ART
‘Small Works’ in Mena
The Arkansas Arts Council’s “Small Works on Paper” touring exhibition opens Monday in the Carver Grand Hall, Ouachita Center, at the University of Arkansas Rich Mountain, 1100 College Drive, Mena, with a reception at 10 a.m. Thursday. The exhibition, 40 pieces of artwork no larger than 18-by-24 inches by 35 Arkansas artists, remains on display there through May 28, before moving on to the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas in Pine Bluff, June 6-28. Gallery hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Admission is free. Call (501) 324-9767, email cheri.leffew@arkansas.gov or visit ArkansasArts.org.
Exhibition submissions
July 18 is the deadline for artists 18 or older who reside in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee or Texas to submit entries — traditional and digital artworks — for the 2025 Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition at the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, 701 S. Main St., Pine Bluff. Multidisciplinary artist, cultural worker and naturalist Eepi Chaad of Houston is the year’s juror.
Acceptable art forms include paintings, drawings, original prints, fiber art, ceramics, sculpture, photography, digital works and video. Best in Show earns $1,000; first place, $500; second place, $200. There are three $100 merit awards and $2,000 available in purchase awards. The exhibition opens Sept. 18 and runs through Jan. 24 in the center’s William H. Kennedy Jr. Gallery.
Entry fee is $25 per, with a maximum of five entries per artist. Visit artx3.org/rosenzweig for submission guidelines and the entry portal. For more information about the exhibition or submission process, contact Matthew Howard, the center’s visitor relations coordinator; call (870) 536-3375 or email mhoward@artx3.org.
MUSIC
Summer Strings
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra hosts its Summer Strings Camp, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. weekdays, June 2-13, at its Stella Boyle Smith Music Center, 1101 E. Third St., Little Rock. The program is designed for string students of all ages and skill levels; participants will engage in daily instruction from directors of the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestras, Arkansas Symphony String Academy teachers and other members of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.
Campers will be placed in one of two orchestras; they’ll receive music theory classes and/or All-Region prep courses, and take part in instrument-specific ensembles. The camp includes faculty performances and a final student recital. ASO co-concertmaster Kiril Laskarov will lead a chamber music session during the second week.
Tuition is $350; scholarships are available. Register at arkansassymphony.org/summer-strings-camp. For more information, email camp director Katherine Williamson at kwilliamson@arkansassymphony.org.
Competition winners
Fayetteville clarinetist Arissa Cholthitchanta was the grand prize winner April 26 of the Stella Boyle Smith Young Artists Competition at the Arkansas Symphony’s Stella Boyle Smith Music Center in Little Rock. Cholthitchanta, 18, performed the first movement of the Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in f minor by Carl Maria von Weber. She’ll receive a $1,000 cash prize.
Nine finalists performed concertos in the competition, sponsored by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Guild.
Little Rock pianist Ryan Li, 12, took top honors and a $250 cash prize in the piano category, performing the first movement Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488.
And cellist Isabel Lopez Furlong of Hot Springs, 16, was the winner in the strings category, earning a $250 cash prize, after performing the first movement of Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in e minor, op.85.
