The Old State House Museum’s new exhibit “Play It Loud: Concerts at Barton Coliseum” showcases concert memorabilia donated to the museum’s collection by the Arkansas State Fair and private donors.
“Play It Loud” kicks off with a virtual tour at 7 p.m. on April 23 on the OSHM’s Facebook and YouTube channels before opening for in-person viewing on April 27. COVID-19 protocols will be in place requiring masks and social distancing while inside the museum.
“The Old State House Museum always creates vivid exhibits and ‘Play It Loud: Concerts at Barton Coliseum’ is no exception,” said Stacy Hurst, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. “We truly hope both Arkansans and visitors to our state will enjoy this exhibit and exploring some of Arkansas’ rich music heritage including many of the famous acts who stopped at Barton to perform.”
Performers highlighted in the exhibit include AC/DC, ZZ Top, The Allman Brothers Band, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Merle Haggard, The Jackson Five, Charlie Pride, Lawrence Welk, Fleetwood Mac and many more. The exhbit also represents a sweepinng variety of music genres including rock, country, gospel, hip-hop, rap, R&B blues, pop, funk and soul. Visitors can expect to see artifacts such as T-shirts, records, instruments, programs, buttons and more from the 1950s to today, as well as videos from those up close and personal with the concert experience at Barton Coliseum.
The exhibit was guest curated by Robert Cochran, professor of English at the University of Arkansas. Cochran, along with Suzanne McCray, wrote the 2015 “Lights! Camera! Arkansas!” companion book for the museum’s exhibit on movies and Arkansas.
“Our amazing team has been curating this exhibit for well over a year,” director OSHM Bill Gatewood said. “There were more than 13,000 individual artifacts that were generously donated by the Arkansas State Fair which had to be catalogued and archived before our curator could select exhibit items. COVID provided some unique challenges to creating an exhibit, from contractor delays to staff working offsite, but we are so proud of the end result.”
The exhibit will be accessible to the public from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday until fall 2022. More information on the exhibit can be found on the OSHM website.
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