THEATER
‘PROUD!’ at Rep
“PROUD! Celebrating the African American Journey through an Artistic Lens,” what the Arkansas Repertory Theatre is calling “a new iteration of its living history educational production,” is onstage for three student matinees and two public performances this week at the theater, 601 Main St., Little Rock.
The student matinees are at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday-Friday. The public performances are at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free; reservations are required. Visit therep.org/proud.
The production is written and directed by Tamra Patterson Calamese and Ken-Matt Martin, with music direction by Ricardo Richardson and choreography by Dorse Brown. It will include original poetry by CC Mercer Watson and performances by Richardson, Brown, Verda Booher and Keith Harper.
It incorporates poetry, music and dance and “highlights historically influential African American people and events that have shaped the history of Arkansas,” according to a news release. As with the original production that debuted in 2024, it’s in conjunction with Little Rock Central High School’s AP African American Studies curriculum and in partnership with the Celebrate Maya Project.
Sponsors are Entergy, the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation and the Windgate Foundation.
Lt. (jg) John F. Kennedy (standing, far right) with the crew of the PT-109. Solomon Islands, 1943: (back row, from left) Allan Webb, Leon Drawdy, Edgar Mauer, Edmund Drewitch, John Maguire; (front row, from left) Charles Harris, Maurice Kowal, Andrew Kirksey and Lenny Thom. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston)
FILM
PT-109 documentary
The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, screens the National Geographic documentary “The Search for Kennedy’s PT-109,” 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, part of its “Movies at MacArthur” series. The film examines the true story behind the legend of Navy Lt. John F. Kennedy’s command of a U.S. patrol boat during World War II and documents explorer Robert Ballard’s travels to the Solomon Islands to find the sunken wreck. Admission, popcorn and soft drinks are free. Call (501) 376-4602.
MUSIC
Percussion performance
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Percussion Ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall at UALR, 2801 S. University Ave. Justin Bunting conducts. Admission is free. Call (501) 916-3291 or email [email protected].
Concert stream
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra is streaming its Oct. 31 children’s concert, “Dance Around the World,” for free on its website for use in classrooms statewide. The program, designed for students in grades 3-8, included pianist Thomas Sinclair, winner of the orchestra’s Stella Boyle Smith Young Artist competition, playing the third movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Emperor” Piano Concerto No. 5, with works by Aaron Copland, John Williams, Jacques Offenbach, Allah Rakha Rahman, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, Yanchen Ye and Juan Pablo Contreras. Valery Saul conducted. Teachers can register to stream the performance at tinyurl.com/4eysppz9.
Poet, young adult novelist and cookbook author Caroline Randall Williams reads from and discusses her work Wednesday at Hendrix College in Conway. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
ON THE PODIUM
Author at Hendrix
Poet, young adult novelist and cookbook author Caroline Randall Williams will read from and discuss her work, as well as her roles as activist, performance artist and scholar, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Reves Recital Hall at Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Ave., Conway, under the auspices of the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation. A reception and book signing will follow in the nearby Trieschmann Gallery. Admission is free. Visit hendrixmurphy.org.
Williams is the great-granddaughter of Harlem Renaissance poet Arna Bontemps and daughter of author Alice Randall. She is host of a new Discovery+ series, “Hungry for Answers,” for which Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis is the executive producer, and which explores the stories behind Black food in American culture.
ETC.
Museum grants
April 3 is the spring deadline to apply to the Arkansas Heritage division of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism for its Small Museum Grants Program, which funds projects of up to $2,500 for Arkansas history museums, historical societies, military museums and historic houses and sites. Eligible organizations must have an annual operating budget of $250,000 or less; must have a staff of at least one person, paid or volunteer; and must be open to the public at least 90 days per year.
Activities eligible for grants could include buildings and grounds maintenance, operating costs and utilities, equipment purchases up to $1,000, accessioning of artifact collections, conservation resources, exhibits, website design and other projects. For additional information and access to the online applications, visit arkansasheritage.com/available-grants/division-of-arkansas-heritage-grants.
‘Sovereign Expressions’
The School of Art in the University of Arkansas Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, in collaboration with Center for Art as Lived Experience, presents “Resounding Sovereign Expressions: Resurgent Indigenuity in Ozark Arts Practice and Scholarship,” which a news release describes as “a gathering of contemporary Indigenous artists, musicians, activists and scholars visualizing collective memories and Indigenous futurities,” Feb. 27-March 2 in Fayetteville at the School of Art’s Studio and Design Center, 696 W. Praxis Lane, and Mount Sequoyah, 150 N. Skyline Drive.
The program will feature public roundtable discussions, artist talks and musical performances. The focus is on topics of “Indigenous representation in museum spaces, land return, land grant universities, monumentality and future monuments and commemoration of the Trail of Tears,” according to the release.
Support comes from by a convening grant of $25,000 from the Terra Foundation for American Art. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information and a full agenda and to RSVP, visit art.uark.edu/news-events/resounding.php.
Conway arts awards
Conway Alliance for the Arts is accepting nominations for its annual arts awards through March 28, via conwayarts.org/artsawards.
Awards are in seven categories:
◼️ Faulkner County Library Outstanding Student Achievement: K-4 Division ($25)
◼️ Faulkner County Library Outstanding Student Achievement: 5-8 Division ($25)
◼️ Faulkner County Library Outstanding Student Achievement: 9-12 Division ($50)
◼️ Outstanding Student Achievement College Division ($50)
◼️ Gene Hatfield Outstanding Individual Artist ($100)
◼️ CAFTA Community Advocate for the Arts ($100)
◼️ Outstanding Arts Educator ($100)
All media and types of art are eligible, including visual art, digital art, music, theater, dance and poetry. Artists can be nominated in more than one category but must complete a form for each nomination.
The awards are not strictly limited to people who live within Conway city limits; artists and performers “who live, work, learn, or play in Conway” are eligible, according to a news release. Nominees “must demonstrate significant ability, progress made, and/or contribution to the arts in the Conway area.”