Kerry KrausConway has joined a growing list of Arkansas communities proud of their arts reputation. Out of this cultural explosion has come the annual ArtsFest, which starts today and runs through Oct. 10.
This artistic happening is a family friendly event for all ages. On Friday, Oct. 9 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. there will be kid’s scavenger hunt entitled “The Art and Music Amazing Race.” Ten locations along Front Street will have clues, with the first one handed out at the Eiffel Tower in Simon Park. Bailey Library on the Hendrix campus is prize headquarters for the finishers. The Eiffel Tower is a 21-foot sculpture replica of the Paris landmark constructed of re-bar by Finton Shaw, a local artist. It will remain in the park through the month of October.
Another “large” special guest is the 31-foot inflatable Pittsburgh’s Painted Pachyderm, another Front Street attraction. The whimsical sculpture is on loan from the City of Pittsburgh and serves as the festival mascot. It will be unveiled at UCA at 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 and remain there until being moved to Simon Park on Saturday.
Non-art themed activities on the docket include a bicycle tour of historic homes (bring y
our own bike), the Show and Shine classic car display and a chili cook-off. Visitors can choose from two event-ending activities at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday evening. The Conway Symphony and 150 chorus members from UCA and Hendrix gather in Reynolds Performance Hall on the UCA campus for ArtsFest Rocks Reynolds! The Hendrix Dance Ensemble offers a finale of “Fragments from Sappho,” a collage of poetry, movement and music. Reves Recital Hall is where it takes place.
A complete list of activities is available on www.artsinconway.com or can be obtained by contacting the Conway Downtown Partnership at 501-548-9950.
I am glad to see the city of Conway becoming more interested in the arts. To my knowledge the success of this movement to introduce more art into the city landscape can be attributed to Ms. Kim Williams,Coordinator of the Downtown Partnership, and Dr. Gayle Seymour, art historian at UCA, and I personally want to thank them for their work.I have a strong opinion however, that the evidence strongly says that the city is not interested in moving towards landmark works of art. What I mean by ‘Landmark Works’ is permanent works of art that reflect the heartbeat of the masses of the community. I wonder if the city leaders view is that art is something that should be here today and gone tomorrow. I wonder if they harbor a fear of the controversy that public artworks often invoke within a community. I believe fear is good, but only to the point of caution, not to the point of stifling or creating a bulwark against public arts development. Both, the leaders of our city and the many active and passionate artists need to be forever vigilant that old Procrustes still lurks in the halls of all government bodies and the many civic organizations.