WORDS / ARKANSAS ARTS COUNCIL

The 2020 Small Works on Paper, an annual touring visual arts exhibition that showcases the work of Arkansas artists, will open today at Harding University at 915 E. Market Ave.

The visual arts exhibition will be on display through Feb. 28 in the Elizabeth Mason Gallery, which is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission is free.

“Small Works on Paper is an extraordinary opportunity for some of our best emerging and established Arkansas artists to showcase their artwork at locations all over our state,” said Stacy Hurst, secretary of the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. “We are honored to be able to support and highlight Arkansas artists’ amazing talent, skill and hard work. In our exhibition, you can view and buy artwork you’ll not find anywhere else in the world.”

The Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of Arkansas Heritage, coordinates the exhibition and makes it available for loan to qualifying galleries around the state. The 2020 exhibition kicked off last month with an opening reception at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock. A full schedule of the exhibition is available at arkansasarts.org.

Small Works on Paper is a juried exhibition that showcases Arkansans’ artworks that are no larger than 18 by 24 inches. Thirty-nine pieces are featured in this year’s show, which travels to nine galleries statewide.

Artists in the show are members of the Arkansas Artist Registry, an online gallery of Arkansas artists’ work. This year’s entries were juried by Jamie Adams, associate professor of art at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. Adams reviewed nearly 300 submitted artworks to pick the artwork for the exhibition. He also selected the following works to receive purchase awards, which are cash prizes equivalent to the value of the artwork. Purchase award pieces become part of the Small Works on Paper permanent collection.

Purchase awards are:

  • “Proud Tower,” acrylic and collage, by John Ahlen of Little Rock
  • “Self-Portrait,” charcoal, by Martin Balsam of Little Rock
  • “Ozark Gaming,” photograph, by Terra Fondriest of St. Joe
  • “Post,” photograph, by Cary Jenkins of Little Rock
  • “Reflections of Winter Series 1, Winter’s Kiss,” watercolor by Charlotte Bailey Rierson of Fairfield Bay
  • “Jonathan,” by Jane Rockwell of North Little Rock
  • “Palm Hours,” acrylic on paper, by Brian Wolf of North Little Rock

For more information on Small Works on Paper, contact Cheri Leffew at 501-324-9767 or cheri.leffew@arkansas.gov. For a complete touring schedule, visit ArkansasArts.org.­

About the Arkansas Arts Council

The Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of Arkansas Heritage, advances the arts in Arkansas by providing services and supporting arts endeavors that encourage and assist literary, performing and visual artists in achieving standards of professional excellence. In addition, the Arkansas Arts Council provides technical and financial assistance to Arkansas arts organizations and other providers of cultural and educational programs. Other agencies are the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Arkansas State Archives, Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Historic Arkansas Museum, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and the Old State House Museum. Funding for the Arkansas Arts Council and its programs is provided by the State of Arkansas and the National Endowment for the Arts.