Crystal Bridges and the Momentary Offer Exhibitions, Music, and Artist-Led Programs in March

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary will have a full slate of offerings in March including music, performances, Art in Bloom, and artist- led State of the Art 2020 programs.

Exhibitions + Crystal Bridges Programs
State of the Art 2020 is on view at both Crystal Bridges and the Momentary now through May 24, 2020. The exhibition features the work of 61 artists working around the country today. It is free for all at both locations, and this month, several artists from the show will be leading workshops and events:

• Chicago-based artist Edra Soto will be conducting two drop-in workshops (Sunday, March 1, 1 p.m. at Crystal Bridges and Monday, March 2, 10:30 a.m. at Northwest Arkansas Community College) to decorate bottles with cast materials. Finished artworks may be used in Soto’s work. Both events are free to attend, no registration required.
• Fayetteville, Arkansas-based artist Anthony Sonnenberg will be leading an Adult Workshop on Sunday, March 15 at 1 p.m. in which guests will create a wearable ceramic work of art. Tickets are available here. He will also be conducting a free gallery talk at the Momentary on Saturday, March 14 at 1 p.m.
• Houston-based artist JooYoung Choi will be conducting several family-friendly art workshops at the end of March, including a gallery talk (Friday, March 27 at 1 p.m.), a family workshop where visitors will create puppets and film their creations in front of a green screen (Friday, March 27 at 5 p.m.), and a drop-in artmaking event at the Springdale Public Library on Saturday, March 28 at 10 a.m. All events are free to attend.

Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal… is on view at Crystal Bridges from now through April 20, 2020. This exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of the acclaimed and award-winning artist’s career, featuring over 90 of his artworks including photographs, sculpture, mixed media, and more. Crystal Bridges is offering a roster of programs inspired by the show.

• This month, there are three opportunities to participate in For Freedoms Community Conversations around Northwest Arkansas. As part of the ongoing efforts of For Freedoms (co-founded by Thomas), the following events will be led by a diverse panel of local speakers including artists, city officials, and community leaders in the sharing of personal stories around a specific “freedom.” The stories shared in this program are meant to bring different voices from the community together in a shared, non-partisan space. Each event is free to attend with online registration.
  • Freedom of Speech» Saturday, February 29, 1- 3:00 pm at Crystal Bridges
  • Freedom from Want» Thursday, March 5, 5:30 pm at the University of Arkansas
  • Freedom from Fear» Thursday, March 12, 5:30 pm at the Northwest Arkansas Community College
  • Freedom of Worship» Thursday, March 19, 6 pm at the Jones Center

Art in Bloom, Crystal Bridges’ annual celebration uniting the power of art with the beauty of nature, will take place at the museum March 20-23. 16 regional florists and shops will each create a unique floral arrangement based on an artwork in the Crystal Bridges permanent collection. The arrangements will be on display in the galleries for all to enjoy during Art in Bloom. The event is free to attend.

During spring break, families and visitors of all ages are welcome to join us for Spring Break Specials on March 21-29. Each afternoon between 1 and 4 p.m., the museum will offer family-friendly performances and artmaking activities. The event is free to attend each day.

Programs at the Momentary
Interactive sound installation Gardens Speak by artist Tania El Khoury will be performed at the Momentary February 29-March 8. The installation contains the oral histories of 10 ordinary people who were buried in Syrian gardens during the early periods of the uprising. Gardens Speak will be performed every 90 minutes from 12 to 7 p.m. More information and tickets for Gardens Speak are available here.

Colorado-based artist/dancer Jaimie Henthorn will be premiering a new, site-specific, multi-day performance duet with Nile H. Russell called A New Between, March 27-29. The performance will take place along the 1.5-mile trail between the Momentary and Crystal Bridges, beginning at the Momentary and ending at Crystal Bridges. The performance will interrogate the architecture of the two buildings as well as the path in-between. Tickets are available here.

Music at the Momentary:

• Mexican singer-songwriter and Grammy-award winner Lila Downs will be performing for one night only on Tuesday, March 10 at 8 p.m. Downs’s exquisite artistry combines genres and rhythms as diverse as Mexican rancheras and corridos, boleros, jazz, hip-hop, cumbia, and American pop. Tickets are available here.
• Scottish composer Anna Meredith and her band will perform a live show on Saturday, March 14 at 8 p.m. Her live show has been called “sheer exhilaration” (The New York Times), straddling the worlds of contemporary classical, art pop, electronica, and experimental rock. Tickets are available here.
• Legendary icon and Stax Records visionary, Al Bell brings classic soul music live through Al Bell Presents: A Soul Music Experience on Saturday, March 21 at 8 p.m., featuring Evvie McKinney, an exclusive Motown Gospel/Capitol CMG recording artist and winner of Fox’s The Four, and members of the world-famous Hi Rhythm Section under the musical direction of Grammy award-winning “Boo” Mitchell (“Uptown Funk”). Tickets are available here.
• International jazz band Shabaka and the Ancestors will be performing a show on Friday, March 27 at 8 p.m. It will be a blend of sax salutations, township jazz grooves, Caribbean rhythms, and spacey music. Tickets are available here.
• In Sound for Andy Warhol’s Kiss on Sunday, March 29 (7 p.m.), Kim Gordon and collaborators Bill Nace, Steve Gunn, and John Truscinski perform a partially improvised continual soundtrack for Andy Warhol’s hour-long film Kiss (1963-64) that captures close-ups of 14 couples kissing. Tickets are available here.

Wheelchair seating is accessible at all programs. CART captioning is offered at all Distinguished Speaker Lectures and Spotlight Talks. ASL is offered at the Collection Highlights tour on the third Saturday of each month. Based on availability, ASL is available for all programs and tours upon advanced request. Please contact access@crystalbridges.org or 479.657.2415 to schedule. Relay or voice calls are welcome. For inquiries about accessibility at the Momentary, please contact 479.657.2415.

STAY IN THE KNOW! Log in or create an account to customize your Crystal Bridges or Momentary eNewsletters based on your interests. A full listing of March programs is below. Information and registration are available on each site’s calendar of events.

Crystal Bridges Programs

Momentary Programs

For a complete list of current Crystal Bridges exhibitions, visit here. For news updates, follow Crystal Bridges on the Blog, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

For a complete list of current Momentary visual, performing, and culinary arts programs, visit here. For news updates, follow the Momentary on the News page, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal… is organized by the Portland Art Museum, Oregon. Sponsored at Crystal Bridges by Phillips, Esther Silver-Parker, Deborah Wright, Arkansas Humanities Council, and Kate & Greg Schaffer. This project is supported in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Sponsored by the Henry Luce Foundation.

State of the Art 2020 is sponsored by Bank of America (Lead Sponsor), Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, Christie’s, The Coca-Cola Company, Stella Boyle Smith Trust, Trott Family Foundation, Alturas Foundation, Bracken Darrell, and Fred and Shelby Gans. National tour sponsored by Bank of America.

Credits
Artwork featured: (left) Nicholas Lobo, Silhouette of a Friend, 2020. Glass reinforced pigment concrete. 50x120x27 in. (right) Edra Soto, Open 24 Hours, 2017. Found glass bottles of liquor, display cabinets, 8x2x2 ft each. Display cabinets co-designed by Navillus Woodworks.