Welcome to the A.C.A.C.

We are a nonprofit providing arts & music resources to members of the Central Arkansas community who would otherwise not have access. Read more about us…

ACAC has a new space… at 900 S. Rodney Parham Rd, by Kanis Park in Little Rock. Its in the old “Gallery B” building. Here’s a map. Contact us to see how you can help. The space is staffed every week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, from 1:00 to 5:00 pm.

ACAC needs your financial support. Your donations are tax deductible through our non-profit 501c3 tax status. Please click on the button below to donate to ACAC.

Support for the Arkansas Community Arts Cooperative is provided, in part, by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

First Show Your Shorts of the year a smashing success!

Thank you to everyone who came to our first Show Your Shorts film night of the year on Friday!  We screened eleven film by Arkansas-affiliated film makers to a packed house. Check out the list of films and their directors below.

If you weren’t able to make it, check out three of the films we featured: “Mashup” by Mike Anderson, “EMOTIONS: RAGE, FEAR, LOVE” by Catherine Gilbert, and “Stepped On” by Kelly Griffin.

Our next Show Your Shorts is scheduled for November, so start filming!

ACT ONE:

1. “Rage, Fear, Love,” 14 minutes, Dir. Catherine Gilbert

2. “In Position,” music video, 5 minutes, Dir. Derek Brooks, Matt Catt & Jason Smith

3.  “Rocket to Danger,” 24 minutes, Dir. Anne Peterson

4. “Stepped On,” 8 min., Dir. Kelly Griffin

5. “Lena and the Mysterious Tale of the Forest that Growled,”  8 min., Dir. Kristen Gann*

6. “Summer Boys,” 15 min., Dir. Mike Griffin

ACT TWO:

7. “if all we’ve got is potential …,” 4 minutes, Dir. Matt Bradley

8. “The Groundskeeper,” 30 minutes, Dir. Barry Gunning*

9. “In Queso Fever: A Movie About Cheese Dip,” 19 min., Dir. Nick Rogers

10.  “Cubicles,” 14 minutes, Dir. Rebecca Jones

11.  “ Mashup,“ 10 minutes, Dir. Mike Anderson

Habitat: A Photographic Experience by Kat Wilson

Delta exhibition award-winner Kat Wilson will bring her stunning Habitat series to the ACAC for the month of March. 

This will be the first time the entire series of these large format portraits will be displayed. Her work will be up until March 28th–gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday 2 – 6pm, Saturdays noon to 4pm.

First Friday opening for Habitat: A Photographic Experience by Kat Wilson
Friday, March 5th 7 – 9pm
ACAC Gallery
900 S. Rodney Parham
Little Rock, AR

A film by the artist will be screened as well as video poems by Walt Whitman-award winning poet, Tony Tost.

Refreshments available; donations encouraged.

CALLING ALL FASHION DESIGNERS!

The ACAC is hosting a DIY Fashion Show this June and we’re looking for YOUR talent!

If you are interested in showing your designs, modeling, creating the interior atmosphere, or helping out in any way–send an email to info@acacarkansas.org.

We’re starting early and we plan to make this a unique show unlike any other fashion event in Little Rock–be a part of it!

Show Your Shorts! Friday, February 26th 7pm

Snow keeps coming down, the Winter Olympics are gearing up, and hot cocoa is flying off the shelves. To ACAC, that means one thing:

IT’S TIME TO BUST OUT YOUR SHORTS!

The wildly popular, bi-annual “Show Your Shorts” local film night is BACK! And it’s scheduled for Friday, February 26th, at 7pm at the ACAC’s HQ at 900 S. Rodney Parham.

This ain’t Sundance, folks. It’s a chance for local filmmakers to exhibit and discuss their recent projects — avant garde or family-friendly; festival-ready or not-quite-there.

As usual, we’ll have popcorn, beer and wine and donations are always encouraged. Admission is $7 or $5 if you are an ACAC member.

Not a member yet? You can join for $20 or become a sustaining member at $5 or $10 a month and get a year of extraordinary benefits such as discounted space rental, equipment loans, admission discounts, and much more!

Click here to learn more about ACAC membership, its perks and how you can make a difference in your arts community. Plus we’re right smack in the middle of a membership drive and if you become a sustaining member now, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win FREE ART!

P.S. Do you have a gem you’d like to share? You still have time to get it in! The deadline for submitting your film is Monday, February 15th. Send it to PO Box, Little Rock, AR 72203.

CH3MEX profiled by Sync

There’s a great article in Sync about ACAC member and artist CH3MEX and his show that’s currently on display at the ACAC gallery. Take a look at it here!

CH3MEX’s La Pinche Situacion! on display through February 28th

If you missed the First Friday opening this weekend, you missed quite a show! Murals, matachines dancers, and more were on display. Check out videos and photos of the night on our Facebook page! Or watch a slideshow of pictures here.

Don’t worry though–this show will be on display through February 28th. Make sure you see this mural! After the 28th, we’re painting back over it for the next show to come in…

New gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 2 – 6pm. Saturday hours coming soon!

Profile of a Sustainer

For the next six months, we’ll be highlighting sustaining members whose monthly contributions help make ACAC’s programming possible. First up…

ACAC Sustaining Member – Nancy Jordan

Name: Nancy Jordan
Occupation: Owner and President, Griffey’s Professional Uniforms
Artistic Interests/Media: I graduated with a double-major in Fiber and Advertising from the Memphis College of Art. I worked for 12 years as a stained glass designer in two major glass studios in Memphis. I enjoy figure drawing and painting.
Age: I’ll give you a hint–President Obama and I are the same age!

How I became an ACAC member: A member asked me to show my paintings at an art sale, so I did. I started attending meetings and volunteering. The rest is history!

Why I decided to become a sustaining member: Because I am lazy!  It is much easier to draft monthly than forking over dues every year. I feel that by doing it this way, I can actually give more
because it is spread out over the year.

You can become a Sustaining member too by clicking here. Help us reach our goal for January-we only need 5 more sustaining members!

Still time to show us your Shorts!

Is your video recorder with you at all times? Have you been making movies since you were a kid? Are you a You Tube superstar?

Then you should submit your work to the ACAC Show Your Shorts film nights!

Show Your Shorts film nights are a showcase of short films from Arkansas filmmakers. Animations, live action, documentaries, horror and more—this is your chance to show your short film to the world!

Click here to read an article from today’s Democrat-Gazette about the Show Your Shorts events and get your submission in! The deadline for submissions for Show Your Shorts is February 15th.

Submissions (DVD) can be sent by mail to
Arkansas Community Arts Cooperative – Show your Shorts
P.O. Box 2738
Little Rock, Ark. 72203

or by e-mail (Quick Media, You Tube links) at info@acacarkansas.org.

Call (501) 224-2979 for more info.

Maybe you saw us in the paper…

The ACAC has received some great press coverage lately. In case you missed it, Rachel Thompson’s “Drips and Drawings” opening was featured in Sync and in the High Profiles section of the Democrat-Gazette!

Click here to see us in Sync.
Click here to see us in the Dem-Gaz.

We also got some nice coverage by the Arkansas Times this week. The piece highlighted some of the new programs we have scheduled for 2010 and some new Board members. This is the first feature the Times has written about the ACAC and we’re thrilled!

Now that we might have your attention, we wanted to tell you a little bit more about the ACAC.

• We’ve been hosting diverse programs–from workshops to Fashion shows–for years now. From 2002-2008, we hosted approximately 50 events. But last year, we hosted more than 75–in one year alone! This means there is ALWAYS something going on at the ACAC. No matter what you’re into, we think you’ll find something to be a part of.
• We’ve been growing every year since we started. Our operating budget has grown from $2,000 in 2002 to nearly $33,000 projected for this year. That growth has occurred almost entirely through volunteer work. In 2007, we received a grant that allowed us to pay a part-time Executive Director. Even now, the vast majority of the increase in revenue and programming is due to the hard work of our volunteers and members.
• Since receiving the Expansion Arts Grant from the Arkansas Arts Council, we’ve employed one other Executive Director other than our current one. She worked extremely hard to set systems in place for our organization and left only to pursue her own business venture. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the work she did!
• Lastly, the ACAC exists to this day because of long-time and incredibly devoted members. The idea of having an arts cooperative that welcomes all creative people in Central Arkansas and provides opportunities to them that they may not usually get is way too good of an idea to let it fall by the wayside. That’s why so many people have worked so hard for so many years for it. And we invite you to join the cause if you haven’t yet.

We invite you to become an ACAC member and start making a difference in your arts community. Visit our new Membership Page and learn about how you can help us reach our goal of 10 new sustaining members for the month of January. We’re close to meeting our goal–but we’re not there yet!

And thanks.