What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1323916
10 WHAT'S UP! JANUARY 3-9, 2021 FEATURE The Best Of A Bad Year Arts writer finds a few bright spots in 2020 memories Watching how the North Forest at Crystal Bridges Museum changes through the seasons with its immersive light and sound installation, North Forest Lights, has been one of my favorite experiences of 2020. The lights are on display through April 4. (Courtesy Photo/Ironside Photography/Jared Sorrells) 2020 IN REVIEW Jocelyn Murphy jmurphy@nwadg.com I t's been a hard year. For most of us, it's been a year disproportionately filled with loneliness, sadness, frustration and grief. So when it came time to start considering the "best- of" list I typically submit with my year- end content, my knee-jerk reaction was a wistful longing for years past when there was an embarrassing abundance of "best" events to choose from. Looking at how I spent my time in 2020 — thinking about the moments I actively sought joy and comfort and something, anything, to get me out of my apartment — I was surprised to find more pleasant memories than I would have expected. And as I revisited some of these fleeting bright spots from the past 12 months, in a way, just remembering them made 2020 feel marginally less terrible. It won't fix all the bad or all the things we were looking forward to this year that didn't get to happen, but take a moment with me, if you will, to recognize some of the ways our community found a way to do our best in the worst of times. North Forest Lights — A nighttime group of artistic light and sound installations, North Forest Lights first opened on the grounds at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in October of 2019. I remember the cool, foggy autumn night the immersive activation debuted. It was unlike anything the museum had ever hosted or developed. I also remember welcoming the new year in the dark of the forest — chilly, but full of hope and excitement for what 2020 would bring (HA!). The art exhibit closed in February, but I was able to visit again this summer on the last Sunday in August ahead of North Forest Lights' return to Bentonville Sept. 4. The activation itself is like something from a dream. And getting to experience the way the forest changed with it through the seasons added a new compelling layer and was surprisingly moving. Five distinct installations were designed in response to their individual locations, to engage with and activate the natural surroundings of the forest. Marie Belzil is the creative director of co-collaborator, Montreal-based multimedia and entertainment studio Moment Factory, and said ahead of its premiere that the exhibit aimed to use technology to "create emotion with music and light." North Forest Lights ponders the question, "How (Courtesy Photo/Jocelyn Murphy)