Texarkana Entertainment Blog

Any local poets have some slam magic to share on the stage in Little Rock? I know we have some local poets who are good enough.

The Arkansas Arts Center invites poets to participate in its Ekphrastic Poetry Slam on Saturday, April 30. The poems performed must be inspired by artwork in the Arkansas Arts Center Collection. In conjunction with the slam is a formal poetry contest. To register for either/or/both, check out the Arkansas Arts Center’s Website (click on the microphone).

What is ekphrasis, you ask? According to the word gods at Merriam-Webster, it’s “a literary description of or commentary on a visual work of art.” The first example that popped into my mind is John Keats’ incomparable classic “Ode on a Grecian Urn.”

Here’s a nifty description from the folks at Poets.org (that’s The Academy of American Poets): Poetry Confronting Art.

So get at it, poets! It is spring, after all.

- Aaron Brand

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Remember the scene in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” when Cameron Frye examines a pleasant painting of people enjoying a beautiful day at the park? That’s Georges Seurat’s “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.” Having grown up in Chicago, it’s one of the pieces that made me a fan of Impressionism (think Monet and Renoir) and Post-Impressionism (that’s Seurat), along with other similar works on display at the Art Institute of Chicago (to which Bueller and crew escaped, among other places, on their day of playing hooky from school).

Impressionism comes to Arkansas soon when the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock presents the exhibit “The Impressionists and Their Influence,” a collection of more than 100 pieces which runs from April 1 to June 26. On tap are artists like Monet, Cézanne, Renoir, Degas, Pissarro, Vuillard and others, including Mary Cassatt, an American. For more info, check out ArkArts.com.

- Aaron Brand

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Texarkana usually has a few youth whose artistic talents shine in the “Young Arkansas Artists” exhibition organized by the Arkansas Arts Center each year.

This year three Arkansas High School students get the honors as honorable mentions in the exhibition, according to an Arkansas Arts Center press release out today. They are ninth grader Brandon Edwards for the piece “Sarah,” tenth grader Carli Hemperly for art titled “Behind the Mask,” and twelfth grader José Diaz for the work “Wisdom with Age.”

All three were selected as one of two statewide “honorable mention” winners for their grade level by judge Blaine Caldwell (a University of the Ozarks art professor), which is quite an honor.

Works are on display at the “Young Arkansas Artists 50th Annual Exhibition” starting Tuesday. The exhibit, which features art from youngsters from kindergarten through twelfth grade, runs through April 17 at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock. Typically a selection of works, including local art pieces, comes to the Regional Arts Center as part of a state tour.

Texarkana should be proud of its young artists. Kudos to Brandon, Carli and José.

- Aaron Brand

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Local artist and Pleasant Grove High School art teacher Nicole Brisco recently had a first. The artist and her students have received plenty of accolades, but her work is now in the Arkansas Arts Center for the first time. Her mixed media piece “Industrial Revolution” is part of the 53rd Annual Delta Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, which is on display at the Arkansas Arts Center through Feb. 20. The exhibit features regional contemporary works. If you’re in Little Rock and love art, consider checking it out. We interviewed Brisco recently about the honor. You can see our feature story here (and a submitted photo of the piece below): Local art teacher’s work selected for Delta Exhibition.

- Aaron Brand

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Are you a Rodin fan? He’s one of the master sculptors in the history of the art, I believe, for the expressive power of his work. The Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock announced Wednesday the addition of three works by renowned French sculptor Auguste Rodin (think: “The Thinker”). The donations aren’t sculptures; they are drypoint prints that depict the journalist and politician Antonin Proust and the more famous French writer Victor Hugo, as well as an etching titled “La Ronde” (or “The Ring”), according to information released by the Arkansas Arts Center. The works date from the 1880s, and they’ll be on display through July 25. The Arkansas Arts Center already has two bronze portrait sculptures by Rodin in its collection: “Bust of the Young Balzac” and “Suzon.” For more info, check out Arkarts.com.

- Aaron Brand

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The Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock has what looks like a fascinating exhibit on the way. From May 28 to August 22 in its Sam Strauss Sr. Gallery the Arkansas Arts Center presents “The Miniature Worlds of Bruce Metcalf,” a collection of 70 pieces dating from the 1970s to 2001. The studio jeweler and writer creates interesting little worlds in his work, some of which is wearable. Here’s the Arts Center’s info on the exhibit: The miniature worlds of Bruce Metcalf. Though small in stature, Metcalf’s art presents some provocative characters and images.

For International Museum Day on May 18, the Arkansas Arts Center is offering discounted prices ($14) for “World of the Pharaohs: Treasures of Egypt Revealed.” The exhibit runs through July 5, so there are only two more months to catch it if you have yet to see it.

Closer to home, here in Texarkana the “Portraits of Arkansas” exhibit of Andrew Kilgore photos is slated to end Saturday. It’s a great series of photos culled from three different projects the photographer undertook in Arkansas. If you haven’t gone down to the Regional Arts Center yet to view it, I really recommend seeing these engaging portraits.

More info: Arkarts.com.

- Aaron Brand

Mummies are just one kind of ancient Egyptian artifact on display at "World of the Pharaohs," which runs through July 5 at the Arkansas Arts Center. Submitted photo courtesy of the Arkansas Arts Center and Canadian Museum of Civilization.

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Texarkana’s young artists typically have a presence in the “Young Arkansas Artists” exhibition. They have loads of talent. This year is no exception.

Four students from Arkansas High School are included in this year’s go-round, the 49th annual one, which will be held at the Arkansas Arts Center Community Art Gallery at the Terry House in Little Rock from April 9 to May 23. This exhibit usually comes here to Texarkana for a spell at the Regional Arts Center when the winning art tours different locations in the state. Local students Logan Friday, Haley Colbert, Wesley Cowling, and Bryce Jordan all have reason to be proud because they’re part of this year’s exhibition. Members of the Arkansas Arts Educators Association chose 142 pieces (out of 605 submissions) to be part of it. Kindergarten through 12th grade students were eligible.

I’ve covered the local exhibition stop of “Young Arkansas Artists” for a couple years now, and I’ve always found the local youth’s art to be interesting, compelling, and, most of all, fun work. If you see Logan, Haley, Wesley, or Bryce, give them congratulations on a job well done. We’ll likely get to see their work here later in the year.

- Aaron Brand

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The world of Ancient Egypt will be brought to life soon at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock. Covering about 3,000 years and 200 pieces of art and artifacts, “World of the Pharaohs: Treasures of Egypt Revealed” depicts a world long gone but one that still stirs the imagination; Ancient Egypt was a fascinating and accomplished civilization. Opening Sept. 25 and running through July 10 of next year, it will be the largest exhibition ever to be shown in Arkansas. For more information on the exhibit, check out the Arkansas Arts Center’s Website: Arkarts.com. We usually don’t cover exhibits this far out of town, but it’s such a huge and important exhibit that we think it’s worthy of some attention. So, we’ll have a story in the Gazette’s Accent page in the upcoming weeks when it comes closer to the opening date. But until then the Website gives a sneak peek of this incredible collection that should interest those who value the arts and history. 

- Aaron Brand

Submitted photo: 

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