What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1194942
DECEMBER 22-28, 2019 WHAT'S UP! 9 TOP 10 IN REVIEW At the end of 2018, these were the stories we thought would have lasting impact on the arts in Northwest Arkansas. 10. AMP announces expansion. 9. Shiloh Museum turns 50 beautifully. 8. Music makes NWA more like Austin every minute. 7. The Momen- tary hires a leader. 6. Theater compa- nies set the stage in new spaces. 5. Cultural Arts Corridor has the potential to radically change the Fayetteville cityscape. 4. TV and film finding new footing in Northwest Arkansas. 3. Rogers Histor- ical Museum renovates, opens Hailey Ford Building. 2. Theater companies premiering new works, sending others on the road. 1. Bicycles spin into region's top entertain- ment. broad demographic. I try to do only Friday and Saturday shows, and my importance over there to the city is that I'm able to deliver a crowd for the weekend. Not only do they come to see my show, but they're prone to stay for a couple of nights. I'm not one for self-aggrandizing, but I really feel like I'm changing things there in terms of bringing in larger and larger shows." The relatively small house — just under 1,000 seats — makes for a particularly intimate musical experience for audience and performer alike, and Shaeffer says many of the artists are charmed by the environment. "The artists I've brought over there so far have enjoyed the town and the experience," he says. "They love the old theater. It's much more intimate. If you're on the back row, you've still got great seats that are close to the stage. There's a magic about it, and the artists are loving it. A lot of them haven't heard of Eureka Springs yet — there's an excitement to it. It's almost like I'm showing them a little secret treasure." Shaeffer says The Charlie Daniels Band is already scheduled to play the space in 2020, and he's got many more acts that he's excited about in the works. "I don't have anything left to prove in this business," he says. "This is just fun for me." INFO — theaud.org Writers' Colony The coming year will mark the 20-year anniversary for this venerated Eureka Springs institution. Eight guest suites in two downtown, side-by-side houses have been home to hundreds of writers who come for a quiet retreat, away from the distractions of the outside world, to focus on their work. Add in the picturesque surroundings of downtown Eureka Springs and two gourmet meals a day, and it's no wonder the program has not only survived but is also thriving. The Colony is beginning a full renovation of its suites to be completed in 2020. "In 2019, we welcomed 57 writers to Eureka Springs for the first time, and 54 came back for their second, third or 15th visit," says Executive Director Michelle Hannon. "Some of them have been coming back every year, sometimes even twice a year. [The writers at the Colony have contributed] a significant legacy of literature — we've got a bookshelf here full of work created by our writers and residents. I'm slowly working my way through it — it's so much fun, reading these and knowing the writer or knowing I'm going to meet the writer. It's reading in a whole new way." In addition to the suite updates, says Hannon, the organization is increasing its programming. "We're adding more workshops, reading parties and community collaboration," she says. "We just started a brand new needs- based scholarship fund. Equity Bank was our first donation, and all of the funds we raised on Giving Tuesday are going right into that scholarship fund. We'll be able to extend opportunities to come here and write to those who may not be able to afford it." Hannon says the community support from Eureka Springs has been a big reason why the Colony has succeeded for all of these years. "I think it's a perfect fit here," she notes. "It's a very creative vibe, and [Eureka Springs community members] are very accepting of new ways of self-expression. I know our writers relish the interaction they have with the community. One of the things returning writers say is that they love walking through the town and meeting the locals, because they're so appreciative of their work. That's part of what keeps them coming back." INFO — writerscolony.org ESSA "We consider our early founders Louis and Elsie Freund, who opened up a summer arts school [in the 1940s]," says ESSA Executive Director Kelly McDonough. "They were also mentors and friends of our founders, Eleanor Lux, Douglas Stowe and Mary Springer." With a pedigree like that, it's not surprising that the school, now moving into its 21st year, has grown so much: It started out on one acre, with one building, and now boasts over 50 acres, multiple studios and is in the process of building housing for up to eight resident artists. "We have one home on site, at the far back end of the 50 acres," McDonough explains. "It's been housing for one person at a time. We're a nonprofit, so it's not really feasible for us to be able to pay for hotel space for instructors to come to us. Between 30 and 50 percent of our instructors come from out of state, and it creates an incredible schedule conundrum for us. We're limited to how many people we'll be able to bring in. But, as our profile has risen, we've been able to attract people from all over the country to come and teach — but we have to have a place for them to stay. [This housing is] going to change everything for us." McDonough says the new residences will be for visiting instructors as well as artists- in-residence. "We've had a few small residencies this year — an artist from Hot Springs Village, Richard Stevens, a winner of a 2018 Governor's Arts Award. He's been teaching here for over a decade. We hosted him for a month and started modeling what the residency program might look like. He taught a workshop and was able to utilize the small studio in the back of the property, as well as our 2D studio. He did a public painting demonstration at the Eureka Springs Community Center to add that element of bringing the artist out to the community, which I think is a very important part of the residency program. He taught additional master's classes, offered to students who had taken a previous class with him at ESSA. That kind of gives you an idea; you can do a lot in a few weeks. It's a really nice thing for the artist and the community at large." For McDonough, there's little mystery as to why ESSA has been such a success. "I think the biggest thing is that [ESSA has benefited from] many decades of passion and dedication from focused individuals who thought this was a great opportunity to have something like this in this part of the country," she says. "But [they] also saw it as their duty and obligation. This is a revival of people understanding the importance of working with our hands. "We're a very approachable institution — very few classes aren't appropriate for the total beginner to come in and take a workshop and be successful," she adds. "We have world-class facilities, especially our wood and iron studios. There aren't a lot of other institutions like ours in the country. To be located in this community that has, for so long, been relentlessly focused on this work and the importance of carrying this kind of handicraft into the future — it's a perfect storm of things that have made us successful." INFO — essa-art.org Courtesy Photo Eureka Springs School of the Arts broke ground this fall on eight suites that will serve as residences for visiting artists. Courtesy Photo The Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow is refreshing all of its suites to make room for new and returning writers.