $20 for one entry and $10 for each additional entry. Artists are limited to three entries. Notifications will be mailed on March 30 and all accepted work must be received by April 27. This year’s exhibition will be on view June 10 – August 28.

The 58th Annual Delta Exhibition is sponsored by Isabel and John Ed Anthony, Bank of the Ozarks and the Delta Regional Authority. The Grand Award is supported by The John William Linn Endowment Fund. The exhibition is supported by the Andre Simon Memorial Trust in memory of everyone who has died of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

2nd Friday Art Night at the CALS Butler Center

Posted on by

2FAN logo Font sm2The second Friday of 2016 means it is time for the first 2nd Friday Art Night of the year.

Another participating location is the CALS Butler Center Galleries located inside the Arkansas Studies Institute building. They are open tonight from 5pm to 8pm.

Little Rock Box by Gary Cawood

Gene Hatfield: Outside the Lines
On view through Saturday, January 30

Earth Work: Photographs by Gary Cawood
On view through Saturday, February 27
Arkansas Pastel Society National Exhibition
On view through Saturday, February 27
Photographic Arts: African American Studio Photography from the Joshua & Mary Swift Collection
On view through Saturday, March 26
Featured artist: Tom Flynn
Tom Flynn is a metal sculptor who creates artwork using reclaimed metals.
Featured musician: Tommy Priakos
Tommy, a keyboardist based in Little Rock, will perform music in the galleries.
 
Second Friday Art Night is a free, monthly opportunity to visit downtown Little Rock’s galleries, museums, and businesses after hours.

Several other downtown museums and galleries participate in 2nd Friday Art Night.

2nd Friday Art Night at Historic Arkansas Museum

Posted on by

PhillipRexHuddlestonThe second Friday of 2016 means it is time for the first 2nd Friday Art Night of the year.

Historic Arkansas Museum hosts a free evening of art, history and live music by Phillip Rex Huddleston!  It runs from 5pm to 8pm.

The evening offers a chance to explore two small exhibitions in the museum’s First Floor Hall, including: Maps of Arkansas (1822 – 1856) and Niloak Art Pottery Figurines (produced in Benton, Arkansas, 1909 – 1946).

Maps of Arkansas – This collection of historic maps of Arkansas, a gift of Parker Westbrook, illustrates the evolution of Arkansas from the Territorial Era through early statehood including the division and addition of many counties and a doubling of Arkansas’s population between 1840 and 1850. The maps are engravings on paper and skillfully hand-colored.

Parker Westbrook (1926 – 2015) is widely acknowledged as the “father” of historic preservation in Arkansas. He received many accolades in the field of preservation, was a museum commissioner for more than 30 years and served as chair for a time. Parker’s contributions to Historic Arkansas Museum include securing log structures for the museum farmstead, teaching us how to lay split-rail fencing, donating an array of historic objects to the museum’s collection and contributing many bottles of his famous muscadine wine to the live auction of our biennial fundraiser.

Niloak Art Pottery Figurines – Niloak is a line of American art pottery produced in Benton, Arkansas, from 1909 until 1946. Although best known for their distinctive mission swirl pottery, Niloak also began producing a castware line called Hywood Art Pottery in the 1930s. The capricious figurines in this display represent the expansive variety of cast pieces produced by the company. The name Niloak is Kaolin spelled backward. Kaolin is a type of fine-grade clay found in Benton, AR. This collection was generously donated to the museum’s permanent collection by former Arkansas congressman Vic Snyder.

Several other downtown museums and galleries participate in 2nd Friday Art Night.

Historic Arkansas Museum is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Free field trip programs to Historic Arkansas Museum for any Arkansas school in 2016, funded by Bill Worthen Future of History Fund

Posted on by

Historic Arkansas Museum is celebrating its 75th diamond anniversary by offering free educational field trip programs to any school in Arkansas that comes to the museum in 2016. This project will be funded by the Bill Worthen Future of History Fund which is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of Arkansas history lovers.

Historic Arkansas Museum provides a variety of engaging and interactive field trip programs throughout the year in addition to popular annual programs such as the Spring and Fall School Fairs and the Before Freedom program in February during Black History Month.

Educators can begin the reservation process by submitting a field trip request form.  To learn more about participating in this program, educators are invited to contact the museum’s director of education, Joleen Linson or call 501-324-9351.

Each year schoolchildren from around the state come to the museum and experience history first hand. Some churn butter—with amazement, as they learn that butter doesn’t come from the grocery store. Others imagine themselves as early Arkansans, travelling west and deciding what to bring with them, in our Packing to Go program. Students leave knowing more about their own history and they leave inspired.

Museum History

What is now a showcase for Arkansas’s history, art and heritage began as a diamond in the rough—a half-block of dilapidated historic structures. Thanks to the efforts of pioneering preservationist Louise Loughborough the museum opened on July 19, 1941, as the Arkansas Territorial Capitol Restoration. Click here to watch the museum’s 75th Anniversary film produced by Cranford Co.

Following Loughborough’s foundational leadership, prominent architect Ed Cromwell led the museum through an era of growth that made the museum an anchor of a once declining downtown Little Rock. In 1972, the museum hired its first professional staff and Bill Worthen was hired as the first executive director, a title he has held for more than 40 years. Worthen made his first goal gaining museum accreditation— a complicated and rigorous process that he and museum staff pursued for nine years, achieving accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums in 1981 making the museum the first accredited history museum in Arkansas.

Worthen also developed and expanded the log house farmstead on museum grounds that has been central to education programs and he led the museum through its most profound expansion which culminated in the 2001 opening of the Museum Center, a project which doubled the size of the previous visitor reception space with 10,000 square feet of exhibits, a theater, a hands-on history classroom, an entrance atrium with views of the historic grounds and other amenities. Other developments under Worthen’s leadership include but are not limited to: development of the ongoing #ArkansasMade research project, the museum’s popular Living History Program, Giving Voice dedicated to those enslaved on what is now museum property, the growth of popular events such as the Christmas Frolic, Territorial Fair, Frontier Fourth of July and 2nd Friday Art Night exhibit openings, and the museum’s achievement of Smithsonian Affiliate status which made possible the opening of the Smithsonian partnership exhibit, “We Walk in Two Worlds: The Caddo, Osage and Quapaw in Arkansas.”

Countless visitors have witnessed Bill Worthen’s passion for Arkansas history and even more across the world have been impacted by his scholarly research and publications, often in partnership with deputy director and chief curator Swannee Bennett, on the subjects of Arkansas-made material culture, the Arkansas Traveler, the Bowie knife and more. As Worthen plans his retirement for the end of 2016, the Bill Worthen Future of History Fund seeks to pass on his passion for Arkansas history to future generations for decades to come.

Memory Share

The museum is seeking stories and memories from visitors as a part of the 75th anniversary celebration. Everyone is invited to share their memories and stories of their experiences at the museum by emailing Chris Hancock, tagging Historic Arkansas Museum on Facebook, or tagging @HistoricArk on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #HAM75.

Currently on exhibit:

Historic Arkansas Museum is open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission to the galleries and parking are free; admission to the historic grounds is $2.50 for adults, $1 for children under 18, $1.50 for senior citizens. The Historic Arkansas Museum Store is open 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 1 – 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Historic Arkansas Museum is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, which was created in 1975 to preserve and enhance the heritage of the state of Arkansas. Other agencies of the department are Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Arkansas Arts Council, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and Old State House Museum.

 

Committee for Arts and History Kicks off Campaign for Arts Center, Military Museum & MacArthur Park today at noon

Posted on by

Today at Noon Campaign Kick-Off

Join us in supporting Arts + History at the official campaign kick-off

Tuesday, January 5 at 12 p.m.

The Arkansas Arts Center outside of the Children’s Theatre entrance

The Committee for Arts and History is a group of citizen advocates campaigning for Little Rock residents to vote FOR a bond issue backed by an already approved hotel tax on out-of-town visitors to improve the Arkansas Arts Center, MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, and MacArthur Park in a special election on February 9, 2016.

The improvements are of vital importance for the Arkansas Arts Center to keep its accreditation in 2016, to preserve a National Historic Landmark, and for Little Rock citizens to protect our cultural attractions.

 

Final day to see Arkansas Arts Center Collectors Show

Posted on by

arkartsThe New York gallery scene returned to Little Rock with the 47th Collectors Show and Sale.  Today is the final day to see this eclectic exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center!

This selling exhibition features a selection of nearly 150 artworks carefully curated from more than 20 galleries, including old friends such as Debra Force Fine Art, Kraushaar Galleries, and Hirschl & Adler Gallery (all specializing in early-American modernism) and four galleries that are first-time participants: Morgan-Lehman Gallery (contemporary), Cecilia de Torres, Ltd. (modern and contemporary Latin American), Muriel Guepín Gallery (contemporary), and McKenzie Fine Art (contemporary).

Perfect for seasoned buyers to add to their collections and for new collectors to enter the field, all works in the show are for sale and range from under $1,000 up to $100,000.

While you are there, you can also view Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art which is on display for two more weeks.

Enjoy Winter Blast today at the Museum of Discovery with Anna & Elsa from FROZEN and Little Rock Zoo Penguins!

Posted on by
Meet the penguins from Little Rock Zoo along with Anna and Elsa for the Winter Blast on Saturday, January 2!
Penguin Show 10 – 11 a.m. (First 125 visitors who arrive to the museum will receive complimentary tickets to the show)
Penguin Show 11 a.m. – noon (Next 125 visitors who arrive to the museum will receive complimentary tickets to the show)
During the penguin show, Little Rock Zookeepers will give a 5-10 talk about the penguins and then guests can take individual photos with a penguin
Alligator Show 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Alligator Show 2 – 3 p.m.
Meet and pet the museum’s alligator
Frozen Characters:
Meet and take a photo with Elsa from 9:30 a.m. – noon
Meet and take a photo with Anna from 12:30 – 3 p.m.
Create snow, explore thermal conductivity, cut through ice and more!
Enjoy Repicci’s Italian ice (for purchase)