The 2011 "Small Works on Paper" juried art exhibition presented by the Arkansas Arts Council features 39 works by 35 artists.

Now in its 24th year, the annual Small Works on Paper exhibition showcases artwork no larger than 24 x 24 inches by Arkansas artists who are members of the Arkansas Artist Registry, an online art gallery coordinated by the Arts Council. The selected works are chosen by an out-of-state juror, who for this show was Patter Hellstrom, a partner in Hellstrom+Zirnis LLC, a bicoastal artist/curator team based in San Francisco and New York. Hellstrom has served as a guest lecturer and panelist for numerous national organizations, including the National Endowment for the Arts. She holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting and drawing from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Hellstrom also selected pieces from the exhibit for the Purchase award. Purchase award winners receive the cash amount equivalent to the value of their selected works. Funded by entry fees, the purchase award pieces become part of the exhibition's permanent collection.

There were 275 entries submitted; seven artists were selected to receive purchase awards totaling nearly $2,000: William R. Detmers of Pine Bluff, Jennifer Hackworth of Jonesboro, Temple Skelton Moore of Prairie Grove, John Harlan Norris of Jonesboro, Sabine Schmidt of Fayetteville, Mitchell Skinner of Tucker and Keri Young of Little Rock. Also shown in the exhibit are works by Duane Gardner and Don House of Fayetteville.

The Arkansas Arts Council was established in 1966 to enable the state of Arkansas to receive funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1971, Act 359 (A.C.A. § 13-8-101 et seq.) gave independent agency status to the Arts Council, with an executive director and a 17-member council appointed by the governor. In 1975, the Arts Council became an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

As an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, the Arkansas Arts Council shares the goals of all its agencies, of preserving and enhancing the heritage of the state of Arkansas. The other agencies are: Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Historic Arkansas Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and the Old State House Museum. Funding for the Arkansas Arts Council and its programs is provided by the state of Arkansas and the National Endowment for the Arts.

"Small Works on Paper" will show in Mullins Library through March 30, 2011. For more information, call 479-575-6702.

Find more information at http://www.arkansasarts.org/.