Tag Archives: University of Arkansas at Little Rock

BUILD IT LAB today and next 4 Saturdays at Museum of Discovery

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NewMOD 021Starting today and continuing on Saturdays through February 21, the sound of hammering and sawing will fill the galleries of the Museum of Discovery during its latest project, “Build It Lab,” a hands-on exploration into the world of construction.  In partnership with AGC Arkansas, the state’s largest association of commercial contractors; University of Arkansas at Little Rock; and Home Depot, “Build It Lab” will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on five consecutive Saturdays, January 24 through February 21, and promises to offer visitors an interactive view into the many phases of construction ranging from framing to wiring to painting.

Museum visitors each Saturday will engage in five hands-on activities related to framing, waterproofing, plumbing, wiring, roofing, soundproofing and painting.  Some of these activities include an introduction to hammering and sawing, circuit blocks, marble runs and painting with the aid of stencils.  The activities will be facilitated by area construction professionals, Home Depot employees and museum staff.

In addition to the hands-on projects, students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Construction Management program will build a playhouse, focusing on a different construction phase each Saturday.  Once the house is complete, the Museum of Discovery will donate the building to a school for their playground.

“The mission of the Museum of Discovery is to ignite a passion for science, technology and math in a dynamic, interactive environment,” said Kelley Bass, museum CEO, “and Build It Lab is going to give our visitors the chance to do just that as they engage in hands-on construction activities while also observing UALR students building the playhouse that later will be awarded to an Arkansas school.”

“Workforce development continues to be a topic at the forefront of the minds of many Arkansans,” said Richard Hedgecock of AGC Arkansas, “We are proud to partner with these great community leaders to open the eyes of young people, and their parents, about the possibilities offered to them through construction careers.”

“Build It Lab” participation is included in regular museum admission.  For more information, visit www.museumofdiscovery.org or contact 501-396-7050.

Works from 39 UALR Artists on display at Wildwood through February 15

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8801eb42-ba23-4132-aaea-11672e96b233Through February 15, Wildwood Park for the Arts will be showcasing the works of 39 artists as part of their Art in the Park program.

This exhibit highlights recent work by Faculty, Students, and Alumni of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) Department of Art.

Tonight from 6pm to 8pm there will be a reception to celebrate the exhibit.

Following the reception, the art may be viewed weekdays between 10 am and 4 pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays, January 8 – February 15, from noon to 4 pm.

39 Exhibiting Artists Include:
Jasmine Av, Student
Heather Beckwith, Student
Win Bruhl, Retired Professor, Printmaking/Painting and Department Chair
Justin Bryant, Student
Byron Buslig, Student
Kevin Cates, Associate Professor, Graphic Design
Lane Chapman, Student
Taimur Cleary, Artist in Residence in Painting
Tom Clifton, Department Chair and Professor, Illustration and Drawing
Brad Cushman, Gallery Director
Jeffrey B. Grubbs, Associate Professor, Art Education
Mia Hall, Associate Professor, Applied Design
Kerrick Hartmon, Alumni
Morgan Hill, Alumni
Linda Holloway, Alumni
Amanda Hubbard, Student
Mehreen Khalid, Adjunct Professor, Photography
Joli Livaudais, Assistant Professor, Photography
Chelsye Mae Garrett, Student
Eric Mantle, Professor, Painting
Ian Park, Alumni
Tiffany Partin, Student
Jennifer Danielle Perren, Student
Katherine Purcell, Student
Laura Raborn, Alumni
Casey Roberson, Associate Professor, Photography
Sandra Sell, Alumni
Emily Shiell, Student
Allison Short Weaver, Student
David Smith, Assistant Professor, Ceramics
Aj Smith, Professor, Printmaking
Mesilla Smith, Student
Joe Tollett, Student
Joanna Waldron, Student
Michael Warrick, Professor, Sculpture
Marjorie Williams-Smith, Professor, Graphic Design
Spencer Zahrn, Student

Film CHOCTAW CODE TALKERS shown tonight at MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History

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MacMus Code TalkTonight from 6:30 to 9:30 pm, in celebration of Native American Heritage Month and in commemoration of the beginning of World War I, the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History will host a free film event, showing Choctaw Code Talkers, a PBS documentary that explores the military history legacy of Native American code talkers during World War I.

The free event is in partnership with the Sequoyah National Research Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  Light refreshments will be provided. Click here to watch a trailer for Choctaw Code Talkers. 

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History is a program of the City of Little Rock’s Parks & Recreation Department.

Trail of Tears Commemoration Day

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Today is Trail of Tears Commemoration Day.  There were several different routes on the Trail of Tears.  Little Rock was one of the only places (if not the only one), in which each of the tribes passed through on the way out west.

Much research on the Trail of Tears has been conducted by the UALR Sequoyah National Research Center (SNRC).

The SNRC recently opened an exhibit entitled “Toy Tipis and Totem Poles: Native American Stereotypes in the Lives of Children.”

"Ten Little Indians" spinning top for SNRC exhibit

Ten little Indians spinning top; Photography by George Chambers

The exhibit runs through Dec. 19. Held in the Dr. J.W. Wiggins Native American Art Gallery, the purpose of the event is to create awareness of the variety of native cultures and the achievements of contemporary American Indians and Alaska Natives.

The exhibit comes from the Hirschfelder-Molin Native American Stereotypes Collection, a collection of more than 1,500 museum objects and archival documents, possibly the largest such collection in the world.

The items were donated to SNRC in 2012 by Arlene Hirschfelder and Paulette Molin, professional educators and authors with decades-long experience in Native American education and Native American studies. SNRC archivist Erin Fehr will curate the exhibit with Hirschfelder, Molin, and SNRC staff.

The exhibit will highlight the areas of the collection dealing with children and Native American stereotypes omnipresent in the lives of American children.

By examining childhood objects – dolls, toys, books, games, clothing, sports memorabilia – the exhibit will create awareness of the inculcation of the images and the difficulty of changing mainstream thinking about Native American stereotypes.

In addition to presenting the stereotypes themselves, positive images and responses from Native people will be presented as an alternative.

UALR’s Sequoyah National Research Center is dedicated to the collection and preservation of all forms of Native American expression. Located in the University Plaza, SNRC has served as an archive for Native Americans for more than 30 years. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information contact Erin Fehr at ehfehr@ualr.edu or 501.569.8336.

Little Rock Look Back: Tom Prince – LR’s 67th Mayor

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Mayor PrinceFuture Little Rock Mayor Tom Prince was born on August 13, 1949.  After graduating high school in 1967 (where he was on the state championship golf team), he attended the United States Naval Academy.  He later received his law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and began practicing law in Little Rock.

In 1984 he ran for the City of Little Rock Board of Directors and was elected.  In January 1985, he was selected by his fellow City Directors to serve as Mayor of Little Rock.  He served as Mayor until January 1987.  During his term in office, Arkansas celebrated its Sesquicentennial. Mayor Prince oversaw the City’s participation in the celebratory activities.  As Mayor he was also a strong advocate for expanding the city’s involvement in quality of life issues through enhanced parks and arts while maintaining a commitment to public safety and public works issues. After the completion of his four year term on the City Board, he did not seek a second term.

City of Little Rock races are non-partisan.  After leaving office, he became involved in Democratic Party politics.  In 1992, he campaigned for Bill Clinton’s presidential bid in Iowa and other Midwest states.  When his law partner, Sheffield Nelson, ran for Governor in 1994 as a Republican, Prince resigned from his Democratic Party positions and worked on the Nelson campaign.  In 1997, he was elected chair of the Pulaski County Republican Committee.  In 1998, he ran for the United States Senate as a Republican.

In 1999, Prince experienced a family tragedy and took a sabbatical from practicing law. In 2000, he moved to St. Louis to become general counsel for a securities firm located there.  Following several years with the securities firm, he joined a St. Louis law firm in private practice.  He remained in private practice in St. Louis through 2012.

A St. Louis Business Journal profile of Prince in 2010 highlighted his interests in single action shooting and in horseback riding.

Regional Dance Concert Hosted by UALR this weekend

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UALR springs into Spring (today is the first full day) by hosting a major regional conference this spring expected to bring more than 400 visitors from 28 different colleges and universities from 10 different states.
ACDFA South Conference 2014

The 2014 south conference of The American College Dance Festival Association will be held March 21 through 24. Dance students and faculty from as far away as Baja, Calif., have registered to attend performances, workshops, panels, and master classes that will be taught by visiting faculty and internationally known guest artists, according to chair of the department, Dr. Jay Raphael.

The primary focus of the ACDFA is to support and promote the talent and creativity prominent at college and university dance departments across the nation. Raphael said the regional conference will also provide an opportunity for students and faculty to have their dance works adjudicated by a panel of nationally recognized dance professionals.

“The conference is a primary means for our students to gain exposure to the diversity of the national college dance world,” he said. “For our program to be only five years old at this point and to host a regional conference of this magnitude is a major accomplishment.”

UALR reinstated its dance major in 2009, and today it is the only Bachelor of Fine Arts dance performance program in the state. Hosting the ACDFA further solidifies the reputation of the dance program at UALR and helps to promote Little Rock as a beacon for performing arts professionals, according to Raphael. ACDFA has 12 regions throughout the country, which include the south conference. It also sponsors the National College Dance Festival.

Two works presented in Little Rock will be chosen for presentation at this event, which is scheduled June 5 through 7 at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. For tickets and more information, contact the box office at 501.569.3456.

Arkansas College Art History Symposium is today

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ualr logoFive University of Arkansas at Little Rock art students will present papers at the 24th Annual Arkansas College Art History Symposium on Friday, March 14.

Students will give 20-minute illustrated talks on an area of their research, similar to professional art historians. The symposium is being held this year at the University of Central Arkansas.

The following UALR students will present their work:

  • Ann Beck, a Master of Arts student with an emphasis in art history, will deliver a presentation called “Mirror Game.”
  • Tessa Davidson, also a student emphasizing art history in the M.A. program, will present on “Laocoön and his Secrets: Dating Attribution Concerns of the Vatican Sculpture Laocoön and his Sons.”
  • Hayley Chronister, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in art with an art history emphasis, will present “Thomas Gainsborough’s Response to Nature: An Analysis of Two Shepherd Boys with Dogs Fighting.”
  • Jeannie Lee, also pursuing a B.A. in art with an art history emphasis, will do her presentation on “Of Marriage and Death: Alternative Meaning in the Myth of Persephone.”
  • Badi Galinkin is in the Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art program with a graphic design emphasis and will present “Mrs. Musters as Hebe by Sir Joshua Reynolds.”

The symposium was established in 1991 by Dr. Floyd Martin of UALR and Dr. Gayle Seymour of UCA as a means of encouraging and recognizing student achievements in art history in the state.

The symposium, which has been hosted by UALR, UCA, and Hendrix College, has helped encourage cooperation among art history faculty throughout the state.

Each symposium includes a guest art historian, this year’s is Dr. Ann Prentice Wagner, curator of drawings at the Arkansas Arts Center.