A new exhibit documenting influence of the late Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller and his wife, Jeanette, made in the creation of the Arkansas Arts Center features text panels created by UALR Public History graduate student Andrea Ringer.

The exhibit – “The Rockefeller Influence” – is free and open to the public at the Arts Center through Aug. 19. For more information about the exhibit, call 501-372-4000. The exhibit is in conjunction with the statewide centennial celebration of the former governor’s birth.

“The Arkansas Arts Center, as it exists today, wouldn’t have existed without the involvement of Winthrop and Jeanette Rockefeller,” said Joe Lampo, deputy director of programs at the Arkansas Arts Center.

Using documents from the Arkansas Arts Center and the Rockefeller’s personal and gubernatorial documents held by the UALR Center for Arkansas History and Culture, Ringer researched the Rockefeller family’s part in the development of the Arkansas Arts Center and its programs.

“I enjoy the entire research process,” she said. “I’ve learned a great deal through the applied classes in the program and my internship at the Arkansas Studies Institute.”

The exhibit displays works of art that the Rockefeller family donated to the center and features information about the relationship between the institution and Gov. and Mrs. Rockefeller.

Ringer became involved with the exhibit at the Arkansas Arts Center as part of her spring 2012 graduate assistantship. She says her work with the exhibit “was most influential on my educational goals.”

“The most interesting fact I’ve learned about the Rockefeller family in Arkansas was their tireless effort at the Arkansas Arts Center,” Ringer said. “The Rockefellers personally attended each campaign meeting and Jeannette continued to be a driving force in the institution.”