UA Little Rock Downtown Opens New Exhibit on History of Music in Arkansas
UA Little Rock Downtown is celebrating the rich musical heritage of Arkansas with a new exhibit, “Arkansans and Their Music,” now open to the public through May 15.
The exhibit explores how ordinary Arkansans lived with and through music during the 19th and 20th centuries, featuring a collection of stories, photographs, and artifacts from university collections and state archives.
“This exhibit is a celebration of our community,” said Dr. Marta Cieslak, director of UA Little Rock Downtown. “When we think about the history of music, we often focus on famous musicians, but all famous artists were once unknown. We want to tell the stories of everyday Arkansans who found meaning in music, whether they became stars or not.”
The exhibit includes rare photographs from the Center for Arkansas History and Culture, two Choctaw-language Christian hymn books from the Sequoyah National Research Center, a panel on Arkansas’s four official state songs, and 3D artifacts such as the boots of Arkansas-born country music star Patsy Montana, on loan from the Old State House Museum. The exhibit also contains items from the Arkansas State Archives and the CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.
The exhibit was inspired, in part, by conversations with Stephen Koch, author and host of “Arkansongs,” who has written about women’s contributions to Arkansas music history. Koch will be the featured speaker during a special event at UA Little Rock Downtown at 5:30 p.m. on April 9, where he will discuss his research and the state’s musical legacy.
“We’ve already had visitors connect deeply with these stories,” Cieslak said. “People share memories of band, choir, or teaching music, and it’s amazing to see how personal the history of music is to so many.”
UA Little Rock Downtown, located at 333 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to schedule a personalized tour by emailing [email protected]. The exhibit is free and welcomes anyone interested in discovering the state’s musical history.
“We hope people find their own experiences reflected in this exhibit,” Cieslak said. “There are so many stories of Arkansans who self-published their music or wrote songs about the state. We’d love for visitors to share their own stories with us, too.”