What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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JULY 11-17, 2021 WHAT'S UP! 3 BY THE NUMBERS Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art 11-11-11 was the date Crystal Bridges opened. 200,000 square feet was the museum's open- ing size. 120 acres was the campus footprint. 1,555 works were included in the original art collection. 3,500-plus is the current number in the collec- tion. 600,000 visited CBM by the end of 2012, more than double the projected 250,000. 5,000 became members in the first year. 5.4 million have visited CBM since the open- ing. At least 4 million have used the Art and North Forest trails combined. 280,000 schoolchildren have participated in the Willard and Pat Walker School Visit program. 50,000 volumes of art reference material fill the CBM library. 5 centuries are spanned by the CBM art collection. 300-400 works are on view at any given time. 50 new works are added to the collection each year. 800-plus public programs and events were offered in 2019. In a study from July 2016-June 2017: 86 percent of patrons scored CBM a 9 or 10 on friendliness and 88 percent a 9 or 10 on feeling welcomed. 93% of guests were likely to recommend CBM. 55% of guests came from outside of Arkan- sas. 48% of guests were visiting for the first time. 48 was the average age of visitors. 67% of visitors were female. 87% of visitors were white. 51% visited in groups of two. In a 2020 audience report: 95% of visitors rated the CBM experience as excellent (37%) or outstanding (58%). The remaining 5% rated it good. Compared to the previous year, visitors were younger, more local, more members, more repeat visitors and more racially/ethnically diverse. 42 was the median age of visitors, down from 49 in 2019. 62% of visitors were female. 47% of visitors stayed 1-2 hours and 26% stayed 2-3 hours. This year to date: 110,000 have visited CBM. 150,000 have used the trails. 200,000 have attended virtual programs/ engagements. 62,000 have visited the Momentary. 35,000 have attended virtual programs via the Momentary. 'A Sense Of Belonging' Connection is at heart of Crystal Bridges' first decade I f one were looking to distill the ethos of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art down to only a single word, a strong case could be made for "connection." Looking back over the Bentonville museum's first decade — the anniversary celebration starts today with a new exhibit titled "Crystal Bridges at 10" — you can see points of connection everywhere: the architecture's connection to nature; the connection to history in the permanent collection; connection to diverse perspectives through outreach and inclusion efforts; and connection to the community as staff continue to evolve and listen to the voices the institution seeks to serve. The story of Crystal Bridges is only just beginning, and yet the organization has already come so far from where it started. Rod Bigelow, executive director and chief diversity and inclusion officer, unsurprisingly admits there exists a general master plan of hopes and goals for the institution on a 50-year — and even 100-year — timeline. But as the museum approaches its 10th anniversary on Nov. 11, we at What's Up! wanted to take a moment to look back on some of the ways Crystal Bridges has impacted Northwest Arkansas before turning the page. The focus now, Bigelow shares, has shifted to facilitating a sense of belonging for any and every guest who visits Crystal Bridges. "Ensuring that we are looking at that from race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geography, all those things are more important to us now than ever," he says. The privilege of offering a free experience to guests opened the door to making inclusion the heart of the museum in the early days. But with some time to find their bearings, and establish trust with the community, the institution needs to offer more than just the waived price of admission, Bigelow says. "That's where we are now, is that we've got to create a sense of belonging where people feel like that there's an ownership and that they feel respected, safe, energized by coming here. And that kind of is deep down the core of access, but it's much more interrogated and thought through than it had ever been before." Ahead, you'll find stories digging into the art, nature and communal relationships that are responsible for furthering Crystal Bridges' reputation as an important name in art year after year. Of course, this coverage can only scratch the surface of the meaningful contributions Crystal Bridges has made, both locally and internationally, in its first 10 years — all without an established legacy to lean on. We just don't have the space to tackle it all! We hope you enjoy looking back with us and are as excited as we are to see what Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art accomplishes in its next 10 years. — JOCELYN MURPHY JMURPHY@NWADG.COM Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has become a beloved fixture of community and art not just for Northwest Arkansas, but the nation. The institution is named for the natural spring that passes through its wooded 120-acre site, a unique asset among museums of its size. An expansion set to begin in 2022 will increase the current gallery space by more than half. (File Photo) COVER STORY