See Their Garden Grow
ACAC begins a new chapter
Insufficient sunshine or excess water have been the demise of many an American houseplant. But in the case of the Arkansas Community Arts Cooperative, dedication and hard work have been administered in just the right amounts to keep their dream alive. Since becoming an official 501(c)3 in 2002, they have ambled from place to place, dutifully nourishing their dreams, in search of the perfect space that would allow them a chance to establish roots. As Treasurer Andy Burns put it, their ultimate goal is to provide the community with “a tangible resource people can plug into,” with space for exhibitions, workshops, readings, and overall artistic growth in Central Arkansas.
At last, ACAC has arrived at 1419 South Main Street. The space is located on the bottom floor of the Bernice Building, which is near the popular local hangouts Community Bakery, Juanita’s and Midtown Billiards. The building is owned by Anita Davis who is on the board of SOMA, an organization dedicated to revitalizing the south side of Main Street. “ACAC is a cooperative with many talented members with energy to make something good happen in this neighborhood,” said Davis, a fledgling artist herself. “I met them and loved their mission statement and their enthusiasm.”
Not news to some, this enthusiasm has been carefully cultivated for more than twelve years. ACAC president Mark Lewis, who works at KABF, said the idea for a Little Rock community arts organization originated with Das Yutes A Gogo, circa 1995. Described as “an idealistic, anarchist, utopian” approach to bringing artists together, Das Yutes accommodated local artists and musicians by hosting shows in the old Malco Theater. Though the space was eventually shut down by the fire marshal, diehard members continued meeting with the intentions of keeping their dream alive.
In 2001, Lewis shifted gears and began working to turn ACAC into a more professional organization. The current ACAC board is comprised of eight community members who have a wide range of professions. Treasurer Andy Burns works at ACORN and is a member local band The Thing that Always Explodes. Burns has also been a part of the cooperative since its Das Yutes days. Other board members are Alex Moomey of the Arkansas Arts Center; Dustin Duke, a lawyer for Central Arkansas Legal Services; Corri Bristow, who works for art restoration specialist Becky Witsell; Carrie Crocker, employed at Arkansas Flag and Banner; Erin Lang, graphic designer for Arkansas Hospice; and Jessie Perrin, who studies printmaking at UALR and works at Dee Brown Library.
With nearly 200 people who maintain a membership in the cooperative, you wouldn’t think that monetary support would be an issue. But ACAC membership leans more toward being actively creative than toward making money. It can be obtained through a small annual cash donation or simply by being a volunteer. This approach brings life to the definition of cooperative and encourages ACAC’s members to work together to create art, but it cannot be counted on to pay the rent.
Unfortunately, the lack of steady funds has kept this organization from really taking root. Though monetarily the cooperative has struggled, ACAC has found a sizeable amount of support in the form of usable space from several Central Arkansas businesses and organizations. Their annual fashion show was hosted by Vino’s on September 22. Both AM Architecture in North Little Rock and Christ Episcopal Church in Little Rock have hosted annual art sales. The last set of ACAC’s community skills workshops were held at the Arkansas Sustainability Network.
Significant funding for practical things such as rent and utilities has been harder to come by and is raised mostly through direct solicitation, yard sales, benefits, silent auctions, and grants. Though very popular, the annual art sales and fashion shows do not contribute hefty sums of money to their bank account. These events were created instead to help artists gain exposure and make money of their own, thereby strengthening the heart of the organization.
An artist does not have to be a member of ACAC to display their work in the space. The organization does take 25% commission, but this is nearly half of what a privately owned gallery would charge. And unlike the struggle an artist goes through to sell themselves and their work to an agent, an artist need only present their idea to the ACAC board to be considered for an exhibition.
Board member Jessie Perrin said that ACAC “represents [the] diversity in Little Rock” because they are “one organization that showcases all arts.”
The variety of creative opportunities this organization makes available to the community is impressive. They have not narrowed their vision to supporting only standard arts such as painting, photography, and classical music, but they embrace the unconventional by using puppet shows, multi-media installations, performance art, and punk rock to reach a wider audience.
The cooperative’s demographic also stretches boundaries by bringing together people of all ages. “Puppet shows are a great way to turn kids on to art,” said President Mark Lewis. ACAC realizes that in order to thrive, they must engage the next generation of artists and art lovers. The cooperative has done this by getting younger members involved in creating a community mural in North Little Rock and by hosting a workshop that created mosaic stepping stones for a garden in a local elementary school. They have also offered workshops on sewing skills, hip-hop dancing, poetry, and pottery.
By steadily working to spread their dream, ACAC has established strong bonds with other community organizations. Mark Alderfer, who is in charge of the Arts Community at Christ Episcopal Church in Little Rock, donated gallery lighting to the cooperative’s new space. An architect by trade, Alderfer found himself with a set of fully operational track lighting after the renovation of a local commercial space. “With the owner’s consent, I salvaged all the track lighting and have been storing it since, waiting for the right opportunity to put them to use. They weren't right for use in our gallery space at Christ Church, so when ACAC first looked at their new space, I immediately felt this was where that lighting belonged.”
This contribution to the cooperative’s new space is sure to make a difference in their ability to create a professional exhibition space for Central Arkansas’ artists. “My hope is that ACAC is successful in its mission, because I think the more opportunities [ACAC has] to expose the community to art, the richer both the community and the artists become,” said Alderfer.
ACAC had the opportunity to put their new space, and its beautiful lighting, to use at their grand opening celebration on Friday, October 12th. The show, titled “10 + 10: One Artist Invites Another,” drew quite a crowd. The artwork was displayed both beautifully and professionally, and the ambiance was complimented by refreshments and live music.
An interesting addition to the work on display was performance art by Carey Voss. “Will you have tea with me?” was defined by Voss as “situation art” and allowed viewers the chance to partake in a cup of tea with the artist. This was a new idea to me so I decided to see what “situation art” was all about. Sitting on a big pillow on the floor in the corner of the gallery, I enjoyed my tea with cream and agave nectar. Voss’ intention was to engage gallery visitors on a more personal level, and to offer everyone the chance to connect not just with the art but also with each other. This notion parallels ACAC’s mission to bring the community together with art, and it was obvious by the turn out Friday night that their mission has been successful.
Be sure to drop by 1419 South Main Street sometime soon and give the cooperative’s newly planted seedling your support. After twelve years of searching for a home, their hard work has paid off. They have finally found a suitable space that will allow their dreams the nourishment they need to come to fruition.
Stephen Cefalo: Artist’s Statement
When I look at a great work of art I find the artist at play. I follow the painter’s hand through a carefully constructed framework in which accidental discoveries are made. Digressions of shape, color and texture react against one another, but without losing sight of that initial spark that fueled the idea. Each work is a small journey and a record of one’s experiences.
My recent body of paintings represents a continual longing for a more deeply meaningful visual experience. I am interested in exploring universal human themes within the context of ordinary subjects such as family, friends or other figures in spaces. In my observations, I may often find surreal qualities, but choose to ground them in feasible context. Although most of my major work possesses a narrative element, I prefer not to convey specific narratives, but work toward the sense of a collective memory.
I prefer a naturalistic approach to the form as a means of maintaining the intimacy of the experience to the beholder. By use of implied spaces, I find opportunity to exploit the psychological aspects of the content. I find the juxtaposition of utilizing aspects of pre-20th Century painting in a contemporary context a relevant and intriguing dynamic.
The Wall Hangings of Victor W. Wiley
The usual protocol for this part of the Localist is to have the artist write a statement about their featured works. Due to the circumstances and the fact that I doubt Victor ever wrote a proper statement, I’m taking up this space to explain what it is we are doing with these pictures and the circumstances that have lead up to our tribute.
As many of us know, Victor was an amazing artist and a prolific one at that. Even if you were just out to have a beer, he would at some point bust out his “diary,” as he jokingly referred to his journal, and begin to doodle and scribble a piece that later could turn up on a wall. I can’t recall, in my years of knowing Victor, his ever having a gallery art show. He didn’t need to, because he would create galleries and space for his art wherever he felt the slightest urge to do so. It became a common irritation to band mates and even me, waiting for Victor to set up his space before a show. Of course in the end we loved that he did it, and we always accepted the fact that he was going to do it.
Somewhere around the second year of the AR Rocker Revue at The Whitewater Tavern, Victor’s galleries went from just being something he did for his own bands to being a regular part of what made those Tuesday nights so special. From the point when he first hung those first wall-sized Xerox paintings, Victor continued every Tuesday for about three or four years to turn that space into one of his personal galleries. He would come down to the tavern early in the evening on his bicycle with his giant rolled-up pictures sloppily tucked under his arm. He would stand on a wobbly chair and with one end of a glue stick stuck between his teeth while he lit the other with a lighter, he would paste his art up on the wall. He told me he found this method most effective, after much trial and error.
Eventually I convinced him to just leave them up for awhile, instead of busting his ass every week to come down and hang them for one night. On that day when we had that conversation he told me he just did it because he wanted other people to join in, and hang some of their stuff up. He went on to tell me an idea he had for his coffee table book. Yes, a coffee table book is what he called it. Being the unconventional artist as he was, he had no desire to make a book of his art, but rather a book of pictures of all the bands that had played on Tuesdays in front of his wall hangings. I have remembered that conversation, and it has sat in the back of my mind, when finally I thought that I could do something to help Victor in some way realize his idea.
So, I called a few folks I know, and emailed a few others, but all I could come up with was the few pictures that are on this page. I know there has got to be more out there, because tons of people have taken pictures and that was a lot of Tuesdays. So now what I need is for you to send them to us, and we will continue to post the pictures and when we get a good collection going, we can pass them to his family. Who knows, maybe when I’m forty and I have a coffee table, I’ll have folks over and they will plop down on the couch and flip through Victor’s book while I cook ‘em a pancake.