What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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AUGUST 29-SEPTEMBER 4, 2021 WHAT'S UP! 3 COVER STORY Making Emma Avenue 'Famous' Historic hardware store becomes unique art gallery BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette A s downtown Springdale enjoys a whole new vibrant life — with people strolling, shopping, dining and drinking — it boasts one attraction unique to Emma Avenue. The historic Famous Hardware building has become an art gallery, currently showcasing an installation from Oklahoma City-based Factory Obscura. Because the exhibition space is viewed solely through the two- story windows, choosing the right art has been both a joy and a challenge for curator Dayton Castleman. "The size of the spaces has a lot to do with it," says Castleman of the choices he's made since the Famous Hardware exhibitions began in February. "The work has to have a certain presence and scale to hold or carry the spaces. So that's one of my criteria. Another important one is work that will get people's attention while they're minding their own business walking down the street — work with enough draw or appeal visually to make a person stop and look in, since it's inaccessible other than through the windows. "Factory Obscura creates completely immersive experiences that fit the monumental scale of the building," adds Castleman, whose work as curator is through Verdant Studio, an art and architecture firm in Rogers where he is director of visual thinking. "And they embrace the way interactivity and technology incorporated into the work can be interesting to the viewer. They even figured out ways to make it interactive through the glass." The installation is titled "BRAIN TO BRAIN PAPER PLANE," and Kelsey Karper, co-founder of Factory Obscura, says it presented a unique challenge. "Factory Obscura's work is always interactive and immersive, and creating something to be experienced through the storefront windows provided a new challenge for us to work in a new According to the Downtown Springdale Alliance, the art installation, titled "BRAIN TO BRAIN PAPER PLANE," will be in place through Nov. 8 with additional special events to be announced. Exhibit information will be translated into Spanish and Marshallese. The Famous Hardware art installations take place throughout the year and make art accessible to the Springdale community and create new experiences for people visiting the downtown. (Courtesy Photo/ Downtown Springdale Alliance and Meredith Mashburn) FAQ 'BRAIN TO BRAIN PAPER PLANE' WHEN — Through Nov. 8; the installation can be viewed day or evening WHERE — Famous Hardware, 113 W. Emma Ave. in Spring- dale COST — Free INFO — factoryobscura.com/ news/downtown-springdale FYI — For events connected to the installation watch downtownspringdale.org. See Hardware Page 4