the arts

Resolve to fill your life with more pleasure and beauty in our overworked world by getting to know the rich local art scene. At The Galleries at Library Square, exhibitions open every month with refreshments and live music from talented musicians, thanks to the Central Arkansas Library System’s Arkansas Sounds music series.

Several of New York’s premier art galleries have set up in Little Rock for the 50th Collectors Show and Sale at the Arkansas Arts Center. With approximately 150 works on display, the event features 26 different exhibits with styles ranging from 19th- and 20th-century American art to contemporary pieces.

If you’ve been down to El Dorado lately, you might’ve noticed there are big changes happening in this small community in southern Arkansas. These changes center around a burgeoning performing arts community, and at the helm is Austin Barrow, president and chief operating officer of El Dorado’s Murphy Arts District (MAD). Barrow talks to host Natalie Ghidotti about the first phase of MAD, what’s next, and what art brings to a community.

It’s hard to believe in this day and age that not too long ago, smoking was considered glamorous and even healthy. ESSE Purse Museum’s latest exhibit, “Up In Smoke,” takes a look back at a time when Americans were duped into seeing cigarettes as sophisticated and sultry — before the truth about the danger of cigarettes disrupted the tobacco industry.

Arkansas Arts Center’s 57th Annual Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition has grown to be one of the center’s most popular exhibitions. The YAA features more than 600 works created by Arkansas K-12 students.

Downtown El Dorado’s Murphy Arts District (MAD) invites you to the grand opening of MAD Playscape on Saturday, May 19 at 9 a.m.

The latest exhibit at the Clinton Presidential Library tells the story of South African President Nelson Mandela. “Mandela: The Journey to Ubuntu” features Mandela’s life through the lens of photographer Matthew Willman, along with artifacts from the Library’s collection, President Clinton’s personal collection, and on loan from the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Wilmington’s Cameron Art Museum at 3201 South 17th Street is a community jewel that features visual arts, a café, summer camps, concerts and a Museum School, offering classes in everything from painting and sculpting to yoga and tai chi.

Perhaps no painter is more closely identified with North Carolina than Bob Timberlake. Although he received no formal art training, he is internationally acclaimed for his intricate watercolor paintings, many of them depicting rural landscapes.