Arkansas Arts

A research center collecting writings and art of Native Americans hopes Arkansans will be more aware of racial issues.

Sequoyah National Research Center at UALR had just received a $20,000 grant to preserve Herschfelder-Molin Collection which depicts stereotypes of Native Americans.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville will get to display works of modernist American Art from the famed Alfred Stieglitz collection after years of court battles kept its purchase of the works on hold.

The museum owns a 50 percent stake in the collection with Fisk University in Tennessee. The state’s attorney general sued to keep the collection in the state.

Spokeswoman for Crystal Bridges, Diane Carroll, the museum will allow members of the public who would not otherwise have been able, to view the works.

Organizers of a planned U.S. Marshals Museum in western Arkansas are getting a big boost with a big donation.

The project in Fort Smith will cost $50 million, which covers the building, exhibits, endowments, and the first year’s operation cost.

Jessica Hayes, the museum Vice President, says its goal is to honor the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency in the country.

Conversations about racism, discrimination, and prejudice are never easy. People are sometimes unwilling to express their true feelings on issues of race for fear of being labeled racist, militant, or just too stubborn to let go of the past. However, a group of actors in Little Rock are learning, through a play titled Southern Cross, audiences can find new ways to discuss tough topics.

Malcolm Glover, a reporter and KUAR's local host during Morning Edition, joins a group of actors in The Weekend Theater's production of Southern Cross. Glover takes on the role of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the epic play that provides a fascinating look at Southern history and culture from the Civil War to the Civil Rights era. This is Glover's second time performing with the Little Rock-based theater troupe.

Actor and activist George Takei, best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek, is in Little Rock this week to perform with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.

While the orchestra plays, Takei will narrate A Survivor from Warsaw, a piece written by Austrian composer Arnold Schönberg in 1947. As narrator, Takei takes on the persona of Jewish concentration camp survivor.

After a little over three weeks of intense rehearsals, the Weekend Theater’s production of Pippin is underway with performances and a plot that are both entertaining and enlightening. I must admit, I’m a little biased, because I’ve been a part of the phenomenal team of cast and crew who have labored day and night to bring this musical to life.

My long journey from auditions, to practices, and even to the bows during curtain call on opening night has been an awesome experience that I shall always treasure.