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Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock Arts: Art Scene in Little Rock

Discounts
  • 360LittleRock — Sometimes has coupons for entertainment events.

Located along the southern bank of the Arkansas River, Little Rock is home to almost 200,000 residents. This dynamic city is experiencing an ongoing historical revitalization and preservation effort, especially within the historic Quapaw and River Market districts. Little Rock is home to numerous professional theater, dance and orchestral music institutions, as well as the Arkansas Arts Center, an expansive fine art and performance venue.

Arts Info

  • Arkansas Times — This newspaper website has terrific arts and entertainment coverage, including features, reviews, blogs, and columns
  • Arkansas Events Calendar — Great events calendar provided by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
  • InArkansas.com — Helpful guide with events information, features, videos, photo galleries and more

Art Museums

Arkansas Arts Center

The Arkansas Arts Center’s collection is highlighted by a substantial number of works on paper, including sheets by the likes of Rembrandt, Rubens, Cezanne, Van Gogh, and Jackson Pollock. The AAC also focuses on collecting contemporary objects in craft media (e.g. ceramics, jewelry, studio glass, etc.). For the budding artist, there are Museum School classes, and both serious art students and enthusiasts alike can learn from the Center’s many lectures, …more…

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville, AR)

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Information

Public Transportation: Poor
Handicapped Accessibility: Good. A limited number of wheelchairs are available from Guest Services on a first-come, first-served basis, at no cost. Assisted Listening Devices are also available for those participating in guided tours. Service animals are welcome in the Museum
Hours: Monday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Wednesday and Friday 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Closed on Tuesdays, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. The …more…

Theater

Arkansas Repertory Theater

Arkansas Rep is the state’s largest non-profit professional theatre company. Since its foundation in 1976, it has presented nearly 300 productions – including many world premieres – in its 354-seat MainStage theater and its 99-seat black-box SecondStage, both located in a historic building in downtown Little Rock. With an operating budget of more than $3 million, the company employs resident designers, technicians, and administrators, as well as guest artists from …more…

Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre (Conway, AR)

(June – July)

Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre Information

Public Transportation: Poor
Handicapped Accessibility: Good
Performances/Programs: 3 mainstage shows, and one children’s show per season with multiple performances of each
Ticket Prices: Mainstage shows $25; Children’s show $5
Membership: Apprentices ($50–$99); Players ($100–$249); Nobles ($250–$499); Royals ($500–$999); Patrons ($1,000+). Member benefits include name recognition in the season program; invitations to exclusive members-only events with cast and crew throughout the season; and access to the inside scoop on all …more…

Classical Music

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra named Rhodes scholar Philip Mann its Music Director in 2010, after a search lasting over a year. Since then, the ASO has been clarifying its programming, including a casual-dress “Beethoven and Blue Jeans” performance as part of its “Masterworks” series. The orchestra also plays chamber pieces and pops events as part of its annual calendar; all told, the ASO plays more than 30 concerts a year, …more…

Little Rock Wind Symphony

It was “A Cold and Windy Night” when the Little Rock Wind Symphony held its first concert – or at least that was the title of the program. They really blew that night, but only in the best possible sense. And those wind musicians continue to put their heart, soul, and lung power into the concerts that they play each fall, winter, and spring. …more…

Jazz

Arkansas Jazz Heritage Foundation

Though not explicitly a live music venue, the Arkansas Jazz Heritage Foundation plays a large hand in the perpetuation of jazz music in Arkansas. The Foundation has no street address or phone number, just an email address and a website detailing the jazz activities that it produces, as well as compiling performances and other jazz-related events offered across the state of Arkansas.

At the top of the list for the foundation …more…

Dance

Arkansas Festival Ballet

The Arkansas Festival Ballet is committed to presenting and promoting dance in Arkansas, which it does in a variety of ways. The company invites dancers across the state to audition for its productions; it provides classical ballet training through its affiliate, the Arkansas Academy of Dance; and the company also works with the Arts Across Arkansas Project to bring dance to performers and audiences alike in the rural parts of …more…

Ballet Arkansas

The current incarnation of Ballet Arkansas dates from 1978, when the nascent ballet company at the Arkansas Art Center merged with the established Little Rock Civic Ballet to form a new non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the Little Rock community through the presentation of high-quality dance. Ballet Arkansas has had its share of triumphs over the years; the group has brought in Mikhail Baryshnikov and Cynthia Gregory, among others, for …more…

Venues

Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts

The Wildwood Park for the Arts, located in Chenal Valley, seeks to inspire its visitors with a blend of nature and culture. The 104-acre woodland features an arboretum, several gardens, wildflowers, a dogwood trail, a huge swan lake, and more – and there are paved walking trails to all parts of the park so that everyone can access them. In these beautiful settings, …more…

Art Museums

Arkansas Arts Center

The Arkansas Arts Center’s collection is highlighted by a substantial number of works on paper, including sheets by the likes of Rembrandt, Rubens, Cezanne, Van Gogh, and Jackson Pollock. The AAC also focuses on collecting contemporary objects in craft media (e.g. ceramics, jewelry, studio glass, etc.). For the budding artist, there are Museum School classes, and both serious art students and enthusiasts alike can learn from the Center’s many lectures, …more…

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville, AR)

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Information

Public Transportation: Poor
Handicapped Accessibility: Good. A limited number of wheelchairs are available from Guest Services on a first-come, first-served basis, at no cost. Assisted Listening Devices are also available for those participating in guided tours. Service animals are welcome in the Museum
Hours: Monday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Wednesday and Friday 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Closed on Tuesdays, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. The …more…

Theater

Arkansas Repertory Theater

Arkansas Rep is the state’s largest non-profit professional theatre company. Since its foundation in 1976, it has presented nearly 300 productions – including many world premieres – in its 354-seat MainStage theater and its 99-seat black-box SecondStage, both located in a historic building in downtown Little Rock. With an operating budget of more than $3 million, the company employs resident designers, technicians, and administrators, as well as guest artists from …more…

Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre (Conway, AR)

(June – July)

Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre Information

Public Transportation: Poor
Handicapped Accessibility: Good
Performances/Programs: 3 mainstage shows, and one children’s show per season with multiple performances of each
Ticket Prices: Mainstage shows $25; Children’s show $5
Membership: Apprentices ($50–$99); Players ($100–$249); Nobles ($250–$499); Royals ($500–$999); Patrons ($1,000+). Member benefits include name recognition in the season program; invitations to exclusive members-only events with cast and crew throughout the season; and access to the inside scoop on all …more…

Classical Music

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra named Rhodes scholar Philip Mann its Music Director in 2010, after a search lasting over a year. Since then, the ASO has been clarifying its programming, including a casual-dress “Beethoven and Blue Jeans” performance as part of its “Masterworks” series. The orchestra also plays chamber pieces and pops events as part of its annual calendar; all told, the ASO plays more than 30 concerts a year, …more…

Little Rock Wind Symphony

It was “A Cold and Windy Night” when the Little Rock Wind Symphony held its first concert – or at least that was the title of the program. They really blew that night, but only in the best possible sense. And those wind musicians continue to put their heart, soul, and lung power into the concerts that they play each fall, winter, and spring. …more…

Jazz

Arkansas Jazz Heritage Foundation

Though not explicitly a live music venue, the Arkansas Jazz Heritage Foundation plays a large hand in the perpetuation of jazz music in Arkansas. The Foundation has no street address or phone number, just an email address and a website detailing the jazz activities that it produces, as well as compiling performances and other jazz-related events offered across the state of Arkansas.

At the top of the list for the foundation …more…

Dance

Arkansas Festival Ballet

The Arkansas Festival Ballet is committed to presenting and promoting dance in Arkansas, which it does in a variety of ways. The company invites dancers across the state to audition for its productions; it provides classical ballet training through its affiliate, the Arkansas Academy of Dance; and the company also works with the Arts Across Arkansas Project to bring dance to performers and audiences alike in the rural parts of …more…

Ballet Arkansas

The current incarnation of Ballet Arkansas dates from 1978, when the nascent ballet company at the Arkansas Art Center merged with the established Little Rock Civic Ballet to form a new non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the Little Rock community through the presentation of high-quality dance. Ballet Arkansas has had its share of triumphs over the years; the group has brought in Mikhail Baryshnikov and Cynthia Gregory, among others, for …more…

Venues

Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts

The Wildwood Park for the Arts, located in Chenal Valley, seeks to inspire its visitors with a blend of nature and culture. The 104-acre woodland features an arboretum, several gardens, wildflowers, a dogwood trail, a huge swan lake, and more – and there are paved walking trails to all parts of the park so that everyone can access them. In these beautiful settings, …more…