New First Community Bank Displays UA Little Rock Employee’s Scenic Arkansas Photographs
When First Community Bank opens a new location, the employees like to honor local artists by featuring their work throughout the bank.
The new First Community Bank located at 17820 Chenal Parkway in Little Rock is filled with beautiful photographs of Arkansas taken by Brad Sims, an instructional designer in eLearning at UA Little Rock.
“I’m hugely lucky and grateful to First Community Bank for choosing my photos and wanting to put them in this nice building,” Sims said. “It was incredibly surprising, but I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity. I’ve been taking these photos for several years now. It’s what I do on the weekends. I go hit the woods and the mountains or the city. I never thought that it would go into something this big.”
Carrie Price, chief marketing officer for First Community Bank, recalled how she immediately fell in love with Sims’ work while researching a local artist to be featured in the new full-service banking center.
“What stuck out for me is the way he captured the essence of some of Arkansas’s most famed locations, events, and landscapes,” Price said. “Not only was I impressed with his work, but Brad was a delight to work with. He was so helpful in coordinating our interests from the beginning of the project to the final installation. On delivery day he was right there on location to greet the delivery truck driver to help us carefully unpack each piece. I can’t say enough about how much we enjoyed working with Brad. His talent is remarkable, and he is a true gentleman. I look forward to seeing him continue to pursue his photography and working with him again in the future.”
Sims has nearly 50 photographs on display throughout the 16,000 square-foot, two-story complex that celebrated its grand opening Oct. 4. Sims said the majority of the photos are of rural Arkansas landscapes. They include photos from the Ozarks as well as woodland and wetland photography containing imagery of riverbeds and waterfalls.
“There are also some city photos of Little Rock, skyline photos,” Sims said. “One of my favorite photos is a big black and white photo of Central High School. It’s a centerpiece on their second floor, and it turned out really well. They have one breakroom where all the photos are dedicated to photos from the Arkansas State Fair. Between the lights, colors, people, and the movement, you can get really great photos. It’s just a palette of beautiful colors and light at the fair.”
Sims said having his photos on display at First Community Bank has brought a lot of interest to his photography, so much so that he redesigned his website and added an e-commerce feature so people can buy his photographs online.
“After the First Community Bank project, I was also able to buy a drone and begin drone photography, adding a new element to my work,” he said.
