Tag Archives: Historic Arkansas Museum

2nd Friday Art Night at HAM

Posted on by

Among the stops for 2nd Friday Art Night tonight is the Historic Arkansas Museum.

Tonight, October 11, from 5pm to 8pm, Bonnie Montgomery will be rocking out the Rock while the works of Stephen Cefalo and Sandra Sell will be on display in the Trinity Gallery for Arkansas Artists.

Bonnie Montgomery has been bringing her raucous spin on traditional southern music to honky-tonks throughout the U.S. and Europe.  Her catalog hails from a place where outlaw country saddles up with Americana and folk.

Figurations: Stephen Cefalo and Sandra Sell is opening tonight and running through December 8 in the Trinity Gallery for Arkansas Artists. Stephen Cefalo’s work evokes the style of the Old Masters and is moody, complex and unapologetically human both in subject matter and technique. With her sculpture Sandra Sell is able to transform a tactilely hard medium into something soft, almost figurative and emotional.

Historic Arkansas Museum is located on a block bounded by Second, Cumberland, Third and Scott Streets.

Sen. David Pryor speaks, Mayor Stodola an honoree at Quapaw Quarter annual meeting tonight

Posted on by

QQAThe Quapaw Quarter Association will host its annual membership meeting on Wednesday, October 2 in the Ottenheimer Theater at Historic Arkansas Museum.  The evening will begin with a 5:30 p.m. reception in the atrium, the membership meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m.  Nonmembers of the organization are invited to join at the door.

Board members standing for re-election this year are:
Chuck Cliett
John Herzog
Gabe Holmstrom
Cheri Nichols
Shana Woodard

Following a short business meeting, the Greater Little Rock Preservation Awards will be presented to projects in SoMa, the Governor’s Mansion Historic District, MacArthur Park Historic District and Main Street Commercial Historic District.  Anthony Black will receive the Peg Smith Award for his many years of exemplary volunteer work on QQA projects and programs.  Mayor Mark Stodola will receive the Jimmy Strawn Award.  Since 1980, the QQA has presented its most prestigious award to “someone whose efforts on behalf of the preservation of Greater Little Rock’s architectural heritage are an inspiration to the entire community.”

Senator David Pryor will join the QQA as guest speaker to close out the evening.

The Quapaw Quarter Association’s mission is to promote the preservation of Little Rock’s architectural heritage through advocacy, marketing and education.

Incorporated in 1968, the QQA grew out of an effort to identify and protect significant historic structures in Little Rock during the urban renewal projects of the early 1960s. Throughout its existence, the QQA has been a driving force behind historic preservation in Greater Little Rock.

Rhea Roberts serves as the executive director.

Anson discusses Alexander the Great to kick of 2013-14 Evenings with History

Posted on by

Ed-AnsonThe Evenings with History series, sponsored by the UALR History Institute kicks off the 2013-2014 series tonight.  This year’s series will focus on how the study and writing of history is done.

The six sessions of the 2013-2014 Evenings with History series will be on the first Tuesday of October, November, and December of 2013 and February, March, and April of 2014.

They are held at the Ottenheimer Auditorium in the Historic Arkansas Museum at 200 E. Third Street in Little Rock. Historic Arkansas’s downtown location and the museum’s adjacent parking lot at Third and Cumberland make the sessions convenient and pleasant to attend.

Refreshments are served at 7:00 p.m., and the talk begins at 7:30 p.m.

An individual subscription to the series, at $50 annually, includes admission to all six lectures.

Tonight, Edward Anson discusses “The Character of Alexander the Great.”

Professor Anson has been working for many years examining aspects of the life of Alexander the Great but wanted to write something about who he was as opposed to what he did. Ancient history presents unique problems for the historian. Sources seldom are contemporary with the topic studied. Standards of behavior often do not coincide with those of today.

This talk examines Professor Anson’s efforts to establish the character of Alexander, which resulted in his new book, Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues. Simply detailing what Alexander did produces serious difficulties, but getting into the mind of someone who lived more than two thousand years ago turns out to be even more difficult. Anson offers insights into how the historian uses the evidence of antiquity to overcome these barriers.

Edward M. Anson has authored or edited seven books, including Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues (2013); After Alexander: The Age of the Diadochi (323-281 BC) (2013); Eumenes of Cardia: A Greek Among Macedonians (2004), and more than thirty articles in journals, including Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, The Journal of Cuneiform Studies, The Journal of the American Oriental Society, Classical Philology, and The American Journal of Philology; twelve book chapters, and over fifty encyclopedia articles. He received his PhD from the University of Virginia and is currently Professor of History, a faculty senator, and a former President of the University Assembly.

Corporate sponsors for the 2013-2014 season include Friday, Eldredge, & Clark; Union Pacific Railroad; Wright, Lindsey, and Jennings; and the Teaching American History Program of the Little Rock School District.

Support and gifts in kind are provided by the UALR Ottenheimer Library; Historic Arkansas Museum, a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage; UALR Public Radio—KUAR-KLRE; UALR public television; and Grapevine Spirits.

LRFF’s Reel Civil Rights Film Festival concludes with – Beyond Galilee – Central Park Five – George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire

Posted on by

GeoWallaceThe Little Rock Film Festival’s Reel Civil Rights Film Festival concludes today with three different films. The concluding one is George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire at Historic Arkansas Museum at 6pm.

George Wallace was one of the most controversial and conflicting figures of the second half of the 20th Century in America.  Four times governor of Alabama, four times a candidate for president, he was feared as a racist demagogue and admired as a politician who spoke his mind. A lightning rod for controversy, Wallace both reflected and provoked tensions in American society over more than four decades. This film traces the rise of the firebrand politician from his roots in rural Alabama to the assassination attempt that suddenly transformed him.

Winner of the Sundance 2000 Film Festival Special Jury Prize, “George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire” is produced by Paul Stekler and Dan McCabe and written by Steve Fayer (“Eyes on the Prize,” “Vote for Me,” “Rock & Roll,” “Nixon”). According to PBS, this film places the public and private George Wallace within the turbulent history of the 1960s and 1970s, tracing a powerful story relevant to today’s presidential politics.

The first film of the day is Beyond Galilee at 12 noon.  It is the story of the Civil Rights movement in Shreveport.  Following the film, director and producer Tim DeWayne will lead a talkback.

At 3pm, the documentary Central Park Five will be shown.  It explores the 1989 case of five black and Latino teenagers who were wrongfully convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park.  Social justice activist Iris Roley will lead a discussion following the film.

LR Film Fest Reel Civil Rights Film Fest continues with MEDGAR EVERS: AN UNSUNG HERO

Posted on by

medgar-eversFifty years ago this past June, Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers was assassinated in front of his house in Mississippi.  Earlier this week, his widow (Myrlie Evers-Williams) and daughter (Reena Denise Evers-Everette) were honored in Little Rock for their work on behalf of the Civil Rights movement.

The Little Rock Film Festival’s Reel Civil Rights Film Fest continues today with the showing of Medgar Evers: An Unsung Hero.  This 2010 documentary explores the life and legacy of Mr. Evers.  It was produced by some of the creative team behind the AMC hit series Mad Men.  Directed by Michael Cory Davis. This two part film documentary on Medgar Evers provides extensive interviews with Myrlie Evers-Williams (widow), Charles Evers (brother), Reena Evers-Everette (daughter), Kestin Boyce, Derrick Johnson, and more.

The Reel Civil Rights Festival is sponsored by the Little Rock Film Festival in partnership with the National Park Service trough its Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.  It was founded by Spirit Trickey.

The film will be shown at 6pm in the auditorium at Historic Arkansas Museum.

Following the film, Jerry Mitchell, an investigative reporter from The Clarion-Ledger will lead a talkback.

LR Film Fest Presents Reel Civil Rights Film Festival – Gideon’s Army

Posted on by

gideons_slab_540As a part of its year round programming schedule, The Little Rock Film Festival is proud to announce the 2013 Reel Civil Rights Film Festival – in proud partnership with the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.

The festival was originally founded by Spirit Trickey, daughter of one of the Little Rock Nine. The dates of the festival are centered around the anniversary of the desegregation crisis at Little Rock Central High that took place on September 25th, 1997.

“Little Rock’s importance in American civil rights history makes our city the perfect place to hold the Reel Civil Rights Film Festival,” says LRFF Executive Director Craig Renaud. “The Little Rock Film Festival is proud to help grow the Reel Civil Rights Film Festival into one more reason why Little Rock is becoming the next great Southern City.”

The Reel Civil Rights Film Festival runs from September 26 through September 28.  All films are screened at Historic Arkansas Museum.

Tonight’s film is Gideon’s Army.  It starts at 6pm.  It is a documentary which follows three young, committed Public Defenders who are dedicated to working for the people society would rather forget. Long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads are so common that even the most committed often give up.

In 1961 Clarence Earl Gideon was arrested for stealing soda and a few dollars from a pool hall.  He could not afford an attorney and was convicted after representing himself at trial.  Gideon appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court, which, in a unanimous decision, ruled that the right to counsel in a criminal case is fundamental to the American system of justice. 

More than 12 million people are arrested in the United States each year.  Fifty years after the landmark Gideon v. Wainwright case, most of them will be represented by one of the United States’ 15,000 public defenders.

An official selection of the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, GIDEON’S ARMY follows a group of idealistic young public defenders in the Deep South, where lawyers face particularly difficult challenges due to high bonds, minimum mandatory sentencing and a culture that is traditionally “tough on crime.”  Directed by fellow attorney Dawn Porter, GIDEON’S ARMY follows two young lawyers as they prepare their cases for trial.

The film premiered on HBO in July.  It has previously been featured at many prestigious film festivals including Sundanace and Tribeca.

2nd Friday (Art Night) the 13th

Posted on by

2nd Friday Art NightIt is Friday the 13th, which means it is the second Friday of the month.  That means it is time for another round of 2nd Friday Art Night.

Among the sites this month are:

Butler Center Galleries (401 President Clinton Avenue).  Guests can enjoy the music of guitarist Michael Carenbauer and the art of featured artist Sherrell Holcomb.  In addition the evening will feature the opening of Abstract Ar(t).  This exhibit showcases contemporary, abstract works of art by Arkansas-based artists Dustyn Bork, Megan Chapman, Donnie Copeland, Don Lee, and Steven Wise.  It will be on display through November 24, 2013.

Historic Arkansas Museum (200 East Third Street). Visitors to HAM will hear live music by Gentleman Jazz and enjoy wine tasting provided by Zin Wine Bar.  In addition to continuing exhibitions, the evening includes an opening reception of Reflections from the Monday Studio Artists with works by Shirley R. Anderson, Barbara Seibel, Sue Shields and Caryl Joy Young.  The show features these four artists’ landscape works.

Old State House Museum (300 West Markham). Music by Big Silver headlines the offerings at the Old State House Museum. The acclaimed Little Rock band will be playing on the lawn of the museum starting at 5:30 pm. The band recently recorded an episode of “AETN Presents: On the Front Row” that featured the music of Big Silver member Isaac Alexander. Concert goers are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket. In case of inclement weather, the concert will be moved inside. Food and drinks will be provided for this free event.

2nd Friday Art Night runs from 5:00pm to 8:00pm and is free.  There are numerous stops at downtown galleries and museums.