Unpredictable winter weather can make planning and participating in outdoor activities risky. But even when it's cold or wet or dreary (or all three), there are still ways to get out of the house and stimulate the brain, and Little Rock and North Little Rock galleries have quite a few exhibits worth a look. Here's a sample:
• The Arkansas Arts Center, East Ninth and Commerce streets in Little Rock, welcomes two new exhibits Friday: "Herman Maril: The Strong Forms of Our Experience," and "Ansel Adams: Early Works." Both continue through April 16 along with the already open "Seeing the Essence: Photographs by William E. Davis." There's also "For the Love of Bees: Works in Hot and Cold Wax" by Catherine Rodgers through March 19. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Call (501) 372-4000 or visit arkarts.com.
• Boswell Mourot Fine Art gallery, 5815 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, is hosting "Arkansas Artists of Spectrum," with works by several local artists through Feb. 4. Hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. Call (501) 664-0030.
• Art and history meet over at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, 401 President Clinton Ave. For art, there's "Fired Up: Arkansas Wood Fired Ceramics," with functional and sculptural ceramics by Stephen Driver, Fletcher Larkin and Hannah May, through Saturday. Artists chosen by the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts have pieces in the Arkansas Committee Scholars Exhibition, through Feb. 10. "Richard Leo Johnson: Once Was Lost," combines art and history through photographs from the 1970s and '80s, through March 18. And the center takes a deep look into a darker part of history in "The American Dream Deferred: Japanese American Incarceration in WWII Arkansas" through June 24. Admission is free and hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Call (501) 320-5790 or visit www.butlercenter.org.
• The Fab Four remain the focus of the Clinton Presidential Center's current special exhibit, "Ladies and Gentlemen ... The Beatles!," through April 2. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $10; $8 for retired military, college students and ages 62 and older; $6 for children 6-17; free for active military and children under 6. Call (501) 374-4242 or visit clintonfoundation.org.
• Greg Thompson Fine Art, 429 Main St., North Little Rock, takes a look at the South's past and present with "William Dunlap -- Landscape and Variable: Recent Works," through Feb. 11. Admission is free and hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Call (501) 664-2787 or visit gregthompsonfineart.com.
• The Historic Arkansas Museum is 75 years old and the celebratory exhibit "Diamond in the Rough" tells the museum's story of protecting Arkansas history and heritage. The exhibit ends next month and admission is free. Hours are 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-4:30 p.m. Sunday. Call (501) 324-9351 or visit historicarkansas.org.
• Meanwhile, the Museum of Discovery celebrates its 90-year history with its newest permanent exhibit, which opened last week. On a more temporary basis, children and adults can learn all about the human body and how it works in "Magnificent Me!" through April 23. The exhibit includes hands-on activities such as "Can My Hand Fool My Brain?" and "It's Raining Bacon!" Museum admission is $10; $8 for children 1-12, ages 60 and older, teachers, military and Little Rock city employees. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Call (501) 396-7050 or visit museumofdiscovery.org.
Weekend on 01/26/2017