Wednesday evenings in May at South on Main feature music and visual art curated by M2 Gallery

Posted on by

Sessions presented by M2 Gallery featuring the work of Michael ShaefferM2 Gallery is curating May Sessions at South on Main by highlighting connections between music and visual art. For the first Wednesday in May, we invite you to experience the art of Michael Shaeffer as he spins records on stage with Control, a local vinyl business he owns with partner Wes Howerton.

This event is free and open to the public. Music begins at 8 pm. You may reserve a table for dinner by calling (501) 244-9660.

M2 Gallery is located in SOMA and offers a large selection of original artwork from both established and emerging artists. With a wide range of style and price, M2 Gallery is sure to fill your art needs. M2 also works with a large network of galleries throughout the country so that we can make sure to find exactly what our clients are looking for. Gallery director Mac Murphy has over 15 years experience, and has been the driving force behind M2 Gallery winning the Platinum Service Award for several years.

The Fifth Month offers the final five days to explore NATIVE GARDENS at Arkansas Rep

Posted on by

Tonight (Wednesday, May 1) through Sunday, May 5, are the final five days to experience Karen Zacarias’ hilarious comedy NATIVE GARDENS on the Arkansas Rep stage.

This hilarious new comedy features cultures and gardens clashing, which turns well-intentioned neighbors into feuding enemies.

In Native Gardens, Pablo, a rising attorney, and doctoral candidate Tania, his pregnant wife, have purchased a home next to Frank and Virginia, a D.C. couple with a prize-worthy English garden. But an impending cookout for Pablo’s colleagues and a dispute over a long-standing fence line soon spiral into a border dispute, exposing both couples’ notions of race, taste, class, and privilege.

The Arkansas Rep cast includes Rachel Harker (Virginia Butley), Kurt Zischke (Frank Butley), Aurora Leonard (Tania Del Valle) and Gabriel Pena (Pablo Del Valle).

Little Rock native Steve Broadnax III is the play’s director. The design and creative team includes Holly Payne, costume designer; Lynda J. Kwallek, properties designer; Mike Nichols, resident set designer/technical director; and Yael Lubetzky, lighting designer. The production manager is Joshua Marchesi and the stage manager is Colin JB.

Zacarías is one of the most produced playwrights in the nation. She is one of the inaugural Resident Playwrights at Arena Stage in Washington D.C, and is a core founder of the LATINX THEATRE COMMONS. She is founder of Young Playwrights’ Theater, an award-winning company that teaches playwriting in public schools in Washington D.C.

Tickets start at $20. Discounts are available for full-time students, season subscribers, seniors and military personnel. For complete information, visit TheRep.org.

Legacies & Lunch focuses on history of Central Arkansas Library System today at noon

Posted on by

The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies’ monthly “Legacies & Lunch” program takes place the first Wednesday of the month at noon.

The focus of today’s program does not stray too far. It is the Central Arkansas Library System, itself.

Since the opening of the single Carnegie Library in 1910, library service in Little Rock has evolved to include multiple branches in two counties. The story of the Central Arkansas Library System is filled with unique personalities, grassroots efforts, and visionary ideas. Historian, librarian, and archivist Tim Nutt will highlight the history of CALS and some of the important events and individuals that have contributed to the system’s success.

Tim Nutt is the director of the Historical Research Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

The program takes place in the Darragh Center on the CALS Library Square campus.

Happy Birthday to Lottie Shackelford, who served as Little Rock’s 68th mayor

Posted on by

On April 30, 1941, future Little Rock Mayor Lottie Shackelford was born. Throughout her career in public service she has been a trailblazer.

Active in community activities and politics, she ran for the City Board in 1974 and lost.  But she was appointed to the Little Rock City Board in September 1978 to fill a vacancy.

This made her the first African American woman to serve on he City Board, and indeed on any governing board for the City (during Reconstruction, there were at least six African Americans on the City Council, but they were all men.) She was subsequently elected to a full-term on the City Board in 1980 winning 55% of the vote over three male candidates.

She was subsequently re-elected in 1984 (unopposed) and in 1988 (with 60% of the vote).

In January 1987, Shackelford became the first female mayor of Little Rock when she was chosen by her colleagues on the City Board to serve in that position. She was Mayor until December 1988.  During that time, Mayor Shackelford invited the Little Rock Nine back to the City to be recognized for the 30th anniversary of their integration of Central High School.

From 1982 until 1992, she served as Executive Director of the Arkansas Regional Minority Purchasing Council.  She left that position to serve as Deputy Campaign Manager of Clinton for President.  She subsequently served on the Clinton/Gore transition team. She later served on the Overseas Private Investment Corporation from 1993 to 2003. She was the first African American to be in that position.

A graduate of Philander Smith College, she has also studied at the Arkansas Institute of Politics at Hendrix College and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Mayor Shackelford has also served on numerous boards including the Little Rock Airport Commission, Philander Smith College, Chapman Funds (Maryland) and Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation (Arizona).  She has the longest tenure of any serving as Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Mayor Shackelford was in the first class of inductees for the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.  In 2015, she was inducted into the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail.