OVERALL
EVENT:
”Hot
Seats in Hot Springs” is the
theme for the Arts Cooperative Teams’ first Adirondack Chair Exhibit
and Auction. The exhibit will feature 20 full-size Adirondack
chairs, artistically rendered by Arkansas
artists, and a special non-competitive category for 4 privately
sponsored chairs. Chairs will be displayed in various locations.
Cash prizes of $10,500 have already been awarded and People’s
Choice Awards of $500-$300-$200 will await the winning artists
at the Barbeque and Auction Saturday,
September 24th, at 6pm, at the Hot Springs Convention Center.
The 20 winning Adirondack chair designs
were chosen from 61 entries in a juried art competition held in
April. The winning artists had two months to transform unpainted
Adirondack chairs into works of art that
will be on exhibit in galleries, businesses, banks and tourist
sites in Hot Springs,
Hot Springs Village
and Gurdon. The three-month exhibit began at Gallery Walk, Friday,
July 1. After Gallery Walk, the chairs were distributed to various
locations for display until September 2nd, when they were reunited
at Crystal Springs Gallery, 620 Central, for the final exhibit
before the Auction.
Each chair is a unique, collector’s item and will be awarded
to the highest bidder during the evening’s Live Auction. In addition
to the chair auction, all 61 templates will be available in a
silent auction as well as other “seats” - theatre, movie, airline,
restaurant, plays, concert, sporting event and other valuable
seats. Tickets are $50. For further information, contact ACT at
501-625-3992 or fill out
our Contact
Form.
COMPETITIVE
CATEGORY:
In the competitive category, artists throughout the state were
invited to submit original designs depicting their finished chair
by completing an 11”x14” chair template. Sixty-one templates were
entered and a panel of 3 distinguished and recognized professionals
selected the top 20 designs to receive an actual chair to execute
and be displayed throughout the city during the summer. The 20
selected artists each received $500 upon completion of their chairs,
a Gold Award certificate, and listing in the published catalog.
Signs will be on display with each chair and will include a photo
of the artist, a biography and narrative of their design. All
chairs will have a plaque listing the title, artist, medium, and
sponsors.
THE
JURY::
Sally Williams,
of the Arkansas Arts Council serves as Artist Services Manager,
documenting and promoting Arkansas
visual arts and artists through the Arkansas Artists Registry.
Information on hundreds of artists is available to anyone interested
in the visual arts to include: artists, businesses, gallery owners,
collectors, dealers, curators, architects and interior designers.
The Registry also co-sponsors the annual "Small Works On
Paper" exhibition.
Garbo Hearne
of Little Rock, is director of Hearne Fine Art and Pyramid Art, Books &
Custom Framing since 1988. Pyramid has become a cultural center
of African-American life in central Arkansas.
Hearne also serves on the board of directors of the Mid-America
Arts Alliance and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Among her many
other accomplishments, Hearne was one of 11 judges selected by
the Governor to choose the design of the state quarter.
John Villani,
of Santa Fe, New Mexico,
is Director of Communications for the Institute
of American Indian Arts
in Santa Fe, and is
author of “The 100
Best
Art Towns
in America.”
Villani served as art critic for the Arizona
Republic for nearly
four years and has traveled extensively sampling the best of the
arts and culture the country has to offer. Published this year,
his fourth edition lists Hot Springs
as #4 best, after Santa Fe, NM, Loveland, CO, and Sarasota,
FL, respectively.
NON-COMPETITIVE
CATEGORY:
By special request, a non-competitive category was established
for students, clubs, or individuals that obtained a private $1000
sponsorship for their chair. This special sponsorship offers emerging
artists the opportunity to participate in an art exhibit alongside
professional artists. These chairs will have a plaque, will be
displayed throughout the summer where requested by the sponsor,
and will be auctioned at the barbeque, but will not be included
in the juried competition for cash awards.
The chairs in this category
are:
- “Full Bloom” by Lezlee White
of Gurdon. Sponsored by C. Louis & Mary C. Cabe Foundation.
Displayed at First State Bank, 100 E. Main, Gurdon.
- “A Day at the Beach” by the
Hot
Springs Home Schooled Kids. Sponsored
by Doug Martin & Melanie Masino. Displayed at Mid-America Science Museum.
- “Postcards From
the Beach” by First Step Adult Artists. Sponsored by Morris
Foundation. Displayed at the Sentinel Record.
The 24th
Chair - “Peace of Mind” by Ann Shedelbower of Hot
Springs - was specially commissioned by
ACT and will be used to promote the Adirondack Chair Annual Event.
It will be on display at Rivermarket and various Lawn & Garden
shows throughout the year, traveling with Adirondack
Chair-maker, Joe Kelley.
ARTISTS AWARDS:
- $11,500 in cash awards
- $500 for each of the 20 artists
chosen to paint a chair.
- An additional $500 award for
“Hot Springs=Natural Balance” was presented to artist Cait Stanley,
creator of the chair chosen for the Hot Springs Convention Center’s
permanent art collection.
- $500-$300-$200/1st, 2nd, 3rd
People’s Choice Awards at the Sep 24th BBQ & Auction
CHAIRS:
Locals and visitors have been relaxing in Adirondack
style chairs along historic Bath House Row since the late 1800’s.
When seeking a symbol to feature in their annual fundraising event,
it was only fitting that these chairs were chosen to be the key
element. The Adirondack chair honors the
famous chairs that have graced the decks of the bathhouses in
Hot Springs for years
as a symbol of the resort and of Bath House Row.
The Adirondack-styled
chairs, crafted at Joe Kelley’s Wood Workshop in Lonoke, are made
of cypress that is grown and milled in Arkansas.
“Cypress is chosen
for its durability,” states Kelley. “It weathers beautifully.
I have chairs that still look great even after seven years outdoors.”
Kelley’s chair production
begins with his purchase of green cypress that he stacks and stores
on his land for up to a year before it is ready to be cut. He
uses a jig to produce the uniform shape and completes his chairs
by routing the edges of the boards and smoothly sanding the wood.
Kelley says he inspects each board and rejects those with knots,
choosing only the best boards for his chairs.
Kelley, 76, picked up
his ‘hobby’ after retirement and has added footstools, tables,
baskets, swings and benches to his inventory. He and his family
can be found working garden and craft shows throughout the state.
His is a well-known face at the Arkansas Flower and Garden Show
and at Rivermarket, where his quality work has earned him interviews
on Channel 11 with Tom Brown. Kelley is easy to spot in his baseball
cap, plaid shirt and jeans, relaxing in one of his comfortable
chairs, as his wife Margie fills out an invoice and his son-in-law
Doug loads chairs for customers. Kelley’s pride in his work and
his family’s pride in him are evident as they each do their part
to help with the business.
BBQ & AUCTION:
The completed chairs and the 61 design templates will be auctioned
at the “Tourist” themed ”Hot Seats in Hot Springs Barbeque & Auction”, September 24th, at 6pm, at the Hot Springs Convention Center. Three chairs
will receive “People’s Choice” awards the night of the BBQ.
Each chair is a unique,
collector’s item and will be awarded to the highest bidder during
the evening’s Live Auction. This will be an opportunity to see
all the chairs together, meet the artists, and vote for a favorite
chair. In addition to the chair auction, all 61 templates will
be available in a silent auction as well as other “seats” - theatre,
movie, airline, restaurant, plays, concert, sporting event and
other valuable seats.
The Arts Cooperative
Team is known for its outrageous themes for fundraising events,”
said JoAnn Mangione, Executive Director, “and this year we expect
the tourist theme to bring out all manner of crazy costumes, Daisy
Duke shorts, cameras, tote bags, and
sunglasses.”
The concept of an art
project that could bring state and national recognition to Arkansas
artists and showcase the Hot Springs
arts community began with an idea Melinda Gassaway of the Sentinel
Record presented to Dorothy Morris of the Morris Foundation. “Mrs.
Morris brought the concept to the ACT board and agreed to find
initial sponsorship for an art competition and exhibit similar
to that of other cities,” said Fred Zipkes, board president. “Our
board loved the idea and incorporated it into our annual fundraising
program.”
Event coordinator, Kim
Everhart, will organize the program and recruit volunteers. She
and her camera crews will also be seen around town taking “Hot
Seats” photos for the poster contest in which the lucky winner
will be the person who correctly matches the most “faces” to “seats.”
PROGRAM & AUCTION SPONSORS:
The entire project has been made possible by grants from founding
sponsors - the Morris Foundation, Hot Springs Convention &
Visitors Bureau, the Munro Foundation,
Alcoa, Gwen & Cecil
Cupp, Jr., Dr. Martin Eisele, Regions
Bank, The Sentinel Record,
and the Arkansas Arts Council,
an Agency of the Department of
Arkansas Heritage, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
$500 EXHIBITING SPONSORS:
Exhibiting sponsors have made a $500 donation to sponsor a specific
chair and select its exhibit location. The sponsor’s name will
be imprinted on the chair’s plaque and listed in press releases
associated with “their” chair. The $500 donation opens the bidding
on the chair at the live auction. These sponsors include the Arlington
Hotel, Bank of America, Bruce & Janis Smith, Buckstaff Bathhouse,
Vicki & Ken Cook, Gallery Central, Gwen Pappas, Heritage Physicians
Group, Morgan Stanley/Robert & Duff Zunick, Oaklawn Jockey
Club, Regions Bank, and Barbara Schlesinger.
ACT – THE ORGANIZATION
The Arts Cooperative Team was established in 1992, and incorporated
in 1994 as a non-profit organization. Since its inception, ACT
has produced the Arkansas Celebration of the Arts, including architecture,
theater, literature, and dance in its programs; A Gathering of
Poets; Art Train; and the Arts Community Calendar. ACT collaborates
with art organizations, schools and businesses, in presenting
programs such as ArtBlast,
a children’s interactive art festival, Art in the Park at the
Hot Springs Greenway, and the Plein Air event at Garvan
Gardens. Quarterly, ACT also hosts “Arts Gathering,” a casual
gathering for those interested in the arts community in Hot
Springs. Everyone is welcome to attend.
It provides a relaxed atmosphere to network with artists, gallery
owners and members of non-profit art organizations.
Proceeds from the benefit
will be used to further ACT’s mission to promote Hot
Springs – “The
4th best small art town in America,” as noted in John Villani’s recent book, “The
100 Best
Art Towns
in America.”
MISSION STATEMENT:
Our mission is to build
an alliance
of people with passion for the arts;
to advocate, promote, and chronicle the arts in Arkansas;
and, through collaboration, to provide opportunities
for experiencing
the arts and culture
of the Hot Springs
arts community.
MISC STATS:
- Templates Received
- 61
- Chairs chosen
– 20
- $1000 Sponsored
chairs – 3
- $500 Exhibiting
Sponsors providing opening bid for chairs – 12
- Cash Awards
- $11,500
- Youngest artist
- 18yr old young man from Conway - Ryan Johnson
Cities Represented
- Hot Springs - 12
- Little Rock - 4
- West Memphis - 1
- Jessieville
- 1
- Fayetteville - 1
- Benton -1
- North Little Rock - 1
- Farmington - 1
- Conway - 1
- Gurdon
- 1
