fayettevillearts.org

The Fulbright College department of music will feature guest pianist, Vitaly Margulis in concert on Thursday evening, Nov. 13 at 8:00 p.m. in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall.  He will be performing pieces by Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Schumann, Grieg, Scriabin, Debussy, and Chopin.  Read more…

By Dan Craft
THE MORNING NEWS

FAYETTEVILLE — The location of a large performing arts venue will have to be determined by regional consensus that doesn’t exist today, according to a consulting group.

Arts Consulting Group recommended building a 2,200-seat performing arts center either adjacent to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville or west of the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville.

The venue, which would also include a 600-seat flexible space and a 100-seat blackbox theater, would serve Northwest Arkansas for at least 50 years if not longer, said Willem Brans, the vice president of the consulting group.

The Walton Arts Center’s 1,200-seat main theater is too small for many traveling Broadway shows and most major music concerts, and even the smaller performance spaces are used most of the time, said Herb Chesbrough, a senior consultant. The new venue should complement the existing center, not replace or supplant it, he said.

“The current facility is stretched to the limit,” he said. “It’s not that it’s obsolete, but you need additional space.”

Projected population growth in Northwest Arkansas and the increasing size of many arts productions both point to the need for more space backstage as well as in the seats, Chesbrough said.

The downtown Fayetteville and Crystal Bridges sites are the two best options among more than 40 sites considered by the consultants, according to the report presented Tuesday to the arts center board.

A possible location in the Pinnacle Hills development in Rogers was eliminated.

Interviews with stakeholders and potential donors to the $180 million project revealed discord concerning the location.

“Locating new facilities, possibly outside Fayetteville, remains contentious, and must ultimately be determined collaboratively on the basis of regionwide interests and by leadership donors,” Brans wrote.

“Location came up in every conversation we had,” he told the board.

No matter the site, the Walton Arts Center board should take the lead in promoting a new space, and needs to move quickly before any other group decides to build a large performance space, Brans said.

At least one for-profit group has recognized the need for additional performance space, and others could as well, he said.

Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody mentioned the city’s wish to build a parking deck and hotel downtown near the arts center, and Ed Clifford of the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce said land acquisition in Bentonville could be cheaper than in Fayetteville.

“I think every community in Northwest Arkansas would like to have a Walton Arts Center, but it belongs to the entire Northwest Arkansas area. And at the end of the day, the Walton Arts Center board has to make a decision about where this Walton Arts Center-North will go. And we will support it wherever it goes,” said Raymond Burns, president and chief executive officer of the Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce.

However, Rogers needs some type of venue for gatherings, whether that be an arts center or an arena, and we will discuss that need further at the on Nov. 18 at the 2008 Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce Leadership Conference, Burns said.

Rogers Mayor Steve Womack said it was disappointing to hear the Rogers location for a proposed center was no longer being considered.

“We still think that site provides the best possibilities for ingress and egress, and the closest proximity to necessary amenities: Restaurants,” Womack said.

“But if we don’t get the arts center, we will pursue something else. An arena is still on the drawing board, a place that host concerts, sporting events or things of that nature,” Womack said.

The $180 million cost estimate does not include any land cost.

Bentonville councilman Chris Sooter believes an arts center would complement Crystal Bridges, which is scheduled to open in 2010.

“Culturally, we are moving in the direction of becoming a more arts culture. So this is a great tie-in,” Sooter said. “We’re preparing for as much development as we can get.”

Fayetteville officials say arts in Northwest Arkansas has been anchored on Dickson Street since the Walton Arts Center opened in 1991.

“All of us as aldermen certainly want the Walton Arts Center to stay in Fayetteville,” sad Nancy Allen, a Fayetteville City Council member and a longtime supporter of the Walton Arts Center. “And I think we’re willing to go through quite a bit of effort to see that that happens.”

Several key steps can be taken without a firm location, Brans said.

The distribution of events between the existing arts center — jointly owned by the City of Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas — and the new venue will have to be determined.

Planning for a capital campaign, including a lead gift in the range of $100 million, can commence immediately. A regional group needs to be formed to promote the need for additional space, help determine a location, contact potential donors, plan a fundraising campaign and review preliminary architectural designs, he said.

Once a lead donor is identified, a capital campaign could begin, probably in 2011, and building could begin soon after if a location is selected by that time, he said.

“It’s possible we could collapse that into a smaller time frame, but there’s a lot of planning to be done, and I don’t think a consensus on location is coming quickly,” he said.

The Morning News’ Richard Dean Prudenti, Skip Descant and John Henley contributed to this report.

This Wednesday, October 29th at 3pm, a formal dedication will take place for the Hoover Monument which is located on the Frisco Trail intersection at Center St.

The monument was installed as a celebration of the lives of a local family who was killed in a car accident last August while vacationing in Mexico.

Maureen Hoover was the director of the University of Arkansas Upward Bound Math and Science program. Paul Hoover was a firefighter in Fort Smith. Sharon Hoover was a practicing architect in Fayetteville and Steve Hoover was an accomplished artist.

Randy Werner, a coworker and friend of Maureen, wanted to honor her and her family after their deaths and began exploring Steve Hoover’s art studio when he discovered an old piece that had been sitting outside. ” I worked to have the piece refurbished and back to its original color and met with the city to work out getting it installed,” said Werner. At the time of his death, Steve was working on a piece for the Fayetteville Public Library which is just up the hill from the Frisco Trail installment location.

Besides being a dedication art piece, Werner hopes the monument will be the start of an outdoor gallery that connects the Mill District to the Walton Arts Center and Dickson Street.

“I don’t want this piece to stand alone. I want it to be a jumping off point for more art on the trail,” said Werner.

What a truly awesome idea.

The monument is titled “city fragments” and on hand to dedicate the piece will be Mayor Dan Coody, the Fayetteville Parks Department and the Fayetteville Arts Council.

read the full article (www.fayettevilleflyer.com)

The Fulbright College department of music will feature the UA Trumpet Studio in a recital on Wednesday evening, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall.  This recital features select members of the trumpet studio in a joint recital.  Compositions range the spectrum of the repertoire from Haydn’s famous trumpet concerto to today’s most beloved sonatas.  Kristin Harwell will accompany on piano and organ.

Students performing will be Patrick Oliverio, Joseph Pullara, Alan Andrae, Adam Vanderbush, Kris Still, Will Nash, Robert Kain and Brian Glass.

The Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall is located in the Fine Arts Building on the UA 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) 575-47011 or visit us on the web at www.uark.edu/depts/uamusic” href=”http://www.uark.edu/depts/uamusic”>www.uark.edu/depts/uamusic.

Program

Carl Alexius (1928-2000)             Sonatina for Trumpet and Piano
I. Allegro
Patrick Oliverio, trumpet

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)        Concerto
III. Allegro
Joseph Pullara, trumpet

Alan Hovhaness (1911- 2000)        Prayer of Saint Gregory
Alan Andrae, trumpet

Kent Kennan (1913-2003)         Sonata for Trumpet and Piano
III. Moderately fast, with energy
Adam Vanderbush, trumpet

Eric Ewazen (b. 1954)            Sonata for Trumpet and Piano
I. Lento, Allegro Molto
Kris Still, trumpet
II. Allegretto
Will Nash, trumpet

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)         Sonata for Trumpet and Piano
I. Mit kraft
Robert Kain, trumpet

Arthur Honegger (1892-1955)        Intrada
Brian Glass, trumpet

For the sixth consecutive year, Designers with Julie Wait Designs of Rogers,
AR have been awarded multiple interior design awards by the South Central
Chapter of ASID (American Society of Interior Design) at the organization’s
annual conference.  These awards recognize the creativity and expertise of
interior designers in the three state area: Arkansas, Louisiana and
Mississippi.  Julie Wait Fryauf, ASID, Aubrey Mitchell Pate, ASID, Misty
Martin Dennis, ASID, and Leila Pollard, Allied ASID and LEED AP received the
Silver Award for the interior design of the Comfort Suites lobby in Wichita
KS.  In addition, the design team also took a Bronze Award for the interior
design of Lewis Epley Band Building located on the University of Arkansas
campus in Fayetteville.

The design of Comfort Suites incorporates subtle references to the
geographical location in the lobby space.  Many of the design features
emulate sweeping Kansas skies and windy plains.  The design elements and
finishes use undulating curves and vortex shapes to reiterate this idea.
Guests are greeted in the two story lobby with a dramatic custom shaped
resin cloud-like feature in which vortex shaped pendant lights drop through.
The custom shapes mimic swirling clouds and also provide an abstract image
of the hotel’s logo.  The large scale of the shapes as a whole is a dynamic
and appropriately scaled design element within the two story space.

The north lobby wall features a collection of 72 round mirrors mounted
together for a focal point and to repeat the scale of the large window
pattern.  The mirrors also reflect the specialty painted red wall finish
from the opposite side of the lobby and amplify daylight.  This grouping is
flanked by large illuminated floor lamps that add sculptural interest to the
space.

The Lewis Epley, Jr. Band Building Hall of Honor welcomes students, alumni,
faculty and visitors into the band building.  It promotes the band’s history
of spirit and serves as a recruiting tool for future band members.  Within
the Hall of Honor is the Wall of Honor that displays honors and memorial
tributes given to benefactors, past directors and alumni.  Custom stained
millwork with glass showcases provide a flexible way to present the history
and memorabilia of the band.  In the center of the Hall of Honor, a modular
seating group mimics the look of a group of tubas lined up on the football
field during the halftime show.  It provides comfortable seating for
students waiting to go into practice halls or meeting with friends.  A
custom trophy pedestal houses one of the most treasured national awards that
a band can receive.  The pedestal was designed to safeguard and showcase the
trophy, acting as the focal point of the Hall of Honor.  Track lighting in
the shape of a treble clef floats above the seating grouping and highlights
the seating below and the Wall of Honor.

Designers were given the challenge to show the band’s history through
photos.  They chose a mural of historical band photographs to be a dynamic
backdrop for the major circulation space.  Designers worked with band
faculty to sift through hundreds of photographs to find the perfect images
to tell the story of the band’s history and spirit.  Designers created the
full-scale collage of images which was printed as floor to ceiling wall
covering.   Julie Wait Designs, Inc. provides a full range of interior
design and space planning services primarily in commercial spaces such as
offices, banks, health care and senior living spaces, as well as unique
residences.

How did he do that?
Greg Moore shares his process and teaches you how he did it!

This is the first makeshop is a new series featuring a local designer showing how he created the unique style seen in the 2006 Fayetteville Arts Festival Poster and most recently in a background for his band’s web page. He sews and tears paper, splatters and brings it all together with a scanner and Adobe Photoshop.

Want to learn?
Call or email us to reserve your spot an join us Saturday, October 18 from 1-3pm.
$45 includes your use of our computer and software. All you need to bring is your interest to discover something new! All levels and ages welcome!

New Design Center
Empowering you with creativity and technology skills

479) 587-9925 studio/fax 479) 409-5064 mobile
NEW! 525 South School Avenue, Basement Suite, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701
Need a map? www.newdesigncenter.org/contact.html
www.newdesigncenter.org

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Four student-produced documentary films will premier at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27, at the Arkansas Union Theatre. The students made the films in graduate-level classes taught by two award-winning University of Arkansas journalism professors, Larry Foley and Dale Carpenter, who have collaborated on documentary films for more than 25 years.

Each documentary presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the student filmmakers. The premiere is free and open to students, faculty, staff and the public.

“The undergraduate and graduate students work for two semesters to create their documentaries,” said Foley. “They learned about every aspect of how to make a documentary from initial concept to research, filming, editing and promoting their production. Dale and I are very pleased with the results and think the University will enjoy seeing these films. They cover a wide range of subjects, and each tells a unique story.”

• Bridge to a New Life: the Story of Miss Malen and the Couchsurfers (filmmakers Sarah Moore and Cheryl Sybrant). Synopsis:The filmtakes a look at the lives of homeless young adults, age 18-22, in Northwest Arkansas who are given a second chance in life when they enter Youth Bridge Transitional Living Program, run by the witty, and sometimes exasperated, Miss Malen Gardner.
• Dogpatch USA (filmmakers Dixie Kline and Matthew Rowe) Synopsis: Arkansas built a theme park around Al Capp’s popular comic strip, Lil’ Abner, in the heart of the Ozarks. In spite of warning signs that it might fail, Dogpatch USA entertained a generation of people. A mountain of challenges finally crushed the park, but its ghost is still hanging around.
• KURM RADIO: The Soapbox of the Air (filmmakers Kelly Millar, Hayot Tuychiev and Nikki Wise) Synopsis: There are only a handful of independent radio stations left in the United States. The film follows Colonel Kermit Womack and his staff as they show just how much a day at KURM radio differs from the average, conglomerate programming.
• What Can Happen in Three Weeks (filmmakers Kevin Estes and Michelle Conty-deGroat) Synopsis: Each semester, the University of Arkansas hosts approximately 20 Japanese students from Shimane University for an intensive crash-course in American language and culture. The film documents the Japanese students and their experiences.

In April, Foley and Carpenter received the Best of Festival Award from the Broadcast Education Association for their documentary about the University of Arkansas, Beacon of Hope. The award was presented in Las Vegas. Carpenter recently picked up his fifth Emmy award, his first in the category of editing for Beacon of Hope at the 2008 Mid-America Emmy Gala in St. Louis.

FAYETTEVILLE, AR – October 14, 2008  - ddp gallery presents A Taxonomy of Wounds: Photographs by Amjad Faur AND Noctilucent: Paintings by Preston Graves. The exhibition is from October 15, 2008 – November 22, 2008.  A reception for the artists will be held on Thursday October 16th from 5-8pm. The gallery is located at 7 East Mountain Street, between Fayetteville’s historic Downtown Square and North College Avenue.

Two artists who explore and reveal mystery in their respective works come together at ddp gallery. Painter, Preston Graves of Seattle, Washington and Northwest Arkansas photographer, Amjad Faur, first met while working on Masters degrees at University of Oregon/Eugene – proving that  creative relationships forged in the university setting continue afterwards.

Photographer Amjad Faur has previously shown with ddp gallery and Dede Peters, gallery owner with a degree in photography herself, understands Faur’s aesthetic. “We have amazing discussions about technical aspects as well as content in contemporary photography.” Faur suggested a joint exhibition with friend and former co-student, Preston Graves. “At first, I didn’t think it would be a good match, the images that Preston emailed me where difficult to decipher.” Faur invited Peters to see some of Graves’ work in person, “Seeing the depth, the layers in the work changed my mind. Preston’s work cannot be experienced through a monitor.”

Painter, Preston Graves, constructs dioramas with a subterranean affect. He then uses his creations as subject matter for his paintings - reflecting the dark, cavernous feelings of his dioramas. Layered with objects and lit with a single light source, Graves successfully uses various mediums to translate the diorama’s intrigue onto panels. His technique allows him create tension between super flat paint and layers of acrylic medium. He paints purposed patterns that are at odds with a pictorial luminosity. “The paintings must be viewed in person, and then again and again – they are filled with little intricacies, waiting to be discovered,” says Peters. In the series, Noctilucent, Graves allows the viewer to be drawn into the works - creating an individual, mysterious exploration.

A Taxonomy of Wounds is explained with a story. Photographer, Amjad Faur delivers the idea in a series of 11 selenium-toned black and white photographs. The story is about a man who tries to express a notion, but finds he cannot – not with words, or tools or renderings. The resulting images were created from elaborate sets; Faur using a 4×5 camera. The large format camera gives negatives measuring 4 by 5 inches; Faur then contact printed them in the darkroom. The detail produced is exacting and given today’s frequent use of pixel manipulation, it is difficult to believe no trickery was used in camera or in the printing process. Part of this is because Faur chose to work with film and Agfa Classic, a paper that is no longer manufactured. Faur carefully choose the entire presentation, from paper, to mat, to frame – to present the story. Still lifes, many created on-location,  show the man’s struggle with translating his message. They include a flame hovering above a draped table, a meteorite shrouded in cloth, and a traditional still-life that is propped with charred items. Other elements of A Taxonomy of Wounds are

depicted with such images as a dark cave - guarded by theatre curtains, a hand stuck in a web of twine, and a face – only partially revealed. The series leaves the viewer desperate to understand – empathic to the plight - to keep viewing until something is captured.

More information about Preston Graves, Amjad Faur and ddp gallery can be found at www.ddpgallery.com or by calling (479) 442-0001.

Ceramic Cow Productions, LLC, of Fayetteville will be reviving, by popular demand, their production of Pearl’s Sixth Wedding, which premiered to a standing room only audience last May as a “fun-raiser” for the Fayetteville Arts Festival.

Produced by Ceramic Cow Co-Founders Julie Gabel and Mark Landon Smith, Pearl’s Sixth Wedding features the well-known characters from the popular Dupont, Mississippi series, which was first produced in Fayetteville in 2001 and has since been published by Samuel French/Baker’s Plays and is produced throughout the world. The characters were also featured in the film short, “Dupont, Mississippi: F5” which was featured at the New York International Independent Film Festival in Los Angeles.

In this production the audience attends the wedding as guests and witness the ceremony in its entirety. Immediately following the ceremony, the audience also attends the reception including all of the traditional elements of cutting of the cake, toasts, the first dance, the throwing of the bouquet and garter and dancing.

Pearls’ Sixth Wedding will take place on Friday, October 24 and Saturday, October 25, and Friday, November 14, and Saturday, November 15 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 224 North East Avenue, Fayetteville.  Doors open at 7.30 and the show starting at 8pm. Tickets are $17 in advance and $20 (cash), at the door; ticket price includes the show and the reception following with food, drink and dancing. Tickets may be purchased by calling Ceramic Cow Productions’ box office at 479.571.4879.

The cast of Pearl’s Wedding includes Warren Rosenaur, Vickie Hilliard, Mike Thomas, Dianna Blaylock, Angela Hicks, Bill Rogers, Patricia Kulish and Jules Taylor.

for more information visit www.typomag.com/frankstanfordfestival/” href=”http://www.typomag.com/frankstanfordfestival/”>http://www.typomag.com/frankstanfordfestival/