Tag Archives: Arkansas Arts Center

LR Cultural Touchstone: Stella Boyle Smith

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stellaStella Boyle Smith, who died at the age of 100 in 1994, was well known for her love of music and philanthropy. The Stella Boyle Smith Trust, a trust with a longtime history of supporting the arts and music at the University of Arkansas, has made a $200,000 gift to fund student scholarships.

Stella Boyle Smith was a Little Rock philanthropist and founder of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. She lived to be 100, but ensured that her legacy would continue.  In her lifetime, she donated more than $2.5 million to organizations in the music and medical fields.  Since her death, the Stella Boyle Smith Trust has donated more than $5 million.

She was born in Farmington, Mo., into a large, musically inclined family, which moved to Arkansas when she was two. She began singing at the age of three and graduated from high school at 14. In 1922, she moved to Little Rock with her first husband, Dandridge Perry Compton, who died in 1935. Her second husband, George Smith, held various business interests and extensive farms in Woodruff and Arkansas counties, which allowed them to engage in philanthropy. Mr. Smith died in 1946.

In 1923, Smith’s love for music inspired her to start The Musical Group in her living room of her residence at 102 Ridgeway Drive in Little Rock, where she lived until she died. Through several iterations, the group eventually became the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in 1966. Her initial objective was to establish the symphony as an educational tool for children, and, in 1968, she helped establish the Youth Orchestra. In 1972, the symphony board of directors named her an honorary life member. Smith established a trust fund for the symphony’s permanent endowment in 1985. A loyal friend of music and the symphony, she attended nearly every performance and most rehearsals.

Smith was also a pianist. In 1988, she gave UALR a grand piano as well as an endowed trust of $500,000. UALR renamed its concert hall the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall as a tribute to her. That year the university also gave her an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Interest from the trust provides scholarships each year for music students studying string instruments, piano or voice.

Smith enabled many students around the state to attend college through the more than 200 scholarships that she financed.

Other organizations that have benefited from her generosity include Arkansas Arts Center and Historic Arkansas Museum as well as the University of Arkansas.

LR Cultural Touchstone: Jeannette Edris Rockefeller

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J RockefellerJeannette Edris Rockefeller only lived in Arkansas for about fifteen years. But her impact on the cultural life of Little Rock and all of Arkansas continues to be felt today.

Born and raised in Seattle, as a young mother she met Winthrop Rockefeller while both were in New York.  He moved to Arkansas in 1953; after their 1956 marriage, she joined him. They split their time between Little Rock and Petit Jean.

In 1959, she was asked to become involved in plans for a new art museum in Little Rock.  She became a tireless advocate and fundraiser for the new Arkansas Arts Center.   In 1960, she assumed the role of president of the Arkansas Arts Center Board of Trustees, a position she held until 1968.  During that time period she oversaw the planning, construction and opening of the building.  She also invited Townsend Wolfe, who she had met when he taught some classes at the Arts Center, to apply to become the museum’s first executive director.

From 1967 to 1971, she was First Lady of Arkansas.  In that capacity, she supervised renovation of the Governor’s Mansion and started the tradition of displaying art on the walls.

Shortly after her 1971 divorce from Rockefeller, she relocated to California.  She continued to be a supporter of the Arts Center.  One of the galleries in the Arts Center is named in her honor.  In addition, one of the sculptures on the lawn of the Arts Center, Standing Red, was dedicated in 1970 in recognition of her service on the Arts Center Board.

No Lies, PINOCCHIO now on stage at Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre

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PinocchioThe Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre presents Pinocchio through November 9.

“We are thrilled to bring this timeless children’s book to life with the magic of live theatre,” said Todd Herman, executive director of the Arkansas Arts Center. “Audiences young and old are invited to experience the fun and the frolic as Geppetto’s little Pinocchio learns an important lesson.”

Once upon a time there was… a king? A beautiful princess? An evil wizard? No. Once upon a time there was… a block of wood. One day, by a stroke of incredible luck, this commonplace piece of lumber found its way into the skilled hands of Geppetto the wood carver. And so, the world’s most famous marionette, Pinocchio, was born. Come join the fun as the little puppet runs away to discover the world. Meet strange and exciting creatures like the Fox, the Cat, the Blue-haired Fairy, the dreaded Giant Dogfish, and yes – the Talking Cricket.

This production is adapted for the stage by Keith Smith from the original story by Carlo Collodia.

The cast for Pinocchio includes:

  • Mark Hansen as Geppetto Patalone
  • Genevieve West Fulks as The Blue Fairy
  • Margaret Lowry as Pinocchio
  • Nate Plummer as Dottore/The Talking Cricket
  • Jeremy Matthey as Capitano
  • Katie Campbell as Arlecchino/The Lame Fox
  • Araya Harrison as Puchinella/The Blind Cat
  • Aleigha Garstika as Scapino/Tuna
  • Paige Carpenter as Antonio/The Coachman
  • Lauren Linton as Asti
  • Kenny Barron as Spumanti/Inn Keeper
  • Sienna Grace, Richard Nelson, Anna Spollen, Sophie Wacaster, Jasmine Ware, and Demetrius Watts as the Pandemonium Mimes

Keith Smith is the director and playwright for the production. Costumes are designed by Erin Larkin, set design and technical direction by Drew Posey, lighting design by Penelope Poppers, properties design by Miranda Young and Sarah Gasser is the stage manager.

The Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre season sponsor is Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the fall season is sponsored by Centennial Bank.

For more information, visit ArkansasArtsCenter.org or call (501) 372-4000. “Like” the Arkansas Arts Center on Facebook for the most up-to-date information on exhibitions, events and educational offerings.

Portraits and Sculptures focus of new exhibits at Arkansas Arts Center

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arkartsThursday, October 23, 6 p.m., Lower Lobby Lecture Hall

Member Lecture and Reception
“Making Beckman” by Tom Butler, Director of the Columbus Museum in Columbus, Georgia

Learn more about William Beckman’s gripping drawings in the first major retrospective of this great realists artist’s work on paper. The reception begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Alice Pratt Brown Atrium. Tickets are required to attend the lecture and are $15 for non-members and free for members. For more information or to reserve your ticket, call (501) 372-4000.

 

Friday, October 24, 2014 through February 1, 2015, Jeannette Edris Rockefeller and Townsend Wolfe Galleries

William Beckman: Drawings, 1967-2013

This exhibition includes intimate portraits of friends and family members, alongside arresting nudes of the artist and his wife. Some of the most attention-demanding works are massive portrayals of bulls. Accompanying the exhibition is a 112-page, full-color catalogue of Beckman’s work, which includes a revealing interview with the artist by exhibition curator Tom Butler and also illustrates archival photos from his childhood and college days. The catalogue is published by D Giles, Ltd., London. The exhibition was originated by the Columbus Museum in response to the ideas of Townsend Wolfe, the long-time director of the Arkansas Arts Center.

 

Friday, October 24, 2014 through January 18, 2015, Winthrop Rockefeller Gallery

The Sculpture of Stoney Lamar

This exhibition presents work from 1987 to the present. Uninspired by traditional turned wood vessel forms, Stoney Lamar embarked on a personal exploration of the lathe and other tools of turners and woodworkers. This spirit of experimentation has firmly placed his work in the avant-garde of the wood turning world. Not only was he one of the first to use multi-axial turning, but eventually he added steel, color and distressed surface treatments.

 

Friday, October 24, 12 – 1 p.m., Jeannette Edris Rockefeller and Townsend Wolfe Galleries
Feed Your Mind Friday with Artist William Beckman

Take an hour to feed your mind and learn more about William Beckman’s work in William Beckman: Drawings, 1967-2013. While Beckman’s paintings depict landscapes, figures, and still lifes, his most celebrated drawings are those of the human figure. Sign up at the Stephens Inc. Visitors Center to attend this free event. For more information, visit ArkansasArtsCenter.org or call (501) 372-4000.

“Really Cool Digs” is topic of tonight’s Architecture and Design Network lecture

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ADN Cool DigsIn his talk, Carl Matthews will examine the ways in which the media – television, film, advertising among them – use architecture and design to develop and project a particular image or mood. Examples abound and Matthew will share a generous sampling of them with his audience.

As head of the Fay Jones School of Architecture’s Interior Design Department, Matthews currently oversees the education of a hundred and ten students. Of that number, a majority, following graduation, will likely pursue careers in commercial design. As an educator, Matthews strives to create a link between academia and practice. Prior to his coming to the School, Matthews taught at the Universities of Texas and Kansas. He earned his Master’s degree from Pratt Institute.

The lecture starts at 6pm at the Arkansas Arts Center.  A reception will start at 5:30.

ADN lectures are free and open to the public. Supporters of ADN include the Arkansas Arts Center, the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture and the Central Arkansas section of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. For further information contactardenetwork@mac.com.

LR Cultural Touchstone: Kaki Hockersmith

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KakiKaki Hockersmith creates art as a designer. In addition, she promotes arts and heritage through her tireless efforts on behalf of numerous cultural institutions.

In 2010, she was appointed to the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts for The Kennedy Center.  In that capacity, she serves as a national ambassador for The Kennedy Center. She has also brought programs from The Kennedy Center to Arkansas to help established and emerging arts organizations. She also serves as a commissioner on the cultural committee of UNESCO – the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

In 1993, she redesigned the interior of The White House during the Clinton Administration. She was also appointed a member of the Committee for the Preservation of The White House.  Her work on this American landmark was featured in Hillary Clinton’s book An Invitation to the White House: In Celebration of American Culture.

Locally, she serves on the Board of Trustees for the Arkansas Arts Center and the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion Association. She is an active supporter of many cultural organizations in Little Rock.  She and her husband Max Mehlburger open their home to host receptions and fundraisers for numerous cultural institutions and organizations.  Earlier this year she was recognized for this support at Ballet Arkansas’ Turning Pointe gala.

Professionally, she has been honored by the national ASID organization as well as the Washington D.C. chapter. Her projects have won 16 regional ASID awards, including seven gold awards.

LR Cultural Touchstone: Jeane M. Hamilton

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Photo taken for SOIREE

Photo taken for SOIREE

Jeane M. Hamilton is not a native Arkansan. But it was Little Rock and Arkansas’ good fortune that she married a Little Rock native and came here.

Arriving in Little Rock a young wife in 1952, she immediately set about to become involved in her new community as she and her husband James set up a household.  In the mid-1950s, the Junior League of Little Rock tapped her to chair the initiative to create a new art museum for Little Rock.  The two decades old Museum of Fine Arts was threadbare through years of neglect and unfocused programming and collecting.

Hamilton, along with Junior League President Carrie Remmel Dickinson and Vice President Martha McHaney, approached Winthrop Rockefeller (then a relatively new resident) to lead the fundraising effort for the new museum.  He agreed on a few conditions: one was that a base amount had to be raised in Little Rock first, and second that the museum would be for the entire State of Arkansas and not just Little Rock.

Hamilton and her colleagues set about to raise the funds. They raised $645,000 at the same time Little Rock’s business climate was stymied by the aftereffects of the Central High crisis.

Now a lifetime honorary member of the Arkansas Arts Center Board, Hamilton has spent much of her life working on Arkansas Arts Center projects since that visit in 1959.  She has served on the Board, chaired committees, chaired special events, served hot dogs, helped kids paint and danced the night away at countless fundraisers.  She was on the committee which hired Townsend Wolfe as executive director and chief curator.  Jeane has led art tours for the Arts Center to a number of countries over the years.

When she is not at the Arts Center, she is often seen at the Rep, the Symphony or any number of other cultural institutions.  While she enjoys seeing old friends at these events, she also loves to see a room full of strangers – because that means that new people have become engaged in the cultural life of Little Rock.