Category Archives: Museum

Be a Part of Fountain Fest – Design Public Art for the Fountain

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AAC Con FF2015Your public art installation proposal could put you at the center of this fall’s Fountain Fest, hosted by the Arkansas Arts Center Contemporaries. Submit your entry on the following pages so you can be in the running for this prestigious art installation in front of the Arkansas Arts Center. The winning artist’s name(s) will be included in publicity about this event, and there is a cash prize.

The AAC Contemporaries are seeking an artist or a group of artists to create a (temporary) art installation centered on or around the Carrie Remmel Dickinson fountain in front of the AAC. The selection process will be by jury.

Art Installation initial proposal shall include a written description of the project and a sketch (or more if needed). The written description can include a list of materials that will be used and ideas about execution. Deadline for initial proposal is September 11. Jury will narrow down the applicants to no more than the top four. The finalists will be notified by Wednesday September 18, letting them know that they have been selected to expand upon their proposal. Interviews with the finalists will follow. The artist or group which is selected will be notified by September 21.

The artist (or group of artists) who is selected as the winner will be awarded $1,000 to offset cost of materials and time.

Please feel free to visit the Carrie Remmel Dickinson fountain in person, for help with visualizing the size and scale for your proposed project. Click here for fountain dimensions and views

Artists may submit their proposal any time before September 11 via this form, including the written description of the idea and attaching a jpeg (300 dpi) of the proposal sketch, or may send a package via the US Post Office to Arkansas Arts Center Attn: Spencer Jansen PO Box 2137 Little Rock, AR 72203 containing a written description of the proposed idea along with sketch(es). All (postal) mailed entries must be received before September 11.

2015 marks the third annual Fountain Fest, an outdoor party around the Carrie Remmel Dickinson fountain hosted by the Arkansas Arts Center Contemporaries. Funds raised will go toward purchasing artwork and to fund Contemporaries projects that support the AAC.

The Contemporaries is an affiliate-membership group of the Arkansas Arts Center whose members are made up of young art enthusiasts who wish to expand their knowledge and appreciation of the arts.

Remember end of WWII with a visit to MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History

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With this month marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, it is a good time to remember the museum in Little Rock dedicated to preserving Arkansas’ rich military history.

Located in the historic Arsenal Tower in MacArthur Park, the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History honors the Arkansans who have served in the armed forces.  Exhibits feature artifacts, photographs, weapons, documents, uniforms and other military items that vividly portray Arkansas’s military history at home and abroad.

Undaunted Courage, Proven Loyalty:
Japanese American Soldiers in World War II
This exhibit focuses on the military experience of Japanese Americans during World War II including stories from veterans of the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the Military Intelligence Service. To prove their loyalty to the United States government, many Japanese American men joined the army as part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team or as part of the Military Intelligence Service.

Other exhibits include:

  • From Turbulence to Tranquility: The Little Rock Arsenal
  • Capital In Crisis and Celebration: Little Rock and the Civil War
  • Alger Cadet Gun
  • Camden Expedition
  • David Owen Dodd
  • Through the Camera’s Eye: The Allison Collection of World War II Photographs
  • By the President in the Name of Congress: Arkansas’ Medal of Honor Recipients
  • Conflict and Crisis: The MacArthur- Truman Controversy
  • Duty, Honor and Country: General Douglas MacArthur
  • The Sun Never Sets on the Mighty Jeep: The Jeep During World War II
  • War and Remembrance: The 1911 United Confederate Veterans Reunion
  • First Call – American Posters of World War I

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History is a museum of the City of Little Rock.  It is led by executive director Stephan McAteer who works with the MacArthur Military History Museum Commission.

Hours of Operation
Monday – Saturday; 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday; 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Clinton Center admission is FREE today for President Clinton’s Birthday

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Clinton DinosPresident Clinton’s birthday is next week.  But the Clinton Presidential Center is offering visitors the present.  Today from 9am to 5pm, the Clinton Presidential Center admission fees will be waived.  Also offered for free will be the audiotour featuring President Clinton’s narration.

In addition to the chance to visit the Dinosaurs exhibit and the permanent exhibits, the Clinton Center is hosting a special event today from 9am to 2pm.

Kick off the new school year at our Annual Head of the Class Bash. The first 1,500 students will receive FREE backpacks and back-to-school supplies! The Clinton Center will also provide immunizations, haircuts, fun activities, ACT/SAT/PSAT prep coupons, and much more. New this year, there will be “Hour of Code” computer science tutorials. The Head of the Class Bash is sponsored by the Clinton Foundation in partnership with the 3M Company, Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas STEM Coalition, AT&T Arkansas, New Tyler Barber College, and the Office of Governor Asa Hutchinson.

WHEN:
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Head of the Class Bash: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Free Admission Day: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Arts Abound Tonight at 2nd Friday Art Night

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2FAN logo Font sm22nd Friday Art Night proves there is a cure for the Summertime Blues.  It offers visual art, music, food and drink!  You can eat, drink, learn, appreciate, and be merry!

At Historic Arkansas Museum from 5 to 8 pm there will be a free opening reception for two new exhibits: Katherine Rutter & Ginny Sims in the Trinity Gallery for Arkansas Artists and PopUp in the Rock: The Exhibit in the Second Floor Gallery. Enjoy live music by John Willis and the Late Romantics and #ArkansasMade brews from Moody Brews. Delicious appetizers provided by Boulevard Bread.

Down the street, the Old State House Museum will be offering musical performances by traditional folk artists Mockingbird from 5-8 p.m. The Old State House Museum will be open for self-guided tours and Mockingbird will play in the acoustically-rich 1836 Arkansas House of Representatives chamber. The room is one of the most historically significant rooms in the state, and this is a fun way for you and your family to see and experience it.

A few blocks south, Christ Church will be featuring the works of John and Judy Shantz Honey and their exhibit “Reflections on Abstraction.”

  • John Honey is a member of Mid-Southern Watercolorists and Arkansas League of Artists. He has studied the use of water-based mediums and collage under several nationally recognized artists. He is constantly challenged to find a different approach for including the elements of design in his paintings. He favors abstraction over realism as a means of expression. John’s work has been seen in juried exhibitions at the Arkansas Art Center.
  • Judy Shantz Honey enjoyed an interest in art as a child, and this interest continued through her studies at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and in the Museum School at the Arkansas Arts Center. She has also studied with nationally recognized art instructors in art workshops around the United States and in Mexico.  Watercolor, acrylic, and collage are her primary mediums, with work on paper and on canvas. She is a member of Mid-Southern Watercolorists, the Arkansas League of Artists and the Arkansas Arts Council.

 

Explore the Transformation of Arkansas during Civil War and Reconstruction at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center

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MTCC-1Through December 31, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is featuring the exhibit “Freedom! Oh, Freedom!” Arkansas’s People of African Descent and the Civil War: 1861-1866.

The Civil War radically changed the lives of all Arkansans, especially those of African descent. Across the country freed Africans were no longer property or simply viewed as a part of the South’s agrarian society. The war destroyed a society and an economy that had enslaved Africans and used them as chattel property.

“Freedom! Oh, Freedom!” tells a story of transformation, as it will allow visitors the opportunity to explore the African American perspective of the Civil War from the lens of slavery, the contributions of African American soldiers, and what happened through and after the Reconstruction Era.

The transformation was not swift or seamless as the United States government made empty promises to the newly freed African Americans, however in the aftermath of the Civil War Arkansas’s African Americans seized new opportunities and freedoms to create a new way of life as citizens of the United States. African Americans used the war to participate in their own emancipation. Former enslaved people experienced not only physical liberation from the ties of slavery, but a transformation of the spirit from bondage to freedom.

African American politicians emerged after the war ended and took seats in the state general assembly in 1869. The state general assembly even passed the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1873, which provided for equal access to all public institutions and outlawed segregation. However, as Reconstruction came to an end in 1874, Democrats replaced Republicans and began altering the civil rights laws and enacting segregationist policies in their place. African Americans maintained some representation in the general assembly until 1893, but it was nearly a century later when Arkansans elected another African American to the legislature in 1973. The fight for full equality, the fight for justice,and the fight for civil rights had just begun.

This exhibit was made possible through a grant from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resource Council, funded by the Arkansas Real Estate Transfer Tax. All pictures are courtesy of the Arkansas History Commission.

The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Women in Bicycling is topic of today’s Old State House Museum Brown Bag lunchtime lecture

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osh bikeToday at noon, the next installment in the Old State House Museum’s Brown Bag series takes place.  Misty Murphy will discuss Women in Bicycling.

The bicycle was one of many factors that helped open the world to women in the 1890’s and early 1900’s.

From changes in clothing styles to increased mobility, the advent of the bicycle marked a turning point in the social life of women around the nation and at home in Arkansas.

Misty Murphy is the regional trails coordinator for the Northwest Arkansas Council. A native of small-town Arkansas, she loves local history and keeping alive the traditions unique to the state.

The Old State House Museum is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Youth Artists on display at Butler Center Galleries

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cals youth_art_2015School will be starting back soon in Arkansas.  Through the end of this month, there is a chance to see artwork produced by students prior to this school year.

The Butler Center Galleries are showcasing the State Youth Art Show 2015: An Exhibition by the Arkansas Art Educators.  The exhibit is on display through August 29 in the Butler Center Underground Gallery.

This show features dynamic works of art by talented students across Arkansas, from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The works featured are the Best of Show winners from seven regions of the state. The Arkansas Art Educators is a group of art teachers from around the state who work with the Arkansas Department of Education to provide high quality in-service training and to promote student art.