Posted on Saturday, December 22, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/60556/
The Fayetteville Arts Council is reaching for inclusive definitions and a regional outlook as its members look to the future.
Bryan Gott, incoming chairman for the Arts Council, said it is in the process of trying to understand its scope.
One step in doing that was an all-day retreat Thursday attended by all nine members.
Fundraising party to be held at Urban Table and Old PO on Fayetteville Downtown Square
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS – December 4, 2007 - Art Amiss Inc., a local artists’ collective will hold a fundraiser masquerade ball on December 31st, 2007. The event will be held at the Urban Table Bar and Grille and Old Post Office on the Fayetteville Downtown Square. The event will begin at 9:00pm and ends at 1:00am, and is open to ages 18 and up. Advance tickets can be purchased for $10 through the Art Amiss website or by calling 479-422-7305. Tickets will also be sold at the door the night of the event.
The New Year’s Eve party, called “Blue Masquerade,” will include musical entertainment from area DJs, along with hors d’oeuvres and several cash bars.
ROGERS, ARKANSAS (December 17th 2007 – February 29th 2008) – The Art Gallery at Julie Wait Designs will present new work by Local artist, William Dark, from December 17th 2007 – February 29th 2008. The public is invited to the opening night reception on Friday, January 18th 2008 between 5:00pm and 7:30pm. William Dark will greet guests in the gallery during this event.
William Dark is a local nature photographer whose lifelong passion has been to capture the natural beauty of Arkansas in print. Dark has developed a style in which he prefers to present the wilderness just the way Mother Nature created it. Sometimes the photographs might seem a little busy, until you start exploring the scene and discover the intimate details. “I try to combine various shapes and texture with dramatic light to lead the eye through the image so that the viewer can experience the beauty I see in nature”. Much of the original work is captured in high-resolution digital form, but large format film is occasionally used as well. In either case, the resulting color and sharpness is truly extraordinary.
A portion of the sales proceeds will be contributed to The Ozark Society. Since it’s formation in 1962, The Ozark Society has remained a strong regional organization because it has not allowed itself to be diverted from its principal purpose - the preservation of wild and scenic rivers, wilderness, and unique natural areas in Arkansas.
In addition to the exhibit at Julie Wait’s Design Art Gallery, Dark’s photography is also currently displayed at the Arkansas World Trade Center and the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center. He is one of three photographers whose work has been selected for the décor at the Mercy Medical Center in Rogers, due to open in 2008. His photographs have also appeared in numerous magazines, including Celebrate Northwest Arkansas, Ozarks, Rural Heritage, Porsche Panorama, and on the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism website. For more information, visit him online at www.williamdark.com.
The Julie Wait Designs Art Gallery at 318 S. First Street in Historic Downtown Rogers is open to the public 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday – Friday and by appointment. For information call 479.631.8706.
Fayetteville trio plays beyond boundaries at first local improvisational festival…
Three of Fayetteville’s eight City Council members made it clear that keeping the Walton
Arts Center in Fayetteville would be a priority in months to come, and three others
asked what could be done to keep the center in the city.
The council, which has been wrestling with a budget deficit in recent months, didn’t talk
dollars at a meeting Tuesday, but aldermen definitely talked support.
After a report about the Walton Arts Center and its ongoing feasibility study, council
members Lioneld Jordan, Shirley Lucas and Nancy Allen all gave a whateveris-needed
statement.
“ We want it to stay here, and we’ll do whatever it takes, ” Allen said.
Lucas described the arts center as a jewel in Fayetteville, adding, “ whatever we need to
do to keep it that way” and later, “ Whatever we can do, let us know. ”
“ Whatever it takes, we will do to make sure that you all stay, ” Jordan said.
Allen and Aldermen Robert Rhoads and Brenda Thiel all asked how the city could show
support and what the council and citizens could do “ to make sure it stays here, ” as
Allen said.
Council Makes Push To Keep center
By Dug Begley
THE MORNING NEWS
FAYETTEVILLE — The Walton Arts Center, celebrating its 15th year on Dickson Street, has outgrown
its confines, according to the first part of a feasibility study. Fayetteville City Council members
adamantly told a Walton Arts Center board member and two center staffers it certainly hasn’t worn out
its welcome.
“It was probably one of the greatest things to happen to this city in the last 50 years,” said Alderman
Robert Rhoads.
Rhoads and other council members said Tuesday evening they would do everything in their power to see
the center firmly rooted in Fayetteville, even if it has to move to a bigger space.
“We’re doing everything we know to do,” Nancy Allen said.
The center, which led the revitalization of Dickson Street as a regional entertainment destination, is
woefully undersized for the area’s needs, explained Curt Rom, an arts center board member appointed by
Fayetteville.
“It’s too big for small performances and much too small for big performances,” Rom said.
A two-year feasibility study found the center needs a main theater of at least 2,500 seats to meet the
region’s needs, Rom said. A theater that large will require a larger center, he added. Rom also noted the
current Walton Arts Center theater is used 95 percent of the time it is available, warranting a second
stage.
You are invited to attend the New Design School Fundraising Gala!
Saturday December 8, 2007
4-6pm
{warm} Cocktail attire encouraged
In the Fayetteville mill district
Live Music by Galactic Gutbucket and DJ Soulfree
Exhibition and sale of first term student work
$5 suggested donation benefits student scholarship
Main parking at the old feed mill building on South School St.
For more information contact Sonia Gutierrez at (479) 587-9925 or read the attached press release. (pdf)
