What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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Fahamu Pecou's "Dobale to Spirit" will be part of Crystal Bridges' first temporary exhibition of 2022. "The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture, and the Sonic Impulse" spotlights the southern landscape through its musical heritage, spiritual complexity and regional swagger in an immersive, multi-sensory exhibition. (Courtesy Image/Fahamu Pecou/© Dr. Fahamu Pecou, courtesy Studio KAWO/Fahamu Pecou Art) 12 WHAT'S UP! JULY 11-17, 2021 CBM AT 10 Focused Forward Museum celebrates past, envisions expanded future JOCELYN MURPHY NWA Democrat-Gazette I t's been a phenomenal decade for mid-America's burgeoning American art museum. And just as we've been looking back, so too has Crystal Bridges. The museum's newest temporary exhibition, "Crystal Bridges at 10" opened to the public today, July 11, and celebrates its collection and community. "As we approach our 10-year anniversary, there is no better time to reflect on the decade behind us and dream about what's ahead," Public Relations Director Beth Bobbitt said when the exhibition was announced last year. But, the curatorial team notes, while the exhibition is inspired by the anniversary, "Crystal Bridges at 10" is a reflection on the current moment, while also setting a direction for the future at the institution. "We knew it would be important to include works of art that span our collection, and we have over 200 years of art highlighted — from 1820 to art that is literally made today, just for this exhibition," curators Mindy Besaw and Lauren Haynes share. "We had fun pairing artworks from across time together to spark new conversations." Mindy Besaw — curator, American art, and director of fellowships and research — and Lauren Haynes — director of artist initiatives and curator, contemporary art, at Crystal Bridges and the Momentary — intersect voices within and beyond the museum in surprising ways for the engaging exhibition. "One of our goals at Crystal Bridges is to create programs and exhibitions where communities feel connected and see themselves in the museum," Haynes explains. "We worked with Aron Shelton at Finding Northwest Arkansas to identify community champions to feature in the galleries. We also invited K-12 children to submit self-portraits to be shown alongside self-portraits in the collection — and we had over 500 entries! Twenty-four of these remarkable portraits are framed and on view, while all submissions can be seen digitally." "We also knew it was important to engage artists for this exhibition," Besaw says of turning to the local community. "Fayetteville-based artist Ziba Rajabi will be working on her installation and adding artwork during the exhibition. We also engaged artist Dyani White Hawk (Sicángu Lakota) to curate a selection of artwork from the collection to highlight both diversity and shared experiences. Mark Dion created a one-of-a- kind installation that juxtaposes painting, sculpture, cultural and historical collections, and natural history objects together in unexpected ways." The significance of the anniversary is reflected in the 10 distinct sections and art experiences that invite guests to explore the works through a range of engaging, creative approaches. "Lauren and I worked closely with the larger team, including exhibition designer Jessi Mueller, to envision immersive exhibition spaces," Besaw reveals. "It's difficult to explain how experiential some of the areas really are — and hopefully [they] will be surprising to our guests." For example, she continues, a theatrical stage set invites viewers to participate in a modern-day "Lantern Bearers" tableau vivant, or living picture. "Watch an artist create a new artwork in the galleries," the exhibition news release details. "Experience nature indoors in an immersive installation merging art and nature. Revisit artworks from past exhibitions organized by Crystal Bridges, juxtaposed to tell new stories, and so much more." "Partnerships with many talented and generous individuals at the University of Arkansas were key," Besaw picks up the thread, "from lending objects to Mark Dion's installation, to creating a theatrical lighting design that simulates conditions of nature indoors, to technologically bringing 1820s Brooklyn to life." More than 130 artworks present crowd favorites in new ways, showcase works never before on view at the museum and lift up artist voices, inviting new points of entry for the beloved pieces and offering the chance to build new connections. Following the exhibition's closing Sept. 27, the final temporary exhibition of the year opens Nov. 6 and will carry Crystal Bridges into 2022. "In American Waters" considers how the tradition of marine painting encompasses so much more than ship portraits. Artists including Georgia O'Keeffe, Norman Rockwell, Winslow Homer, Jacob Lawrence and more are inspired by the beauty, violence, poetry and transformative power of the sea in American life. A New Year Looking to the future of the curatorial program, Crystal Bridges will continue to "dynamically expand our exploration of American art and architecture" in 2022, notes Chief Curator Austen Barron Bailly. The lineup includes the museum's first fashion Lisa Perry's Roy Lichtenstein "No Thank You" Dress will be part of Crystal Bridges' first ever exhibition dedicated to fashion. "Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour" opens Sept. 10, 2022. (Image Courtesy/Lisa Perry) See Forward Page 38