ENTERTAINMENT: Arts Council to honor potter as Living Treasure

ART

Living Treasure event

The Arkansas Arts Council will honor potter Stephen Driver, the 2025 Arkansas Living Treasure, at a reception 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Boswell Mourot Fine Art, 1501 Main St., Little Rock. The reception will include an art talk, feature video, a display of works and catering. Admission is free, but registration is required; visit tinyurl.com/msyj48y2.

Father’s photos

Maumelle storyteller and fashion photographer Michael Grice delves into the legacy of his father, photographer Geleve Grice, and his work documenting Pine Bluff, in an artist talk titled “Pine Bluff Through the Lens,” 6-7 p.m. Wednesday in the Governor Winthrop Rockefeller Lecture Hall at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. The talk is in conjunction with the museum’s current exhibition, “Kwame Brathwaite: The 1970s,” and the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center’s Juneteenth in the Rock celebration. Admission is free. Visit events.arkmfa.org/event/pine-bluff-through-the-lens-artist-talk-with-michael-grice.

‘Great NLR Art Tour’

The North Little Rock Public Library System and North Little Rock Tourism have created the self-guided “Great NLR Art Tour,” through July 31, part of the library system’s “Color Our World Summer Library Adventure.” Participants can visit 10 outdoor art installations and three North Little Rock galleries — at Argenta Library, 420 Main St.; Laman Library, 2801 Orange St.; and the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, 204 E. Fourth St. Pick up a map at any library location or the North Little Rock Welcome Center, 600 Main St. Visit each stop, check it off on the map and note favorite gallery pieces. Return your completed map by July 31 to any participating location to earn a prize. For more information, call (501) 758-1720 or visit northlittlerock.org/north-little-rock-public-art-scavenger-hunt or NLRlibrary.org/summer.

FILM

‘Don’t Ask’ doc

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, screens the documentary “The Strange History of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’” covering the U.S. military’s ban on gay men and lesbians, including President Bill Clinton’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” legislation and its repeal 17 years later, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, part of its monthly Movies at MacArthur series. Admission, soft drinks and popcorn are free. Call (501) 376-4602.

ETC.

CHARTS season

A screening of D.A. Pennebaker’s documentary “Don’t Look Back,” an intimate look into Bob Dylan’s 1965 acoustic tour of the United Kingdom before he went electric, kicks off the 2025-26 CHARTS Live season, 7 p.m. Sept. 5 at the Center for Humanities and Arts at the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College, 3000 W. Scenic Drive, North Little Rock.

The evening will also include music by Justin Bank and the Bijou Boogie Boys. Beer, wine and light concessions will be for sale. Tickets are $25.

The rest of the lineup (except as noted, all shows 7 p.m. at the CHARTS Theater):

◼️ 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2: “Spamilton,” a parody of a hit musical that rhymes. Tickets are $55 and $65.

◼️ Oct. 15: “MasterChef All-Stars Live!” Top chefs from the TV series “MasterChef” live on stage. $79, $65, $150 VIP (includes a pre-show meet & greet)

◼️ Dec. 12: “A Very Electric Christmas,” a “magical glow-in-the-dark adventure is perfect for the whole family!” $35, $25

◼️ 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3: “Divas of Soul.” Singer Cece Teneal pays “tribute to the legendary voices of soul music.” $50, $40

◼️ 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28: Country singer Keith Anderson. $65, $50

◼️ April 14: “Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat — Live on Stage!”

For many shows, beer, wine and light concessions will be sold. For some shows, ticket buyers can reserve a dinner buffet prepared by the UA-Pulaski Tech’s culinary faculty and students.

Also at the CHARTS Theater, the college has scheduled a series of 11 a.m. panel discussions that include post-discussion receptions with lemonade and cookies:

◼️ Oct. 7: Hispanic Heritage

◼️ Feb. 10: Martin Luther King Jr.

◼️ Feb. 18: Minority Business Ownership

◼️ Feb. “19: Loose Ends,” Windgate Gallery exhibit

◼️ March 11: Women’s History Month.

Visit uaptc.edu/charts.

Theme-park design

Ringling College of Art and Design is joining Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic Universe theme park for the inaugural Theme Park Design Competition, open to U.S. high school juniors and seniors, Sept. 1-Nov. 30.

The competition requires entrants to conceptualize a mobile merchandise cart that could be used in outdoor theme parks. A “prestigious” panel of judges, including professors from Ringling College of Art and Design, Universal Creative and other experienced professionals in the entertainment design industry, will review all entries.

Top prize winners will earn a $20,000 tuition scholarship to Ringling College of Art and Design and an exclusive VIP “behind the scenes” experience at Universal Studios Florida, including travel and accommodations. Second- and third-place finalists can also earn a scholarship to the 2025 Ringling College of Art and Design PreCollege Summer Program. Entries will be judged in December, with winners announced in January. Visit ringling.edu/themeparkdesigncompetition.

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