Tag Archives: Arkansas Arts Center

Artober – Theatre. Arkansas Repertory Theatre experiences a reprise.

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October is Arts and Humanities Month nationally and in Little Rock. Americans for the Arts has identified a different arts topic to be posted for each day in the month. The penultimate feature is Theatre.

At the age of four, my parents took me to the theatre. It was a production of Oliver! A year or two after that, I went to a play produced by the Arkansas Philharmonic Theatre in Hillcrest. (Neither of my parents can remember the title of that production.)

It was this theatre that gave rise, in 1976, to the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.  Cliff Fannin Baker was the founder.  He had first come to Arkansas in the 1960s to work with the theatre program of Arkansas Arts Center School of Art and Theatre. Once that disbanded in 1968, Baker continued to direct theatrical productions for a variety of community and education theatres throughout the state.

Opening on November 11, 1976, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre was Arkansas’ first non-profit professional theatre. It was housed in an old Methodist church building next to MacArthur Park.  Occasionally it would present performances in other spaces including the UA Little Rock theatre or the Arkansas Arts Center theatre.  By the mid 1980s, the Rep was outgrowing its original location.

In 1988, Arkansas Rep moved to Main Street and served as an anchor for a downtown redevelopment project.  While that project may not have taken hold, the Rep did.  Cliff continued to lead it for over a decade on Main Street until his retirement in 1999.  He was succeeded by Bob Hupp, who came to the Rep from Off Broadway’s Jean Cocteau Theatre.

Hupp led the theatre until 2016.  During that time, he also oversaw a refurbishment and renovation of the Rep’s facility on Main Street.  When he left to take over Syracuse Stage in 2016, Baker returned to the Rep to be the Interim Artistic Director.  A few months later, John Miller-Stephany from the Guthrie Theatre came to Arkansas Rep.

By 2018, Arkansas Rep was facing a mounting financial crisis brought on by lagging donations, weakened ticket sales, increasing production costs, and debt related to real estate the theatre owned.  In April 2018, the Rep suspended operations and most of the staff were laid off.

Baker returned again to be an artistic advisor during this period. He worked with two long-time Rep board members who were serving as volunteer staff: Bill Rector and Ruth Shepherd. The community rallied to “Save the Rep” and responded to some challenge matching gifts offered by the Windgate Foundation. In addition, the Rep was able to restructure the debt.

As Baker was starting to consider shows for a rejuvenated Rep, he died while in New York in September 2018.  The Rep pushed forward and announced four shows for the Rep’s “REPrise” season during calendar year 2019.  In January 2019, it was announced that former Rep actor and Tony winning producer Will Trice was coming back to his hometown to assume the role of Executive Artistic Director.

As the Rep is winding down the season of the four shows announced in November 2018, Trice has announced three new shows for the spring and summer of 2020. In September 2020, the Rep will return to the traditional autumn through summer season schedule.

While F. Scott Fitzgerald once observed that “there are no second acts in American lives,” thankfully that does not apply to the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. It is currently in Scene 1 of the Second Act.  Let us hope this act has many many more scenes.

Artober – Spotted. In two senses of the word, Ballet Arkansas dancers during ACANSA 2019

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Image may contain: 7 people, people smiling, people sitting, shoes, child, shorts and outdoor

October is Arts and Humanities Month nationally and in Little Rock. Americans for the Arts has identified a different arts topic to be posted for each day in the month.  Today’s feature is “Spotted.”

Americans for the Arts does not define if that is the adjective or the past-tense verb.  But these photos of Ballet Arkansas dancers at the kick off of ACANSA 2019 fulfills both.

They were spotted (seen) performing in two alleys of the CALS Library Square campus.  And the dancers’ bodies became spotted as they used them to apply paint to four large canvases.

Image may contain: 1 personImage may contain: 1 person, standingImage may contain: one or more people, shorts and outdoorImage may contain: 3 people, people standing, shoes and childImage may contain: one or more people, people on stage, shoes and outdoor

Image may contain: 10 people, people smiling, people standingImage may contain: 11 people, including Mike Fothergill, people smiling, child

Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling, people sittingImage may contain: 1 person

Big Boo!-seum Bash tonight

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Sponsored by the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau (LRCVB), Big Boo!-seum Bash will take place Thursday, October 24, 2019, 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM. Hosted by the Greater Little Rock Museums and Attractions Consortium, the event will feature 14 partners at nine downtown attractions.

Big Boo!-seum Bash is a free, family-friendly event that provides people the opportunity to visit many of Little Rock’s museums and cultural attractions for a night of safe trick-or-treating and family fun and games. Visitors are encouraged to dress in Halloween costumes.

“The Big Boo!-seum Bash was created to provide the public free access to our great local museums and cultural attractions. It’s a great family-oriented event in secure locations that people of all ages enjoy,” said Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau President & CEO Gretchen Hall. “It’s a perfect time to visit an attraction possibly for the first time, or re-visit one that you haven’t been to in a while,” she added.

Prize Information:

Printed by Target Printing & Office Centre, game cards will be provided at each participating Boo!-seum location. Get your card stamped at each participating location to be eligible for prize drawings. Entry instructions are printed on the game cards. Prize entrants must be 18 years of age or younger. Prizes include:

  • Grand Prize – Electronic Tablet. Visitors must visit all nine locations to be eligible.
  • Second Prize – $100 gift card. Visitors must visit seven or more locations to be eligible.
  • Third Prize – Goody basket with items donated by LRCVB, NLRCVB and Boo!-seum Bash participants.
  • Social Media Prize – Special Boo!seum Goody basket. Entrants must tag #LRBooseum on Facebook and/or Instagram for drawing eligibility.

2019 Big Boo!-seum Participants Include:

  • Arkansas Arts Center – NEW location: Terry House Mansion, 411 E 7th St
    • Central Arkansas Library System will participate on-site
    • Central Arkansas Water will participate on-site
  • Heifer International – 1 World Ave
  • Historic Arkansas Museum – 200 E 3rd St
  • Little Rock Visitor Center at Historic Curran Hall – 615 E Capitol Ave
  • MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History – 503 E 9th St
    • Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum will participate on-site
  • Mosaic Templars Cultural Center – 9th St and Broadway
    • Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site will participate on-site
  • Museum of Discovery – 500 President Clinton Ave
    • Central Arkansas Library System will participate on-site
  • Old State House Museum – 300 W Markham St
    • Arkansas Secretary of State will participate on site
  • Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center – 602 President Clinton Ave

Documentary about Arkansas Arts Center’s 60th Delta Show wins award at Fayetteville Film Fest

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DELTA 60, an Arkansas Arts Center original documentary film, was awarded “Best Arkansas Connection” at the 2019 Fayetteville Film Fest.  

The Fayetteville Film Fest, now in its 11th year, champions independent films and filmmakers and works to build relationships between filmmakers and supporters. DELTA 60, which was directed by Arts Center Digital Media Producer Matthew Rowe and co-produced by Rowe and Director of Marketing and Communications Angel Galloway, was screened at the annual film festival in Fayetteville on October 5.

The hour-long documentary explores the innovative work featured in the 60th Annual Delta Exhibition through the eyes of 10 Arkansas artists. Following the artists as they create work that addresses place, identity, representation and history, DELTA 60 proves the power of art to challenge its viewers – and its makers.

While the Delta Exhibition has been an important Arkansas Arts Center tradition for more than 60 years, DELTA 60 is the first documentary film to explore the exhibition in depth.

Every year, the Annual Delta Exhibition – which was founded in 1958 – offers a snapshot of the art being made in the Mississippi River Delta region at that moment. For 61 years, the Annual Delta Exhibition has offered a conversation about its time and place, with artists often reflecting on the landscape, people and history of the region. With DELTA 60, Arts Center producers looked to offer a fresh perspective on the Delta Exhibition.

“When we began capturing individual artist stories during the 60th anniversary Delta Exhibition last year, we realized that these stories were really part of something bigger,” Galloway said. “While we only introduce you to 10 artists in this film, this exhibition has been shining a light on regional artists across the Delta for 61 years. This film is really a celebration of that history, and all those artists who shared their vision and voice with our community.”

DELTA 60 follows both emerging and established artists as they work, joining them in their studios, homes and on the road as they dive into their craft, motivation and vision. The artists featured in the film provide a unique lens through which to view the Delta Exhibition:

Melissa Cowper-Smith uses handmade paper as an active surface for reflections on what is remembered and what is forgotten.

Neal Harrington’s large-scale woodcuts create a sense of mythology and folklore tied to the Ozark region.

Tammy Harrington explores her Chinese heritage through intricately layered prints and cut paper works.

Robyn Horn’s wood sculptures articulate the tensions inherent in the natural world.

Tim Hursley, a photographer for world-famous architects, finds the beauty in the agricultural structures of rural Arkansas.

Lisa Krannichfeld’s female figures demand their space while rejecting easy interpretation.

James Matthews humanizes the overlooked places with quilts made from the things that are left behind. 

Dusty Mitchell uses found objects to challenge the assumed relationship between an object and its viewer.

Aj Smith seeks to provide a window into the souls of his subjects with intimate portraits.

Marjorie Williams-Smith invites her viewer to take a closer look her metalpoint self-portraits – and at themselves.

“These artists are reacting to their environment and, in doing so, challenging the way we see the things we see all the time. Several of the artists profiled are concerned with nature and land. Others still are trying to understand its people and its culture,” Rowe said. “It is my hope that viewers will be able to watch each artist’s story and gain a better understanding of their own world.”

DELTA 60 was produced by Angel Galloway and Matthew Rowe with original music written by Isaac Alexander. DELTA 60 is sponsored by Anne and Merritt Dyke and the Philip R. Jonsson Foundation. In addition, this project is supported in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information, visit arkansasartscenter.org or call 501-372-4000. To view the DELTA 60 trailer, visit youtu.be/Ka0AzI9pT3E.

Artober – Public Art: Henry Moore’s Large Standing Figure Knife Edge

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Arguably Little Rock’s most famous piece of public art is Henry Moore’s 1961 creation Large Standing Figure: Knife Edge, which is known locally as “The Henry Moore Sculpture.”

The original model was created in 1961; this sculpture was cast in 1976 and purchased in June 1978 by the Little Rock Metrocentre Improvement District.

The purchase price was $185,000 — a princely sum at the time but now a bargain for a Henry Moore sculpture. (Adjusted for inflation, that amount would be the equivalent of $705,000 today.)

A committee consisting of Townsend Wolfe (then the director and chief curator of the Arkansas Arts Center), James Dyke and Dr. Virginia Rembert traveled to England to meet with Moore about the sculpture.

It was originally placed on Main Street when the street had been bricked over as part of the Metrocentre Mall pedestrian mall plan. As portions of the street became unbricked and reopened to vehicular traffic, it was moved to the intersection of Capitol and Main. Finally, when the last segment was reopened to vehicular traffic, it was put at its current location of the southeast corner of Capitol and Louisiana. Because it was purchased by the Improvement District, it must stay within the boundaries of the district.

On March 20, 2018, the City of Little Rock and the Metrocentre Improvement District swapped the Henry Moore sculpture for the land on which the District’s parking deck stands. The City will relocate the Henry Moore piece to be in front of the Arkansas Arts Center once that reconstruction project is completed.

A replica of the sculpture is featured in the 1980s classic The Breakfast Club.

Artober – Arts After Dark

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October is Arts and Humanities Month nationally and in Little Rock. Americans for the Arts has identified a different arts topic to be posted for each day in the month.  Next up is “Arts after Dark”

This theme, like many of them, could go in many different directions.  I’ve chosen to highlight some cultural institutions lit up at night.

Ballet Arkansas and the Annex of Arkansas Rep on Main Street

Jane DeDecker and Alyson Kinkade’s IN THE WINGS in front of Robinson Center Performance Hall.

Darrell Davis’ Lions Pride in War Memorial Park

 

Lastly, while this photo took place indoors, it is a recreation of what the entrance to the Arkansas Arts Center will look like in 2022 when Henry Moore’s STANDING FIGURE KNIFE’S EDGE is located in front of the 1937 entrance to the AAC, which will once again be the main entrance. This was created for the AAC’s Farewell Party in August 2019.

Once and Future Arkansas Arts Center 9th Street entrance