Tag Archives: Arkansas Arts Center

LR Cultural Touchstone: Charlotte Gadberry

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charlotte-gadberryCharlotte Gadberry has long been a supporter of Little Rock’s various cultural institutions. She has both served on boards and consulted with boards in strategic planning.  She is a Cultural Touchstone, however, because of her vision to found ACANSA Arts Festival.

A trip to Charleston, South Carolina, amid it’s Spoleto USA arts festival inspired her to dream that Little Rock could play host to a similar endeavor.  Using her fundraising prowess and connections, she started to raise funds, friends and awareness for this idea.

In September 2013, the inaugural ACANSA Arts Festival was announced for September 2014.  Under her leadership, ACANSA (a name derived from an early Native American variation of what is now called Arkansas) incorporated both local cultural institutions as well as performers brought in for the event.

It kicked off on a Tuesday with a reception at the Governor’s Mansion and concluded the following Sunday with a reception at Wildwood Park for the Arts.  In between there was theatre, dance, mime, puppetry, instrumental music, choral music, opera, jazz, painting, photography, history, lectures, and gallery tours.

Under her leadership as founder, plans are already underway for the next edition.  ACANSA Arts Festival 2015 is scheduled for September 16-20. Tickets go on sale next spring.

LR Cultural Touchstone: Lucy Lockett Cabe

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lucy-cabeLucy Lockett Cabe grew up in Missouri and died in Texas, but made an enormous impact on the cultural life of Little Rock and Arkansas.

While best known as the major benefactor of Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, she also supported many other cultural organizations including the Arkansas Arts Center, Ballet Arkansas, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Arkansas Repertory Theatre and many smaller organizations. For over 30 years, it was rare for there to be a musical performance in Little Rock without Lucy as either a performer or in the audience.

A lifelong musician, as she aged, her voice shifted from soprano to alto to tenor while singing. She also served as a church organist. She studied piano from the age of eight.  Meeting her future husband Harold Cabe while summering in Michigan, she moved to Arkansas in 1940. From that time until 1975, she lived in Gurdon but was actively involved in the arts scenes of Arkadelphia and Little Rock.  The couple moved to Little Rock in 1975.  Harold died in 1984.

In 1971 she was one of the original appointees to the state Arts and Humanities Council. For her work with musical and volunteer groups, she was honored as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Woman of the Year in 1986. In 1993 she received the Arkansas Arts Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Little Rock Arts and Humanities Ed Hanlin Memorial Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution to the Arts.

Lucy was an honorary life member of the Arkansas Symphony, the Community Theatre of Little Rock and Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts. She was involved in every step of the formation of the Arkansas Opera Theatre, which subsequently evolved into the Wildwood Park. She supported and was honored by Wildwood with the 625-seat Lucy L. Cabe Festival Theatre on the grounds.

In the early 2000s she moved to Dallas to be closer to her family.  She died in 2005.

It is fitting that she be remembered in October, as Halloween was her favorite holiday.  Starting on October 1, the Halloween jewelry, socks and shirts would be donned.

LR Cultural Touchstone: Deborah Baldwin

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9 Deborah BaldwinAs a historian, arts patron, and administrator, Deborah Baldwin has had a hand in shaping Little Rock’s cultural scene for nearly thirty years.   As Chair of the UALR History Department from 1986 to 1992, she lead the department as it created the History Institute which sponsors the “Evenings with History” lecture series.  At the time it was started, it was one of the few lecture series in Little Rock (if not the only one).

A member of the UALR faculty since 1980, Baldwin is a specialist in modern Mexican history with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She has published a book on the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and a variety of articles, primarily on Mexican social history topic.

As a History Department faculty member, she has lead the Public History seminar. This program has documented the history of several Little Rock cultural institutions over the years including the Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Museum of Discovery.  The Public History program has trained many of the museum professionals working in Little Rock today.  The Central High Museum, a private forerunner of the National Park Service Central High National Historic Site Visitor Center, was lead in a large part by persons associated with the UALR Public History Program.

Starting in the mid-1990s, Baldwin led the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.  In that capacity, she oversaw the visual and performing arts programming at UALR.  Under her leadership, the Departments of Art, Music, and Theatre & Dance were all revitalized.  As a part of this, she ensured that cutting-edge technology was being integrated to arts curriculum.  She also led efforts to upgrade the performance facilities.  During her tenure as Dean, the College also played leading roles in the commemoration of the 40th and 50th anniversaries of the integration of Central High School, the centennial of the Mexican Revolution, and the “Life Interrupted” exhibit which highlighted the Japanese-American internment experience in Arkansas.  She also oversaw the creation of Finale!, an event each spring which celebrates the arts in Little Rock and honors arts patrons.

With the creation of the Arkansas Studies Institute (a collaboration between UALR and Central Arkansas Library System), Baldwin took on additional duties as UALR’s supervisor on the project.

In 2014, UALR underwent a campus-wide administrative and academic reorganization.  In conjunction with that, Baldwin became Associate Provost for UALR Collections and Archives.  In that capacity she oversees the campus library system, Center for Arkansas History and Culture and the Sequoyah National Research Center.  She continues to teach in the Department of History.

She is a past member of the board of the Arkansas Humanities Council and the MacArthur Military History Museum Commission.

 

LR Cultural Touchstone: Virginia Bailey

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Bailey, Virginia MitchellVirginia Mitchell Bailey was an avid supporter and promoter of visual and performing arts.  A real estate developer, she was a wife, mother, grandmother, and tireless community volunteer as well.  She was a trailblazer in the area of balancing a business career with continued volunteerism.  While today that is common, in the 1960s and 1970s, it was very rare for women to do both.

Virginia served on the Advisory Board of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. She was a member of the Fine Arts Club since 1960. She served for 17 years on the Arkansas Arts Center Board of Trustees and for 12 years on the Arts Center Foundation Board. She was Secretary of the Arts Center Board in 1974, President of the Board from 1976 to 1977, and Chairman of the Board from 1977 to 1978. In 1989, she received the Winthrop Rockefeller Annual Award for outstanding service to the Arts Center. In 2001, the Arts Center Board named the Virginia and Ted Bailey Gallery in her honor.

From 1992 to 1995, Virginia served on the Advisory Board of the University of Arkansas School of Architecture. She served as the first President of the Friends of the Arts at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  She was also a board member of Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts.

In recognition of their philanthropic support for so many charitable groups in the community and elsewhere, and by nomination from UALR, Virginia and her husband Dr. Ted Bailey received the Philanthropist of the Year Award from the Arkansas Chapter of the National Association of Fundraisers in 1994. In 1990, Virginia received one of the annual Outstanding Women of the Year Awards sponsored by Boatmen’s Bank. She was honored with the Little Rock Arts and Humanities Award (AHA!) in 1995.

Architecture Lecture tonight: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House: A New Perspective

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FLW Robie HouseAs part of the Arkansas Design Network’s monthly architecture lecture series, tonight Jeff Shannon will discuss “FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S ROBIE HOUSE: A New Perspective.“ Shannon is a professor of architecture at the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture.

The program begins tonight at 6pm in the Arkansas Arts Center lecture hall, with a reception starting at 5:30.

 

Robie house, situated on the edge of the University of Chicago campus, was designed for 28-year-old Frederick  Robie and his young family by Frank Lloyd Wright. Completed in 1910, the house, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has generally been acknowledged as the “ultimate expression of the Prairie house”, a form pioneered by the Wisconsin-born architect. In addition to designing the structure itself, Wright designed the home’s furnishings and elements of Mrs. Robie’s wardrobe. According to Shannon, most interpretations of the Robie home underestimate the influence of site and context on the design of the house, located on a 60×180 foot lot on the corner of Woodlawn Avenue and South 58th Street, in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.  Wright’s ability to deal with the challenges he faced “elicited one of the most creative and ingenious responses” of his career.

 

As Dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture (FJSA), from 2000 to 2013, Jeff Shannon, an award-winning alumnus of  Arkansas and Rice Universities,  developed a variety of new programs, increased the school’s  diversity and raised its national profile. Under his aegis, the school was named for Fay Jones, one of its early graduates and an American Institute of Architects (AIA) gold medalist, who, early in his career, studied with Wright at Taliesin. During Shannon’s tenure, funding was raised to renovate Vol Walker Hall, the school’s home,  and build the widely acclaimed Steven L. Anderson Design Center. Responsible for developing the collaboration of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and the University of Arkansas Press, Shannon, as  executive editor of the publishing venture, is responsible for books dealing with architecture, including Architects of Little Rock, 1833-1950,  by Charles Witsell and Gordon Wittenberg.

 

All ADN lectures are free and open to the public. ADN’s supporters include the Arkansas Arts Center, the Central Arkansas Chapter of the AIA, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and friends in the community. A non-profit,  ADN is a 501-3 organization. For additional information contact ardenetwork@icloud.com.

Arts in Park and on Stages with ACANSA today

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acansaThe ACANSA Arts Festival moves into the weekend with a full day of activities.

ARTISTS IN THE PARK
12:00pm to 6:00 pm
MacArthur Park
FREE

The Arkansas Arts Center will host a visual artist day at MacArthur Park from noon to 6:00 p.m.   This event is free and open to the public.  The first two hours are dedicated to children with a variety of art activities, and entertainment by Brian Kinder, a singer/ songwriter who performs rollicking goodtime concerts for kids.

Family entertainment by a variety of musical groups will begin at 2 p.m. Bands include the Clark Family Trio, the Greasy Greens, and SOULution.  Local food trucks will offer refreshments for purchase.

Artists will produce and sell art throughout the afternoon and will have the option to participate in a friendly Quick Draw Competition during the event.  Artists will be paired off to draw each other and the winner will receive a $500 prize!

The Quick Draw competition is open to anyone.  Know an artist who would like to participate?   Please have them contact Linda Newbern at lnewbern@ACANSAartsFestival.org.

Sponsored by: Arkansas Children’s Hospital, City of Little Rock & Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau

 

Acansa PuppetSUSPENDED ANIMATION
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Scottish Rite Masonic Temple
$20 to $50

In a cabaret presentation distinctly adult in its sophistication and artistry, internationally acclaimed marionette artist Phillip Huber is in full view of the audience as he controls incredibly compelling characters through a series of variety vignettes revealing humor, pathos, drama and grace.

Phillip Huber is most widely known for his work in the 3-time Academy Award nominated film “Being John Malkovich” and his work in the Disney film “Oz the Great and Powerful,” starring James Franco, Michelle Williams and Mila Kunis. Shimmering with nuance, sophistication and imagination, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to experience a world of sophisticated puppetry designed for entertaining discerning tastes.

 

Acansa DallasDALLAS BLACK DANCE THEATRE
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
NLR High School East Campus Auditorium
$10 to $50

Dallas Black Dance Theatre celebrates its 36th season as the oldest, continuously operating professional dance company out of Dallas, Texas. The ensemble, a contemporary modern dance company, consists of 12 professional, full-time dancers performing a mixed repertory of modern jazz, ethnic and spiritual works by nationally and internationally known choreographers.

Sponsored by: Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, City of North Little Rock, North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, North Little Rock Economic Development Corporation, North Little Rock Visitors Bureau

 

acansa Mike Disfarmer 3DISFARMER
8:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Argenta Community Theatre
$30

Don’t miss this production of Disfarmer, written by award-winning Arkansas playwright Werner Trieschmann and directed by Bob Hupp of The Rep.  Disfarmer is a comedic portrait which tells the story of Mike Disfarmer, an eccentric photographer from Heber Springs, Arkansas who charged townsfolk and visitors a quarter to have their picture taken in the early forties—and caused a minor speculative mania decades later as New York gallery owners “discovered” his work and descended on the small Arkansas town.

Nothing speaks louder about Mike Disfarmer than his photographs.  Before the play, stop by  Argenta Gallery at 413 Main Street to enjoy an exhibit of Disfarmer photographs. In 1974, Peter Miller purchased the collection of Disfarmer glass negatives from Joe Albright. The Disfarmer prints in this exhibit have been archivally printed from the original Disfarmer glass negatives

Sponsored by: Peter Miller

 

Acansa St PaulACANSA Late Night II – St. Paul and the Broken Bones
9:00 pm to 11:00 pm
South on Main
SOLD OUT

This Birmingham, Alabama based soul band harkens back to the region’s classic soul roots while extending the form with electrifying potency.  Lead singer, Paul Janeway, takes the soul revival to an equally outrageous place with a voice that hovers between sexy sweet and flat-out dirty.  The horn-fueled Broken Bones re-create one funky groove after another, sounding more like the truth than any band since the Seventies.

Sponsored by:  DOWNSTREAM Casino Resort with staff provided by Oxford American

More theatre, music and art on tap today at ACANSA

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acansaThe second full day of ACANSA Arts Festival promises another wide variety of choices.

 

LUNCH AND LEARN
12:00 pm to 1:00pm
Bernice Garden
Free

Anita Davis will discuss art displayed at the Bernice Garden, which features permanent and temporary sculptures created by Arkansas artists. Mosaics, rock formations, hand-crafted signage and additional art installations add to the development plan for the space.

Sponsored by: Anita Davis, Delta Trust and Bank, and JPMS Cox, PLLC

 

GALLERY HOP
5:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Various
$20 to $50

Starting at the Arkansas Arts Center, participants may hop on and off trolleys to visit various local galleries in Little Rock and North Little Rock.

Enjoy refreshments while visiting with gallery owners and participating artists about their paintings.

Participating galleries include:   The Art Group Gallery,  Cantrell Gallery,  Greg Thompson Fine Art,  Hearne Fine Art Gallery,  M2 Gallery,  Gallery 221, L & L Beck Art Gallery,  Local Colour Gallery,  Matt McLeod Fine Art,  Stephano’s Fine Art Gallery,  The Edge Gallery, The Hot Springs Art Group, Argenta Gallery and Boswell Mourot Fine Art.

Sponsored by: Stuart Cobb

 

acansa Mike Disfarmer 3DISFARMER
8:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Argenta Community Theatre
$30 to $50

Don’t miss this production of Disfarmer, written by award-winning Arkansas playwright Werner Trieschmann and directed by Bob Hupp of The Rep.  Disfarmer is a comedic portrait which tells the story of Mike Disfarmer, an eccentric photographer from Heber Springs, Arkansas who charged townsfolk and visitors a quarter to have their picture taken in the early forties—and caused a minor speculative mania decades later as New York gallery owners “discovered” his work and descended on the small Arkansas town.

Head over to Argenta Theatre before the play and pick up a signed copy of Kim O. Davis’ Disfarmer biography titled Disfarmer:  The Man Behind the Camera.

Nothing speaks louder about Mike Disfarmer than his photographs.  Before the play, stop by  Argenta Gallery at 413 Main Street to enjoy an exhibit of Disfarmer photographs. In 1974, Peter Miller purchased the collection of Disfarmer glass negatives from Joe Albright. The Disfarmer prints in this exhibit have been archivally printed from the original Disfarmer glass negatives

Sponsored by: Peter Miller

 

acansa Hector Oliver 3HECTOR OLIVERA
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Trinity United Methodist Church
$10 to $20

Hector Olivera is one of the most sought after international concert organists of the present time. He is a passionate, gifted and unique musician, whose personal interpretations of both classical and popular music have amazed and delighted audiences around the world.

Maestro Hector Olivera travels with his Rodgers touring organ, “The King,” a black four manual organ featuring a custom French specification.  This internationally acclaimed concert organist will perform at Trinity United Methodist Church.  During rehearsal, Maestro Olivera will uniquely customize his eclectic program from the chancel.

 

ACANSA BowersIT GOES WITHOUT SAYING
7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Scottish Rite Masonic Temple
$10 to $20

Compared to the work of David Sedaris, Claudia Shear and Augustin Burroughs, IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING is a uniquely crafted autobiographical tour-de-force in which Bill Bowers shares funny, heartbreaking, and unbelievable true stories from his career as an actor and mime, and his life-long exploration of the role silence plays in all our lives.

IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING takes you on a scenic tour of Bill’s life thus far; from his childhood in the wilds of Montana, to outrageous jobs as a performer across the country, to the whirlwind of Broadway and studying with the legendary Marcel Marceau.

Sponsored by:  Legacy Termite and Pest Control, Inc.