What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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10 WHAT'S UP! SEPTEMBER 20-26, 2020 Community Convenes Summit draws leaders to discuss 'State of the Art' JOCELYN MURPHY NWA Democrat-Gazette J ust a few weeks after the 2014 debut of the groundbreaking exhibition "State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now" at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the institution hosted the inaugural State of the Art Summit. The powerful gathering saw a "cross- section of more than 200 leaders in the arts, education, business and philanthropy" explore themes and ideas raised in the exhibition. As the second iteration of the exhibition earlier this year endeavored to provide an updated answer to the question "What is happening in American art today?," the next summit was already in the works. Of course, those plans were brought to a halt by a global pandemic, but organizers were able to pivot to a digital format. Thus, the State of the Art 2020 Summit will take place Sept. 23, bringing together a new group of cultural and civic leaders and creators to consider what art looks like at the current moment, and how art inspires us to think about a different future. "This isn't just a conversation for people in the industry, so to speak," notes Marissa Reyes, chief education officer at Crystal Bridges and part of the programming team organizing the summit. "It's not just a conversation for artists and people in museums, but these are larger conversations. There's so much relevance here that I think we're really hoping there is something in here for everybody to find key takeaways from." This year's summit features panels and speakers that will expand themes presented during "State of the Art 2020" and broaden the idea of art and how it has impacted contemporary society, Reyes shares. The three panels focus on: sense of place — how artists are nurturing vibrant communities and the role that they play in fostering community resilience; confronting history — how artists are changing the narrative and their relationship to history to create new works, and how they're finding inspiration in the stories and people in American history; and, finally, the shifting ground of arts education. "The last panel in 2014 that also looked at arts education asked, 'What does it take to create productive, contributing members of the workforce?' and 'What is arts education's role in preparing those young people?'," Reyes reflects. "For this year, we're really extending that question in recognition of the fact that we are in the midst of a pandemic, we are in the midst of social unrest, difficult conversations around race and equity. And we're asking, 'What is the role of arts education in this dramatically changed landscape?'" "Spectra Force Vibe" by JooYoung Choi "My talk will explore what it means to keep on 'Big Time Dream- ing' in this age of uncertainty," artist JooYoung Choi says of her participation in the summit. "I will share about my own life as a Korean adoptee, my reunion, and how art and world-building has played a significant role in my journey of becoming who I am today. Because of the pandemic, I have called upon all my puppets, animated friends, volunteer actor friends to be participants and audience members in this unusual meta artist/art talk." (Courtesy Photo/ JooYoung Choi) BENTONVILLE FAQ 'State of the Art 2020' Summit WHEN — Beginning at 10 a.m. Sept 23 WHERE — Online; participants will receive viewing link upon registration COST — Free INFO — crystalbridges.org, 418-5700