Current News

For Immediate Release

June 13, 2022
For More Information Please Contact:
Email: mzunick@hotsprings.org
Phone: (501) 545-6960

In-Person Quarterly Networking Meetings Return to HSACA Programming

(Hot Springs, AR) – The Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance is reinstating in-person quarterly networking meetings for the first time since the Covid-19 shutdowns. The meetings, which offer the arts community an opportunity to gather, network, and discuss upcoming events or opportunities, will recommence at The Warehouse (301 Broadway St.) on Monday, July 11 at 5:30 p.m..

The quarterly networking meeting will take place shortly before the 33rd anniversary of Hot Springs’ Gallery Walk and offer local artists, gallery owners, and community members an opportunity to discuss and prepare for the anniversary celebration; as well as discuss any additional upcoming art-based opportunities and experiences. In addition, HSACA will use the meeting to announce the theme for the 2023 Arts & The Park festival and seek artist and community participation for festival programming.

The meeting is free to attend and open to any member of Hot Springs’ creative economy. The meeting space is being donated by Gefer Simms, owner of The Warehouse and Esther’s Gallery and Gifts, and will take place on Monday, July 11 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Attendees can expect to enjoy light refreshments.

The Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance is a registered non-profit whose mission is to celebrate, advocate, and promote the arts in and around Hot Springs. For more information about HSACA visit www.hotspringsarts.org or email mzunick@hotspring.org.


For Immediate Release
March 8, 2022
For More Information Please Contact:  
Email: mzunick@hotsprings.org
Phone:  (501) 545-6960

Mike Disfarmer Photography Exhibit and Workshop Coming to H.S. Convention Center

(Hot Springs, AR) – The Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance in collaboration with Visit Hot Springs is sponsoring a Mike Disfarmer photography exhibit in the main concourse of the Hot Springs Convention Center as a part of Arts & The Park, the annual spring arts festival. The exhibit will be free and will open to the public on Friday, April 29th. In addition to the Disfarmer exhibit, Arkansas photographer Don House will lead a workshop for photographers of all levels covering the methods used by Disfarmer.

Mike Disfarmer, a native of Heber Springs, AR, is iconic for his notable and profound use of light to capture the raw intensity of his subjects through studio portraiture. Disfarmer operated a studio in Heber Springs in the 1930s and 40s that became iconic to the area. His work has since received international recognition and come to define an approach for capturing character and personality. 

Arkansas portraitist Don House will lead a workshop for photographers of all levels interested in the methods of photographer Mike Disfarmer on Sunday, April 24. The workshop will begin with a group discussion and an analysis of samples of Disfarmer’s images and what makes them visually powerful.  House will then demonstrate his own techniques and discuss lighting, film and digital cameras, backdrops, processing, and his philosophical approach to capturing images that are honest in every important meaning of that word. Participants will put the information to use by taking portraits using their own cameras and available light. Images taken by participants will be displayed publicly during the Disfarmer exhibition. Capacity for the workshop is limited, registration opens in mid-March on the HSACA website, www.hotspringsarts.org.

“This exhibition of Mike Disfarmer’s work and the Don House workshop seemed the perfect fit for the 2022 Arts & The Park theme Creative Roots. We are thankful to the Arkansas Department of Heritage and Arkansas Arts Council for their sponsorship of the festival which seeks to encourage artists to draw inspiration from their own individual ancestry or the cultural heritage of our state.” said Visit Hot Springs Cultural Affairs Manager, Mary Zunick. 

The exhibit will open on Friday, April 29th at 6 p.m. at the Hot Springs Convention Center with a small opening ceremony co-hosted by Visit Hot Springs and HSACA, and will remain open and free to the public throughout the summer. 

The Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating, advocating, and promoting local art and culture. For more information about the organization or the dozens of arts events planned during Arts & The Park, please visit www.hotspringsarts.org or email mzunick@hotsprings.org.