Art Galleries
Arkansas Studies Institute Galleries
The Central Arkansas Library System's (CALS) art program is located in the Arkansas Studies Institute (ASI), 401 President Clinton Ave. The ASI houses four art galleries, including a retail gallery, featuring the work of Arkansas artists and art related to the state. The exhibit galleries feature rotating exhibits including works from the CALS permanent collection. In addition to these galleries, several library locations throughout our system host various exhibits throughout the year. To view work on display in the Arkansas artists retail gallery, click here »
Gallery Hours:
Monday-Saturday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Raices
In the collection titled Raices, or "roots," artist x3mex compares the issues surrounding Mexican independence with the issues of today. In Mexico's bicentennial year, x3mex examines the history of Mexico to learn from the example of those who gave their lives for the cause of independence. His works are mixed media, including acrylic, spray paint, markers, and screen printing.
ASI Atrium Gallery
August 13 to November 30, 2010
Luke Anguhadluq: Inuit Artist
From the collection of Dr. J.W. Wiggins, Sequoyah National Research Center, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Mezzanine Gallery
July 9 to October 9, 2010
All exhibitions are free and open to the public.
Mid Southern Watercolorists 40th Annual Juried Exhibition
Join us for the opening reception at 2nd Friday Art Night, June 11, 2010 from 5 to 8 p.m.
ASI Main Gallery
June 11 to August 28, 2010
Arkansans in the Korean War—1950 to 1953
ASI Atrium Gallery
May 14 to July 31, 2010
Book Arts
An exhibition of altered or hand crafted books by Arkansas artists. The exhibition will open on the 8th of April in conjunction with the Arkansas Literacy Festival. The exhibition reception will be on April 10th at 2pm. (The April Second Friday Art Night is cancelled; however the public is invited to purchase tickets to attend the Friday night Arkansas Literary Festival Author's party located in the Arkansas Studies Institute.)
ASI Mezzanine Gallery
April 8 to June 30, 2010
Paper Trails: Drawings by David Bailin
An exhibit of large-scale, realistic charcoal drawings on paper.
ASI Main Gallery
March 12 to May 29, 2010
AAE State Youth Art Show 2010:
Organized by the Arkansas Art Educators and the Arkansas Dept. of Education
The exhibition reception will be on Saturday, April 10th at 2pm. (The April Second Friday Art Night is cancelled; however the public is invited to purchase tickets to attend the Friday night Arkansas Literary Festival Author's party located in the Arkansas Studies Institute.)
ASI Concordia Hall Gallery
April 10 to May 29, 2010
The Big Bears Arkansas ABCs: Original Artwork and Storyboard
Illustrated by Leslie A. Przybylek
Map Graphics by William H. Isenberger
Written by Dr. Charley Sandage
Take an alphabetical tour of Arkansas with Big Bear and his Critter Crew: Rabbit, Squirrel, and Raccoon. Winner of the 2005 Arkansiana Award for Juvenile Literature awarded by the Arkansas State Library Association.
Join us for the opening of the exhibit at 2nd Friday Art Night, February 12, 2010 from 5 - 8 p.m.
ASI Atrium Gallery
February 12 to April 30, 2010
Local History Goes to School:
Traveling the World with Mifflin W. Gibbs
This exhibit combines student art work with historical documents and text to follow the life and travels of Mifflin W. Gibbs (1823-1915), a prominent African American politician and businessman.
ASI Concordia Hall Gallery
February 12 to March 31, 2010
New Works by Sui Hoe Khoo
Sui Hoe Khoo, Malaysian-born resident of Jacksonville and graduate of Nanyang Academy of Art in Singapore, has been exhibiting his art since the 1960s. Khoo has shown his artwork all over the world and was awarded the Certificate of Merit from the Asian Art Now exhibition in the Las Vegas Art Museum in 2002 and 2004.
ASI Main Gallery
November 13, 2009 - February 13, 2010
Main Street in Black and White
Main Street in Black and White, organized by the Department of Arkansas Heritage, wil be on view in the Concordia Hall gallery at the Arkansas Studies Institute from October 9 through November 13
Butler Center Books authors Ray and Steven Hanley will sign copies of their book, Main Street Arkansas, on October 9 as a part of 2nd Friday Art Night in downtown Little Rock.
ASI Concordia Hall Gallery
October 9 - November 13, 2009
Woodworking from the Museum School at the Arkansas Arts Center
The Arkansas Studies Institute (ASI) Galleries present the third biannual exhibition of student and faculty work from the Arkansas Arts Center Museum School wood-working department.
ASI Main Gallery
September 11 - October 24, 2009
UALR Art Faculty Preview
Featuring painting, photography, fiber, drawing, printmaking, and sculpture.
ASI Atrium Gallery
August 14 - September 27, 2009
Rural Arkansas Churches
Rural Arkansas Churches is a collection of black-and-white photographs from more than twenty- ve counties in Arkansas, illustrating the beauty and history of the churches and their connection to the local communities.
ASI Concordia Hall Gallery
August 14 - September 27, 2009
Portraits from Prison: A Collection of Photographs from Cummins Prison
The Central Arkansas Library System invites you to view the first exhibition presented in the Arkansas Studies Institute (ASI) galleries: historical and contemporary photographs of Cummins Prison inmates from the collection of artist and author Bruce Jackson.
Jackson is a SUNY Distinguished Professor and Samuel P. Capen Professor of American Culture at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York. The exhibition and his forthcoming book, Pictures from a Drawer: Prison and the Art of Portraiture, are part of a larger exploration on prisons as cultural sites.
ASI Main Gallery
April 16 - June 30, 2009
Arkansas League of Artists Juried Exhibition
The Arkansas Studies Institute is hosting the Arkansas League of Artists’ first annual juried exhibition. The Arkansas League of Artists (ALA) is an organization formed to promote fine arts in Arkansas. The ALA provides workshops for members and awards scholarships to high school students. Townsend Wolfe, the former director of the Arkansas Arts Center, was selected as the judge for this exhibition.
The Arkansas Symphony Quartet will perform at the opening of this exhibition, as a part of 2nd Friday Art Night, September 10, from 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
ASI Main Gallery
September 10 to November 27, 2010
Making Pictures: Three for a Dime
By Maxine Payne
An installation of photographs and texts based on Maxine Payne’s limited-edition artist’s book, "Making Pictures: Three for a Dime" documents the artistic and entrepreneurial spirit of the Massengills—an Almond, Arkansas, family of itinerant photographers who traveled the state in a homemade trailer and took pictures with a homemade camera (selling them three for a dime) between 1937 and 1941.
The Arkansas Symphony Quartet will perform at the opening of this exhibition, as a part of 2nd Friday Art Night, September 10, from 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
ASI Concordia Hall Gallery
September 10 to December 10, 2010
The Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
ASI Mezzanine Gallery
November 12, 2010 to January 29, 2011
All exhibitions are free and open to the public.
2nd Friday Art Night (www.2ndfridayartnight.com)
On the second Friday of each month, the Arkansas Studies Institute galleries participate in 2nd Friday Art Night, a time, once-a-month, when the galleries, museums and businesses in downtown Little Rock, are open from 5-8 p.m. for an after-hours gallery walk.
For additional information please contact Colin N. Thompson, Art Administrator at 501-320-5791.