A world-class collection of American art, stunning architecture, and 120 acres of Ozark forest with five miles of trails. Admission to the museum is always free.
Planning a visit to Crystal Bridges this spring? Use this guide to learn what’s on and what to expect this season.
We have something for all types of learners. From educator resources to family activities to scholars, find what speaks to you and engage with us.
There’s more to the museum than just the galleries— come enjoy hands-on creative fun with art classes for all ages and experience levels..
Crystal Bridges members receive year-round perks, invitations to member-only events, travel opportunities, and more!
Museum & Buildings
Trails and Grounds open daily sunrise to sunset.
Bethany Collins: America: A Hymnal
Bethany Collins (b.1984) uses language to explore American history and the nuance of racial and national identities. For this sound installation, Collins recorded six singers performing different versions of the popular American hymn “America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee),” which has been rewritten more than 100 times with lyrics supporting American causes such as revolution, suffrage, Native sovereignty, temperance, the Confederacy, and abolition. Resounding from the Rock Ledge Shelter in the North Forest, listen to the sounds of the voices come together into a familiar chaos, what Collins calls the “dissenting versions of what it means to be…American bound together.”
Image credit: Bethany Collins. © 2020 Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Bob Packert.
This exhibition was organized by Austen Barron Bailly, chief curator, Crystal Bridges, and Allison Glenn, senior curator and director of public art, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and former associate curator, contemporary art, Crystal Bridges.