ART & EXHIBITS
‘Working America’
“Working America,” photographs by Sam Comen of immigrants and first-generation Americans at work in small, skilled trades “as icons of the American experience,” according to a news release, goes on display Friday at the Rogers Historical Museum, 313 S. Second St. at Cherry Street, Rogers.
The touring exhibit, from ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance, remains on display through Jan. 7. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Admission is free. Call (479) 621-1154.
‘Whimsical and Quirky’
“Whimsical and Quirky Drawings of Ike Garlington,” works primarily in ink and colored pencil on paper by the Little Rock artist, are on display through Nov. 30 in the College Gallery at East Arkansas Community College, 1700 Newcastle Road, Forrest City. Hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. Admission is free. Call (870) 633-4480 or visit eacc.edu.
MUSIC
Sax star at HSU
Jazz saxophonist Lou Marini, best known for being part of the “Saturday Night Live” and Blues Brothers bands, joins the Arkansas All-Star Big Band for a performance at 7 p.m. Monday in Arkansas Hall at Henderson State University, 1118 Henderson St., Arkadelphia. Tickets are $15; visit hsu.edu/marini.
‘Arkansas Talent’ tryouts
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will kick off its first Arkansas Talent singing competition Nov. 18 at the River Market Pavilions, behind the Ottenheimer Market Hall, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. The orchestra is seeking the state’s best vocal talent; two winners will have the chance to headline the orchestra’s December 2024 Home for the Holidays pops concerts.
On-site registration begins at 8:30 a.m.; auditions begin at 10 a.m. The first 200 applicants are guaranteed a chance to try out — sign up at arkansassymphony.org/arkansas-talent-nov. There’s no fee to participate (you may have to pay to park nearby) and no age limit (parents or guardians will need to sign a waiver form for contestants under 18). Be prepared to sing up to one minute of any song, a cappella (no instruments provided; do not bring an accompaniment or song track).
Judges include “American Idol” Season 8 winner Kris Allen, area musicians Bonnie Montgomery and Rodney Block and Arkansas Symphony Music Director Geoffrey Robson. They have the option, depending on turnout, to shorten any audition.
This will be the first of three rounds of auditions; semifinalists will vie Jan. 18 with finalists going head-to-head May 11. The two winners will be named May 12. Visit facebook.com/events/2459785514194154.
ETC.
‘Cemetery Angel’
Ruth Coker Burks, known as the “Arkansas Cemetery Angel,” and Andrew Amstutz, assistant professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, will engage in “A Conversation with Ruth Coker Burks, the ‘Arkansas Cemetery Angel’: AIDS Activism & New Archives in Arkansas,” 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Little Rock’s Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St. It’s part of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Evenings with History lecture series. Refreshments will be served at 7 p.m.
Burks was a caregiver and AIDS activist in Arkansas from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s who provided a final resting place in the Files Cemetery in Hot Springs for some of the men she cared for.
Admission to the series is by subscription, but visitors are welcome to attend individual talks for free, as can UALR students. Email [email protected] or visit ualr.edu/history/history-institute.
Photographs by Sam Comen of booksellers Chris Capizzi and Jenny Yang and dishwasher Jesus Sera are part of his “Working America” series, on display Friday-Jan. 7 at the Rogers Historical Museum. (Courtesy of the artist)
Photographs by Sam Comen of booksellers Chris Capizzi and Jenny Yang and dishwasher Jesus Sera are part of his “Working America” series, on display Friday-Jan. 7 at the Rogers Historical Museum. (Courtesy of the artist)
Ruth Coker Burks, known as the “Arkansas Cemetery Angel,” discusses AIDS activism in a talk Tuesday at Little Rock’s Historic Arkansas Museum. (NWA Democrat-Gazette file photo)
Jazz saxophonist Lou Marini joins the Arkansas All-Star Big Band Monday at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/R. Andrew Lepley)
