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.
Conclusion:
For
more information about Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art,
visit http://crystalbridges.org/
Article
and photos by Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong
Copyright Sunny
Harbor Publishing
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