Hear Arkansas
Act 546 of the State of Arkansas House of Representatives states that each year before September 1, the Governor shall issue a proclamation proclaiming September 1 Arkansas Music Appreciation Day “to honor the contributions of Arkansas musicians.” The Act also states that the “the General Assembly finds that Arkansas has a proud history of 24 contributing music and musicians to the nation, including without limitation: Johnny Cash; B. B. King; Glen Campbell; Charlie Rich; Sister Rosetta Tharpe; Al Green; Conway Twitty; and Floyd Cramer.”
In honor of this day, University of Arkansas Music and Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts announce the Hear Arkansas project. Hear Arkansas will take the form of an interactive timeline documenting and highlighting the legacy of music in Arkansas, populated by online submissions and archival research.
Stay tuned for the official website launch!
Hear Arkansas is grassroots, crowd–sourced data collection project aimed at documenting and highlighting the legacy of music in the State of Arkansas through an interactive timeline. Through a web-based form on this site, individuals and institutions can contribute content for review.
Focusing on living treasures and historical figures, music educators, and instrument makers as well as important music events and venues throughout the region, this project brings the story of music in Arkansas together to build awareness and pride in the musical landscape of the Natural State.
As a land grant institution, the University of Arkansas houses Hear Arkansas as a service to the entire state. While the project relies on collaboration with community partners and institutions across Arkansas, the project is co–curated by the University of Arkansas Department of Music and Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts.
This project is currently under development, keep tuned via social media via Facebook and Instagram.
