Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art – Bentonville, Arkansas
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art photo by Thomas Routzong
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art –Bentonville, Arkansas
Our Interview With Media Relations Manager Beth Bobbitt
By Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong
Bentonville, Arkansas may be known as the hometown of mega-retailer WalMart, but it is also home to one of the most unique and FREE museums anywhere in the world. There is no cost to view the Museum’s year- round permanent collection. General admission to Crystal Bridges is sponsored by Walmart.
The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art collection “offers a superb overview of American art, including American masterworks as well as surprising, lesser-known gems from the colonial era to today. Sculpture in the collection graces both interior galleries and outdoor trails.”
We met with Media Relations Manager Beth Bobbitt. This is what she told us about Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
What can you tell us about the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art free admission policy and WalMart sponsorship?
We were founded by the Walton Foundation. We’ve welcomed over 2.5 million visitors. Twenty percent of our collection came from Alice Walton’s personal collection. Viewing the collection is free to the public.
I grew up in this area. It is heartwarming to think about children that will now grow up with access to this art and education.
Please describe Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art:
Crystal Bridges is an American art museum located in Bentonville, Arkansas focused on exploring the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding works that illuminate our heritage and artistic possibilities.
The mission is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature.
How did Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art come to be?
Opened to the public on 11-11-11, Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 by the Walton Family Foundation as a nonprofit charitable organization for all to enjoy.
Philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton, who chairs the Museum’s board of directors, was the visionary behind the museum. She wanted to create a significant art museum in her hometown, on the 120 acres that belonged to her family for many years.
Building a world-class art museum in this region offered the benefits of sharing the beauty of the Ozarks with a wider audience, as well as offering a unique cultural experience to the region.
How is Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art important to and positively affecting the local, regional and national communities?
Since opening, the Museum has welcomed more than 2.5 million visitors, from all over the world. The biggest impact has been on visitors that may not otherwise have had access to great American art. This includes more than 130,000 schoolchildren that have been a part of the Willard and Pat Walker School Visit Program, which covers the cost of transportation and substitute teachers, lunches for the students and teachers, and educational materials.
A study on school visits found that students who attended a school tour at Crystal Bridges demonstrated stronger critical thinking skills, displayed higher levels of tolerance, had more historical empathy and developed a taste for being a cultural consumer in the future. These benefits were much larger, in general, for students from rural areas or high-poverty schools, as well as minority students.
On a national level, the record-breaking attended exhibition, State of the Art, Discovering American Art Now, offered a new paradigm for museums seeking excellence in contemporary American art. State of the Art also helped to increase awareness of the presence of great artists living and working all over the country.
With its diversity of artists, media, techniques, and subject matter, the exhibition also offered an antidote to the often-held belief that true art exists only in the urban coastal regions or is defined by a limited set of criteria. Two versions of this exhibition continue to travel to other museums, bringing its message of inclusion and discovery to venues across the US.
What do you love most about Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art?
Crystal Bridges stands on three pillars: art; nature, and architecture. The art spans colonial to present day; nestled within 120 acres of beautiful Ozark landscapes with 3.5 miles of walking and sculpture trails; with a building designed by world-renowned architect, Moshe Safdie that embodies the mission to connect visitors with the power of art and the beauty of nature—all of which creates a visceral experience for the visitor and positions Crystal Bridges as a unique cultural destination.
In addition to the galleries, the Museum complex includes a Library, a Museum Store, a restaurant called Eleven, which specializes in High-South Cuisine and coffee bar, a hands-on Experience Art Studio, and we offer learning programs including art-making classes, lectures, films, and more.
What are the future plans for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art?
As a young institution, we are always growing and expanding our thinking. The Museum offers a wide range of temporary exhibitions each year, and the artwork in our permanent collection galleries changes often. Our 2017 temporary exhibitions include Border Cantos: Sight & Sound Explorations from the Mexican-American Border; Chihuly: In the Forest & In the Gallery; and Stuart Davis: In Full Swing.
In addition, we recently announced that we will begin development of an innovative visual art exhibition space, performance venues for music, film, and theatre, and multi-disciplinary artists-in-residence program to be housed within a freestanding building in downtown Bentonville. The project will involve adaptive reuse of a decommissioned Kraft Foods plant, located 1.5 miles south of Crystal Bridges, into a vibrant facility for visual and performing arts. We expect the new venue to open in 2019.
For more information about Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, visit http://crystalbridges.org/
Check our USA Spotlight for more of our articles about Eureka Springs, the Ozarks, and Branson, Missouri.
Our Interview With Media Relations Manager Beth Bobbitt
By Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong
Bentonville, Arkansas may be known as the hometown of mega-retailer WalMart, but it is also home to one of the most unique and FREE museums anywhere in the world. There is no cost to view the Museum’s year- round permanent collection. General admission to Crystal Bridges is sponsored by Walmart.
The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art collection “offers a superb overview of American art, including American masterworks as well as surprising, lesser-known gems from the colonial era to today. Sculpture in the collection graces both interior galleries and outdoor trails.”
We met with Media Relations Manager Beth Bobbitt. This is what she told us about Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
What can you tell us about the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art free admission policy and WalMart sponsorship?
We were founded by the Walton Foundation. We’ve welcomed over 2.5 million visitors. Twenty percent of our collection came from Alice Walton’s personal collection. Viewing the collection is free to the public.
I grew up in this area. It is heartwarming to think about children that will now grow up with access to this art and education.
Please describe Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art:
Crystal Bridges is an American art museum located in Bentonville, Arkansas focused on exploring the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding works that illuminate our heritage and artistic possibilities.
The mission is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature.
How did Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art come to be?
Opened to the public on 11-11-11, Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 by the Walton Family Foundation as a nonprofit charitable organization for all to enjoy.
Philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton, who chairs the Museum’s board of directors, was the visionary behind the museum. She wanted to create a significant art museum in her hometown, on the 120 acres that belonged to her family for many years.
Building a world-class art museum in this region offered the benefits of sharing the beauty of the Ozarks with a wider audience, as well as offering a unique cultural experience to the region.
How is Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art important to and positively affecting the local, regional and national communities?
Since opening, the Museum has welcomed more than 2.5 million visitors, from all over the world. The biggest impact has been on visitors that may not otherwise have had access to great American art. This includes more than 130,000 schoolchildren that have been a part of the Willard and Pat Walker School Visit Program, which covers the cost of transportation and substitute teachers, lunches for the students and teachers, and educational materials.
A study on school visits found that students who attended a school tour at Crystal Bridges demonstrated stronger critical thinking skills, displayed higher levels of tolerance, had more historical empathy and developed a taste for being a cultural consumer in the future. These benefits were much larger, in general, for students from rural areas or high-poverty schools, as well as minority students.
On a national level, the record-breaking attended exhibition, State of the Art, Discovering American Art Now, offered a new paradigm for museums seeking excellence in contemporary American art. State of the Art also helped to increase awareness of the presence of great artists living and working all over the country.
With its diversity of artists, media, techniques, and subject matter, the exhibition also offered an antidote to the often-held belief that true art exists only in the urban coastal regions or is defined by a limited set of criteria. Two versions of this exhibition continue to travel to other museums, bringing its message of inclusion and discovery to venues across the US.
What do you love most about Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art?
Crystal Bridges stands on three pillars: art; nature, and architecture. The art spans colonial to present day; nestled within 120 acres of beautiful Ozark landscapes with 3.5 miles of walking and sculpture trails; with a building designed by world-renowned architect, Moshe Safdie that embodies the mission to connect visitors with the power of art and the beauty of nature—all of which creates a visceral experience for the visitor and positions Crystal Bridges as a unique cultural destination.
In addition to the galleries, the Museum complex includes a Library, a Museum Store, a restaurant called Eleven, which specializes in High-South Cuisine and coffee bar, a hands-on Experience Art Studio, and we offer learning programs including art-making classes, lectures, films, and more.
What are the future plans for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art?
As a young institution, we are always growing and expanding our thinking. The Museum offers a wide range of temporary exhibitions each year, and the artwork in our permanent collection galleries changes often. Our 2017 temporary exhibitions include Border Cantos: Sight & Sound Explorations from the Mexican-American Border; Chihuly: In the Forest & In the Gallery; and Stuart Davis: In Full Swing.
In addition, we recently announced that we will begin development of an innovative visual art exhibition space, performance venues for music, film, and theatre, and multi-disciplinary artists-in-residence program to be housed within a freestanding building in downtown Bentonville. The project will involve adaptive reuse of a decommissioned Kraft Foods plant, located 1.5 miles south of Crystal Bridges, into a vibrant facility for visual and performing arts. We expect the new venue to open in 2019.
For more information about Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, visit http://crystalbridges.org/
Check our USA Spotlight for more of our articles about Eureka Springs, the Ozarks, and Branson, Missouri.
Article and photos by Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong
Copyright 2016 Sunny Harbor Publishing Sunny Harbor Publishing PO Box 560318, Rockledge, FL 32956 Phone: 321-446-7552 [email protected] www.SunnyHarborPublishing.org |
|
Widget is loading comments...