Tag Archives: Butler Center

RIP Ron Robinson

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News has broken that longtime Little Rock ad man Ron Robinson has died.

His contributions to the advertising profession in Arkansas would be worthy of note in and of themselves. But Ron was much more than that.  He was a collector — of stamps, of movie posters, of sheet music, of many things.

If Arkansas was included in a piece of music or a film, Ron Robinson wanted it represented in his collection. The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) houses and is in the process of cataloging Robinson’s vast collection of sheet music, film posters, and other memorabilia connecting those industries with Arkansas’s history and culture.

The Ron Robinson Theater in the Arcade Building on the Library Square campus, the newest performance space in the River Market district bears Robinson’s name. Programming in the 325-seat multi-purpose event venue is designed for all ages and includes films, music performances, lectures, and children’s activities.

The Ron Robinson Collection includes a large number of pieces of sheet music of songs about Arkansas or with the state’s name in the song’s title, containing everything from Tin Pan Alley tunes describing the state to hits by Arkansas musicians such as Patsy Montana and the Browns to would-be state songs. The collection also includes a number of vintage recordings-including Edison disks of the “Arkansas Traveler”-and other materials depicting the state’s music. It will include Robinson’s huge collection of Arkansas-related movie posters, from which the Butler Center co-produced with him an exhibition last year called “Ark in the Dark,” as well as a vast number of pieces of Arkansas political memorabilia.

A native of Little Rock, Robinson has been an avid collector of all things Arkansas for the past fifty years. He is past chairman and chief executive officer of Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, a full-service advertising, marketing, and public relations firm. He has served on numerous boards and committees including the Friends of Central Arkansas Libraries (FOCAL), Arthritis Foundation, United Way, American Red Cross Public Information Committee, Arkansas Arts Center, and Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

2nd Friday Art Night at the CALS Butler Center

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2FAN logo Font sm2The second Friday of 2016 means it is time for the first 2nd Friday Art Night of the year.

Another participating location is the CALS Butler Center Galleries located inside the Arkansas Studies Institute building. They are open tonight from 5pm to 8pm.

Little Rock Box by Gary Cawood

Gene Hatfield: Outside the Lines
On view through Saturday, January 30

Earth Work: Photographs by Gary Cawood
On view through Saturday, February 27
Arkansas Pastel Society National Exhibition
On view through Saturday, February 27
Photographic Arts: African American Studio Photography from the Joshua & Mary Swift Collection
On view through Saturday, March 26
Featured artist: Tom Flynn
Tom Flynn is a metal sculptor who creates artwork using reclaimed metals.
Featured musician: Tommy Priakos
Tommy, a keyboardist based in Little Rock, will perform music in the galleries.
 
Second Friday Art Night is a free, monthly opportunity to visit downtown Little Rock’s galleries, museums, and businesses after hours.

Several other downtown museums and galleries participate in 2nd Friday Art Night.

Legacies & Lunch today: Women During the Civil War

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howardArkansas women faced monumental challenges during the Civil War. To commemorate Women’s History Month, Rebecca Howard will speak about women during the Civil War era for the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies’ Legacies and Lunch program on Wednesday, March 6, at noon in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street.

Howard’s presentation will focus on the stories of northwest Arkansas women who faced hardships including starvation, displacement, and harassment. She uses diaries, newspaper articles, government claims, and service and pension records to illustrate the experience of a variety of northwest Arkansas women, from the perspectives of Union and Confederate, rich and poor, black and white.

Howard is currently a PhD candidate in History at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She completed her undergraduate work at Texas A&M. A northwest Arkansas native, Howard is focusing her dissertation work on that region during and after the Civil War.

The Butler Center’s Legacies & Lunch program is free and open to the public and supported in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert will be provided.

The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies is a department of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS). It was founded in 1997 to promote the study and appreciation of Arkansas history and culture. The Butler Center’s research collections, art galleries, and offices are located in the Arkansas Studies Institute building at 401 President Clinton Ave. on the campus of the CALS Main Library. For more information, call 918-3086.

First Annual Arkansas Sounds

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Headliners for the Arkansas Sounds Music Festival will be Lucero, a country-punk rock band fronted by Little Rock native Ben Nichols; southern rock band Black Oak Arkansas; and rock and roll pioneers Sleepy LaBeef and Sonny Burgess (appearing with his band the Legendary Pacers). Arkansas Sounds is hosted by the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, a department of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS), and will be held September 28-29, 2012, in the Riverfest Amphitheatre and the River Market Pavilions. Admission is free.

The Festival will feature a tribute to two Arkansas artists who died this year, Levon Helm and Michael Burks-featuring and hosted by Amy Garland Angel. Additional acts include the Cate Brothers Band, Runaway Planet, Rodney Block and the Real Music Lovers, Tyrannosaurus Chicken, the Salty Dogs, and Velvet Kente.

Focusing on Arkansas music and musicians both past and present, the Festival will also work to get musicians and songwriters involved in local schools, create songwriting workshops for kids and adults, and host related performances and events throughout the state.

Greil Marcus discusses The Doors Tuesday the 25th

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greil marcusAs part of Arkansas Sounds Music Festival, nationally-recognized music critic Greil Marcus will discuss his book, The Doors: A Lifetime of Listening to Five Mean Years, in the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Darragh Center at the Main Library, 100 Rock Street, on Tuesday, September 25, at 6:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Arkansas Literary Festival and ProSmart Printing, the program is free and open to the public.

In a book mostly about listening to the music of The Doors, Marcus revisits a parade of great performances-L.A. Woman, Roadhouse Blues, Light My Fire, When the Music’s Over, End of the Night and more-and explores why and how The Doors have endured. The program will be presented in an interview format, with Tom Wood, local radio personality from TOM-FM, asking questions of Marcus. A book signing and reception will follow. Seating is open and reservations are requested, but not required, at lblackwell@cals.org or 918-3029.

Marcus is the co-editor of A New Literary History of America. His other books include Mystery Train, Lipstick Traces, and Double Trouble: Bill Clinton and Elvis Presley in a Land of No Alternatives. He has taught at Princeton University; University of California, Berkley; New York University; and the New School in New York. His column “Real Life Rock Top 10” appears regularly in The Believer.

Arkansas Sounds is hosted by the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, a CALS department, and will be held September 28-29, 2012, in the Riverfest Amphitheatre and the River Market Pavilions. Admission is free. Focusing on Arkansas music and musicians both past and present, the Festival will also work to get musicians and songwriters involved in local schools, create songwriting workshops for kids and adults, and host related performances and events throughout the state. For more information, visit www.arkansassounds.org.

The Arkansas Literary Festival’s mission is to encourage the development of a more literate populace, and is the premier gathering of readers and writers in Arkansas. Visit www.ArkansasLiteraryFestival.org for information on the 2012 Festival.

For more information contact 918-3098.

July 2nd Friday Art Night

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Once again, Friday the 13th will be lucky for patrons who venture out to explore 2nd Friday Art Night in downtown Little Rock.   It takes place from 5pm to 8pm and is free.  Several downtown galleries are open with special events and exhibits.  A free trolley runs between the various sites.

Here is a sampling of what can be found.

Historic Arkansas Museum (200 East Third Street) hosts the opening reception for BARBIE: The 11 1/2-inch American Icon, the newest exhibit in the Eclectic Collector series. There will be live music by Steve Bates and an ice cream tasting with Loblolly Creamery. Loblolly makes small batch ice cream, fizzy sodas and other treats from local organic ingredients.

Butler Center Galleries (401 President Clinton Avenue) will feature The Civil War in Arkansas as a part of the 150th commemoration of this pivotal event in American History.  Also still on display are Arkansas Arts Educators State Youth Art Show 2012 and Small Town: Portraits of a Disappearing America

Christ Episcopal Church (509 Scott Street) showcases artists from the Arkansas Pastel Society.  In addition artwork from students who are participating in a Christ Church summer youth arts program will also be on display.

studioMAIN (1423 South Main) opens its latest exhibition, Quality + Quantity: a Conversation on Modern Furniture. It exhibits furniture designed by local UALR Applied Design students and pairs it with several timeless furniture pieces that are being provided by Workplace Resource and Herman Miller.

Quapaw Quarter Association at Curran Hall (515 East Capitol Avenue) is showcasing LVB Designs…cuff bracelets by Linda Bradley, local designer and artist.  Each piece is custom made.  See and try on these unique cuffs in their many styles and designs.

Butler Center’s Legacies & Lunch: The Thousand-Year Flood

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The Central Arkansas Library System’s Butler Center for Arkansas Studies sponsors the “Legacies & Lunch” conversation each month.  November’s program features David Welky discussing his new book, The Thousand-Year Flood: The Ohio-Mississippi Disaster of 1937.

In this book, Dr. Welky, an associate professor of history at the University of Central Arkansas, discusses the 1937 deluge which was one of the biggest natural disasters in American history.

Welky

David Welky, associate professor of history at the University of Central Arkansas, specializes in 1930s America and has written several other books, including Everything Was Better in America: Print Culture in the Great Depression and The Moguls and the Dictators: Hollywood and the Coming of World War II.

Legacies & Lunch is sponsored in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert are provided. This event is free and open to the public