The Homeless Project: Quality of Life in Northwest Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas, March 1-31, 2010.
The Homeless Project, a public art project created by artist and University of Arkansas Assistant Professor Bethany Springer, will be on display at four locations on the downtown Fayetteville square from March 1st – 31st, 2010. This public video and sound exhibition presents testimonies from a sampling of the homeless population currently residing in local shelters, makeshift camps, and transitional living facilities in Northwest Arkansas. The video project may be seen and heard outside the following participating venues and locations during the month of March: Fayetteville Visitors Bureau (21 S. Block Avenue), Opal Flyʼs Feel Good Lounge (40 E. Center St.), U.S. Center for World Mission (26 W. Center St.) and East Square Plaza (1 E. Center St.).
Funding for this public art exhibition is provided through the 2009 Community Research Award sponsored by the Jones Chair in Sociology and Family and Community Institute at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Special thanks to Dr. Kevin Fitzpatrick, the Family and Community Institute at the University of Arkansas, Kimberly Gross, Poppi Price, Betsy Gross of Seven Hills, Don Montgomery of the Salvation Army Fayetteville, Stacey Overfelt of Havenwood, Malen Gardner of Youthbridge, Randy Thomas of Sound Warehouse, Heather Kendrick-Gerlaugh and Lee Ann Kendrick of The Lighter Side of Dickson, Rowland McKinney of the 540 Film Fest, Dede Peters of ddp gallery, Foxfire and the gang at Opal Flyʼs Feel Good Lounge, John Sewall of the U.S. Center for World Mission, Julie Pennington and Brian Bailey of the Visitors Bureau, and especially to the resilient men and women who shared their stories to make this project possible.
The Homeless Project: Quality of Life in Northwest Arkansas
“Booming prosperity accompanying a tremendous increase in the area’s population has made Northwest Arkansas a nationally recognized economic success… A thriving housing market, booming business development and retail growing faster than nearly imaginable, the once quiet area has been a sea of construction sites for the past several years. And the results are some of the nicest neighborhoods and shopping venues anywhere.” – Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. March 13, 2007
“It’s estimated that on any given night almost 1200 people are homeless in Washington and Benton counties… Not everyone is enjoying the prosperity of Northwest Arkansas.” - “Quality of Life in Northwest Arkansas,” KNWA. October 29, 2008
In August 2007, I began interviews with a sampling of the homeless population currently residing in local shelters, makeshift campsites, and transitional housing in Northwest Arkansas. With consent of the interviewees, the testimonies have been recorded in their current place of residence using high quality audio and video equipment. To date, twenty-seven testimonies have been collected. Each interview has been edited down to a three-minute video portrait. Each portrait will be accompanied by audio testimony which offers a glimpse into each interviewee’s private life. These testimonies reveal memories and personal meanings associated with the term “home.” On a more obscure level, the testimonies also offer insight into the fundamental human need for security (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs) and psychological consequences experienced as a result of displacement.
These video testimonies will be presented as a touring public art project, entitled The Homeless Project, beginning in early 2010. As the project originates in Northwest Arkansas and most of the interviews were recorded in Fayetteville, The Homeless Project will be on view at four different locations on the downtown Fayetteville square from March 1-31, 2010. Four 40” LCD flat screen televisions will be mounted on the interior of four different storefront sites in downtown Fayetteville and face out towards the street through large windows. High-quality and weatherproof speakers, mounted on the exterior of the buildings, will allow viewers to experience the voices of the interviewees at street level. The project will begin touring regionally in 2010.
The Homeless Project examines how territory changes over time, and more specifically addresses how one’s sense of place, security, and ownership is established and lost. The purpose of this research is to raise social awareness of the issue of displacement and to encourage an understanding of the commonalities that link the sheltered and unsheltered by giving a public visual and aural presence to persons whose identities are less evident.
Benton and Washington counties experience double-digit growth rates each year, yet from 1990 to 2006, the percentage of owner-occupied housing declined in Northwest Arkansas (1). In a recent 125-page survey conducted by the University of Arkansas Community and Family Institute, the Northwest Arkansas Community Foundation, and the United Way of Northwest Arkansas, it was estimated that on any given night almost 1,287 people are homeless in Washington and Benton counties.
As the landscape of Northwest Arkansas continues to develop, it is important to address the needs of all community members, especially those whose presence is less visible. I believe that these conversations, presented in public space, will encourage open dialogues to address the necessity for stable and affordable housing amid extensive growth in Northwest Arkansas. This project also examines how development is affecting individuals within the community and transforming regional identity as a whole.
Artist’s Biography and Statement Bethany Springer
Since moving from New York City to the Midwest in 2004, I have been particularly interested in the idea of progress (western expansion) in the form of technological advances in communication, globalization, and product development. In my research, I attempt to examine how these larger phenomena affect regional identity and subsequently impact individual experience.
How place is established, reinforced, and lost is a concept represented in my work through metaphors of biology, territory, communication, and security. In a broader context, the work also explores escapism as an effective means of protection. Ultimately, I see my sculpture and video work as situational experiments that monitor awareness in a constantly accelerating world.
Bethany Springer (b. 1975 Washington, D.C.) received her MFA in Sculpture from the University of Georgia, Athens and BA from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. She has been a Visual Arts Fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA and a resident at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, NE. The recipient of several awards, Bethany has received grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Arkansas Arts Council, University of Arkansas Community and Family Institute, Iowa Arts Council, and Center for Digital Technology and Learning at Drake University in Des Moines. Selected exhibitions of her work include On the Street Gallery in Memphis, Maryland Art Place (MAP) in Baltimore, Boston Center for the Arts, Creative Arts Workshop in New Haven, CT, Zeitgeist Gallery in Nashville, TN, and Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, WI. Springer is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
University Symphony Orchestra – Feb. 22, 2010
The Fulbright College department of music will feature the University Symphony Orchestra in a concert entitled “Transfiguration” on Monday evening, Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the Walton Arts Center. The orchestra will be directed by conductor, Dr. Robert Mueller. Soloist Jennifer Dolkos, winner of the University Concerto Competition, will perform the Reinecke Flute Concerto. This concert will feature the world premiere of a work by Robert Mueller entitled “Elegiac Verses” for string orchestra, as well as Richard Strauss’s “Death and Transfiguration”.
The University Symphony Orchestra is made up of superior musicians from throughout the university. The USO presents a minimum of two concerts per semester, covering a wide range of repertoire from Bach through the present day, including the great masterpieces of symphonic literature. Recent performances have included Stravinksy’s “Firebird”, Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”, and a special performance of Bach and Beethoven at the Fulbright Exchange Anniversary with President Bill Clinton and the German Ambassador. The USO also collaborates with the UA Schola Cantorum and the UA Opera Theater.
Admission for this event will be $10 for the general public, $5 for senior citizens and $1 for students. Tickets can be purchased on the Walton Arts Center website (http://tickets.waltonartscenter.org/) or at the door. The Walton Arts Center is located at 495 W. Dickson Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Free parking is available across the street from the Walton Arts Center on a first come, first serve basis. For more information, please call the department of music at (479) 575-4701 or visit us on the web at http://music.uark.edu/.
Program:
Elegiac Verses, Robert Mueller
Death and Transfiguration, Richard Strauss
A message from the President/CEO of the Walton Arts Center
Dear Walton Arts Center friends and supporters,
It’s an exciting time at Walton Arts Center. As a valued patron, I wanted you to hear directly from me about the business that was conducted at the Walton Arts Center board meeting this afternoon.
Today, the Board of Directors took a step toward making a needed expansion of Walton Arts Center a reality. The Board approved a set of "Site Selection Criteria" that will be used to determine a location for building additional facilities. Before I go into detail, I’d like to give you some background.
As many of you know, in 2008 we completed a feasibility study to assess our expansion needs. The study confirmed that Walton Arts Center’s current spaces are heavily utilized—95% utilized, in fact. Because of this, we are limited in our ability to add more performances and serve more school children through our arts learning programs. Our community partners, like the University of Arkansas and local arts organizations, are also limited in what they can present and produce in our spaces. Simply put, we need more seats and more theaters to keep expanding our programs and serving as Arkansas’ premier center for the performing arts & entertainment.
The feasibility study recommended that, to meet these needs, we explore building two new theaters to compliment our current spaces: a 600 seat flexible space and a 2,100 + seat theater to add to our current complex of a 1200 seat and two 200 seat halls. As you may have heard me say over the past few months, we are not moving from our present location and facilities, but we certainly need to expand! Our vision for Walton Arts Center includes busy performance schedules in both our current theaters as well as additional facilities.
It’s also important to note that a decision on where to build the additional new facilities has not been made. At today’s board meeting, the Board of Directors approved a list of 15 prioritized site selection criteria that will help create an objective platform on which to review potential sites. The Board’s Facility Committee took great care in clearly defining and prioritizing the criteria so that, as we choose a location for our expanded facilities, we are able to go through a process that is objective, quantifiable and open, and that will ensure Walton Arts Center’s success for many years to come.
With each site, we will use the prioritized criteria to develop an overall assessment of that particular site. For example, does the site offer easy access to I-540 and allow cars to enter and exit the parking lot efficiently? Does the site create synergies with other cultural institutions or entertainment districts? Through this process, we hope to identify primary and secondary sites by early summer 2010 and have final site selection completed by late summer 2010.
For me, the most important message I wanted to share is that the process is just beginning, and the opportunities are incredibly exciting. I urge you to review the criteria and supporting documents, including a form that folks can fill out if they have sites to suggest. In addition, we are working directly with the various municipalities throughout Northwest Arkansas to ensure that we have identified all of the key locations for expansions. The form, the criteria, and additional information are on our website, www.waltonartscenter.org.
You have shown your passion for Walton Arts Center over our 18-year history, and we are extraordinarily grateful for your support and enthusiasm. I look forward to keeping you up to date and apprised of the latest news about our expansion plans as we move forward.
Sincerely,
Peter B. Lane
President/CEO
Walton Arts Center
“Un-Natural Histories – Paintings of Invasive Species” by Kristin Musgnug
An exhibition of new paintings by Kristin Musgnug, UA Associate Professor of Art, will open on February 10, 2010 in the Fine Arts Center Gallery. “Un-Natural Histories” features a series of canvases produced after a year of research documenting invasive plants in their “un-natural” habitats. Musgnug’s research included visits to Shenandoah National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, The Blue Ridge Parkway and The Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia; Caddo Lake, Galveston Bay and the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas; as well as the Arkansas Ozarks. Her creative research was sponsored by the University of Arkansas, The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and The Hambidge Center for Arts and Sciences. The exhibition will continue through March 11.
A Reception with a Gallery Talk by Kristin Musgnug will take place on Thursday, February 11 from 5:00 – 7:00 pm in the Fine Arts Center Gallery.
for more information, please visit the UA Fine Arts Center Gallery
ddp gallery To Transition From Retail Sales To Art Dealing And Special Events
Fayetteville independent business owner, artist agent and arts advocate Dede Peters will restructure operations at ddp gallery following downtown Fayetteville’s February First Thursday reception.
02.03.2010 – Fayetteville independent business owner, artist agent and arts advocate Dede Peters will restructure operations at ddp gallery following downtown Fayetteville’s February First Thursday reception. Located at 7 East Mountain Street off the Fayetteville Square, ddp gallery opened its doors in October 2006 and has produced over 30 contemporary art shows in the past three and a quarter years, providing invaluable exposure to nearly 100 local and national visual artists.
Peters will retain the downtown space to display art and host select exhibitions and events; however, ddp gallery will no longer keep regularly scheduled business hours after Saturday, February 6th, 2010. “I’m re-strategizing activities at the gallery. The commercial art gallery world is changing, and I’m following suit. While I thoroughly enjoy presenting exciting art to the public, a rotating monthly exhibition schedule is proving to be too ambitious for one person. I’m looking forward to working closely with artists, collectors and design professionals, as well as producing art events here at ddp gallery,” says Peters, known for her passion for the arts and her consistent support of not only the artist community but also all contributors to the creative economy. “To celebrate this change, I’m offering a 15% discount on almost every single art work in the gallery. This week will be the time to make that purchase you’ve been pondering and support the arts.”
ddp gallery represents approximately 20 artists and will maintain a majority of those relationships. ddp gallery will collaborate with regional arts groups and non-profits on special events, including a Spring exhibition presenting sculpture and ceramics of Chris Weaver during Walton Arts Center’s Artosphere event and exhibit of photographer Amjad Faur’s work during the Society of Photographic Education SouthCentral region’s convention hosted by the University of Arkansas this Fall. The gallery plans to honor its longstanding tradition of community engagement with future projects in the same vein as the 2008 Fayetteville Arts Festival limited-edition print sale and 2009 Project Feed Local exhibition to benefit the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.
The public is invited to ddp gallery’s final regularly scheduled First Thursday reception on February 4th, 2010.
Poor Richard’s Art, 116 S. First St. in Rogers Historic District is proud to feature our Jewelers for the month of February.
Poor Richards Art has a large selection of jewelry for that special February occasion. We have many jewelers and a broad range of styles. With 10 different local artistsans creating works in this medium, where else could you find so many unique gift ideas in one beautiful historic setting?
We also have the perfect card and of course Martin Greer Candy. Come in and we will gift wrap free!
Abstract Artist Mike Kious
Julie Wait Designs Gallery in association with Poor Richard’s Art features Abstract Artist Mike Kious
February 22-March 31. An artist reception will be held Friday February 26th, 6-8 p.m.
(alternate weather date March 5th, if no school in Rogers)
The gallery is located at 318 South First in Rogers, Ar and is open from 9a.m. until 5p.m. Monday – Friday and Saturday by appointment. 479-631-8706
"The initial inspiration for my work comes from nature…but from there my imagination takes each piece to a place that can even surprise me."
"I paint because I need to. There is a part of me that just needs to express it’s self by moving paint around on a piece of canvas till it just feels right."
See more of Mike’s work on his website and Facebook Fan Page: http://www.mikekious.com
Student Art Exhibition
I’d like to invite you to a special event, showcasing local elementary student artwork. Leilani Law, a local artist heavily involved in the Fayetteville Underground and First Thursdays on the Square, will present an exhibition of artwork from her art students at The New School.
What: The New School Art Mentorship Student Exhibition & Reception
When: Saturday, February 6th. 1:00-2:00 pm.
Where: Blair Public Library, Fayetteville, Arkansas (First floor children exhibition area & story time room)
The Art Exhibition will run from February 1st through the 15th. I have attached a few preview images of the students’ work. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me, Taylor, at taylor@thenewschool.org.
Fayetteville Jazz Collective, Feb. 26, 2010
Northwest Arkansas’ exciting new 17 piece big band, The Fayetteville Jazz Collective, will perform Friday evening, February 26 from 8:00 p.m.to 11:00 p.m. at Teatro Scarpino.
Founded in the summer of 2009, the FJC performs jazz at a high standard creating an energetic and exciting atmosphere for dancers and jazz enthusiasts alike. The band will showcase charts by Emmy winning composer Dr. James Greeson and band member Rick Salonen as well as a wide variety of standards by Sammy Nestico, Thad Jones, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Chick Corea, and Gordon Goodwin.
Teatro Scarpino is located at 329 N. West Avenue, just one block north of the Walton Arts Center. Parking will be available in surrounding lots, with free parking in the Walton Arts Center parking lot on a first come, first serve basis. Teatro Scarpino serves fine wines, premium beers, mixed drinks, antipasto, imported cheese plates, and gelato desserts.
The Fayetteville Jazz Collective consists of 17 local musicians. The performers are Nathan Mcleod, Jonathan Howland, Sarah Manasreh, Rick Salonen, and CJ Weatherford on saxophone, Michael Olefsky, Steve Carruthers, Gerald Sloan, and Matt Shipes on trombone, Chase Cavalier, Michael Howland, Rob Kain and Shane Harris on trumpet, Ben Harris on guitar, Drew Packard on bass, Claudia Burson on piano and Darren Novotny on drum set.
Teatro Scarpino will open its doors at 7:00 p.m. and there will be a $10 cover charge. Tables are limited, so come early for preferred seating. For more information, contact the venue at (479) 409-3772.
Arkansas Saxophone Quartet Concert – UA campus, Feb. 25
The Fulbright College department of music will feature guest artists, the Arkansas Saxophone Quartet in concert on Thursday evening, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall. The quartet will perform works by J.S. Bach, Alfred Desenclos, Neil Flory, Jacob Ter Veldhuis, and Sonny Burnette.
The Arkansas Saxophone Quartet was formed in the fall of 2007 and consists of four outstanding saxophonists with extensive performing experience. The members are Andy Wen on soprano saxophone, Caroline Taylor on alto saxophone, Brent Bristow on tenor saxophone, and Jackie Lamar on baritone saxophone. They are the saxophone professors at the University of Arkansas Little Rock, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkansas State University-Beebe, and the University of Central Arkansas, respectively. The ensemble is equally adept at all styles of chamber music ranging from transcriptions to avant-garde contemporary music.
The Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall is located in the Fine Arts Building on the UA Fayetteville campus. Free parking is available in the parking deck, which can be accessed from Stadium Drive and is located directly to the west of the Fine Arts Building. The admission is free and the public is cordially invited to attend. For more information, please call the department of music at (479) 575-4701 or visit us on the web at http://music.uark.edu.
Program:
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Prelude from Partita No. 3 for violin, J.S. Bach
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Quatuor (1964), Alfred Desenclos
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Interchangeable Identities (2008), Neil Flory
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Heartbreakers (2006), Jacob Ter Veldhuis
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When Saxohponists Collide, Sonny Burnette