CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL NEIGHBORHOOD

Freeman's friends say thanks with cheers, artwork, flowers

The Friends of Contemporary Craft group has a warm spot in its collective heart for June Freeman, muscle behind the Architecture and Design Network, and on Tuesday it showed in the form of a new acquisition for the permanent collection of the Arkansas Arts Center -- Tower, a small ceramic sculpture by Japanese artist Takashi Tanaka.

Freeman accepted it and a bouquet of flowers with her usual verve (a cherubic smile and a self-deprecating comment) to an auditorium packed with people who were on their feet -- such was the reception to the news, which was a surprise to nearly all who came out for the network's first architecture lecture of 2015.

"Then and Now: The Central High School Neighborhood" was a kind of joint presentation by the network and the historic preservation community locally. The Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas executive director, Vanessa McKuin, joined a panel discussion that included architect Kwendeche, Central High Principal Nancy Rousseau and Rachel Silva, preservation outreach coordinator of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

-- Photos and story by

Bobby Ampezzan

High Profile on 01/18/2015

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