501-918-3025
calsfoundation@cals.org
calsfoundation@cals.org
Summertime Art at CALS: Events and News
Spring was filled with art activities at CALS, and we are gearing up for an art-filled summer!
In March, we celebrated the twentieth year that CALS has participated in the beloved downtown Little Rock event 2nd Friday Art Night (2FAN). To celebrate, we hosted the Dedicated Visual Art Studio & Gallery doing a free live screen-printing of a poster or t-shirt honoring our twenty years!
Read on for some fun (and free!) summer art experiences at CALS.
Upcoming Workshops and Activities
Marlene Gremillion: Designing Abstracts with Watercolors and Markers
Saturday, May 31, 2025, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
CALS Rock it! Lab
In this free workshop, participants will work with watercolors to create an abstract underpainting composition while learning about the unique properties of watercolor. After the paintings are dry, participants will use permanent markers to make unique patterns to enhance the work.
The instructor will demonstrate the techniques and then guide students in creating their unique pieces. You can become totally relaxed and engrossed in your art while having fun!
For ages 14 and up; attendance is limited to 20. All supplies provided, but bring a hair dryer if possible. No previous experience necessary. If you need glasses to view up close, be sure to have them with you! Bring a sack lunch.
Parking is free in the CALS surface lot and CALS garage, and street parking is also free on Saturdays. Register to reserve your spot here.
Colorful Creative Corner with CALS
Each Wednesday from June 11 to July 23, 2-4 p.m.
UA Little Rock Downtown, entrance at the corner of President Clinton Ave. & Rock St.
All ages are welcome to drop in to this free Summer @ CALS program for coloring, collaging, and creating whatever you want! All supplies provided; no registration needed.
You can make art with wooden bookmarks, wooden frames, and even wooden butterflies. Throw some color on a tiny four-inch-by-four-inch canvas, make a collage with colorful paper, draw, paint, or maybe make a mobile. The options are endless!
Come hang out and create in a relaxed (air-conditioned!) atmosphere. Bring a friend or make a new one!
See all Summer @ CALS events from June 9 to July 26 here.
For questions about art events, classes, activities, and workshops, contact art programmer Shannon Holmes at sholmes@cals.org or 501-320-5792.
2nd Friday Art (and Knit) Night
2nd Friday Art Night
June 13, 2025, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
CALS Rock It! Lab at 120 River Market Ave.
2FAN is a downtown Little Rock after-hours art event that happens on the second Friday of each month. Events are hosted at several locations in downtown Little Rock. At CALS’s monthly event in the Rock It! Lab, attendees will be greeted with local artists selling their work and/or providing art demonstrations, a DJ or performer playing music, and light refreshments and libations.
PLUS, 2nd Friday Knit Night! (part of 2FAN)
Bring your WIP (work in progress) and hang out for an evening of social knitting. Don’t know how to knit? We’ll teach you. Supplies provided.
This program is supported by the Windgate Foundation and the CALS Foundation.
For more information about all downtown 2FAN activities, visit the 2nd Friday Art Night Facebook page.
2FAN is free to attend, and parking is free with validation in the library lot/deck (as space is available). Street parking is also free after 5:00 p.m.
For any questions or concerns, contact Shannon Holmes at sholmes@cals.org or 501-320-5792.
Exhibitions on View
From the Vault: A Survey of the CALS Art Collection
On view throughout the summer
Underground Gallery
CALS Roberts Library
The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) houses more than just books. CALS’s art program also actively collects and exhibits works by artists working and living in Arkansas.
This eclectic exhibition features historical and contemporary artworks that show the diversity of art being created in Arkansas.
The CALS Permanent Collection holds more than 1,000 works of art and incorporates a wide range of media, including paintings, sculptures, works on paper, photographs, and decorative arts.
Works are added to the collection regularly through purchases and donations.
Arkansas Arts Educators State Youth Art Show 2025
Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center
June 14–August 30, 2025; opening ceremony is June 14, 2–5 p.m.
The Arkansas Art Educators State Youth Art Show 2025 exhibits the Best of Show winners from art competitions held in seven regions of the state: Northwest, Northeast, Central, East, Southwest, Southeast, and West.
The artwork was created by talented students from kindergarten through twelfth grade.
The Arkansas Art Educators is an organization made up of art teachers from all over the state who work with the Arkansas Department of Education to provide teachers with high-quality in-service training and to promote student art in the state.
The Central Arkansas Library System is proud to support Arkansas’s teachers and artists of all ages.
Other Art Happenings at CALS
The Icarus and Daedalus statue that has been on display in the garden at the MainLibrary since 1997 was removed from its pedestal in March. The bronze statue illustrates the Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus, warning of the dangers of excessive pride. It was sculpted in 1965 by the famous artist Evangelos Frudakis (1921-2019).
The statue is being relocated to make room for a new outdoor kids’ area for the renovated Main Library opening this fall. Read more here about the renovations at Main and the plans for its reopening.
The Icarus and Daedalus statue will be placed in a prominent spot on the east side of the Main Library in a landscaped greenspace where it will share space with a newly commissioned artwork: a memorial to the African Americans who fought for the Union during the Civil War in Arkansas.
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Roberts Library visiting information is here. Visiting information for all CALS locations is here.
For questions about art events, classes, and workshops, contact art programmer Shannon Holmes at sholmes@cals.org or 501-320-5792.
To see all upcoming CALS art exhibitions, events, and classes, click here.
Art events and workshops are made possible by generous funding from the Windgate Foundation.
