What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1283471
JOCELYN MURPHY NWA Democrat-Gazette R obin Groesbeck candidly admits the staff at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville couldn't have known how popular a group of light and sound installations in the museum's North Forest would be. But when the North Forest Lights concluded its exhibition in mid- February, nearly 108,000 visitors had walked through the ethereal nighttime experience in its three-and-half months on display. A collaboration with Montreal-based multimedia and entertainment studio Moment Factory, North Forest Lights utilized technology to "create emotion with music and light," creative director Marie Belzil said at the time of the exhibition's opening last fall. Each installation was conceived in response to its location, to engage with and activate the natural surroundings of the forest. When Crystal Bridges announced earlier this month that the lights will return for a second season beginning Sept. 4, the post broke a record for the museum's most social media engagement — proof that the fervor for the experience has yet to die down. The installation also won the 2020 mondo*dr "Americas Award" in the Parks & Attractions category, celebrating technology in entertainment around the world. "We're hearing from folks that people are hungry for outdoor experiences that can give them an opportunity to be outside in a space that feels comfortable, and with people that they care about," offers Groesbeck, who is the director of exhibitions and interpretation at Crystal Bridges. "We think North Forest Lights is going to hopefully offer that for people." AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 5, 2020 WHAT'S UP! 7 FAQ North Forest Lights WHEN — Sept. 4-April 4 WHERE — North Forest at Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville COST — $10-$22; members, $7-$15; kids younger than 6, free; $5 increase for day-of purchases INFO — 418-5700, crystal bridges.org ACCESSIBILITY — The North Forest Trail is accessible for mobility devices. Wheelchairs available for checkout. Shut- tle offered by request. Stroll- ers and wagons welcome. FYI — Guests are asked not to arrive more than 15 minutes before their allotted time to avoid crowding. Walk-up tick- ets will be accommodated as available. Glowing Again North Forest Lights back at Crystal Bridges BENTONVILLE See Forest Lights Page 40 "The combination of the bridge and the dry creek and ravine, and the atmospheric conditions that are created with the lights takes you through a whole sequence of experiences and moods that I think is just beautifully choreographed," Robin Groesbeck, director of exhibitions and interpretation at Crystal Bridges, explains of her favorite installation in the North Forest Lights: Memory of Water. "And I love how it creates these layers and dimensions, too. It seems to create these layers within the forest that, maybe they're always there and we don't notice them." (Courtesy Photo/Moment Factory)