Art On The Road

CB to You brings museum to surrounding communities

If you build it, they will come.” The quote — from the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” — refers to baseball, but it’s also been true for a decade for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Since opening in Bentonville on Nov. 11, 2011, the museum has welcomed 5.4 million visitors from around the world — 55% from outside Arkansas and most of them adults.

New this fall, the CB to You Mobile Art Lab takes Crystal Bridges into the communities that surround it, with the goal of reaching audiences of all ages, especially children.

“CB to You challenges the museum’s mission and staff members to dig deeper on the meaning of ‘welcoming all’ and access to arts by meeting people where they are,” says Sara Segerlin, director of community engagement for Crystal Bridges. “Our community engagement work activates the museum’s resources and staff to build trust, welcome diverse perspectives, and nurture authentic relationships with the communities we serve.”

Launched Aug. 18 at the Madison County Library in Huntsville, CB to You will visit seven towns in the greater Northwest Arkansas region — Huntsville, West Fork, Fort Smith, Fayetteville, Rogers, Springdale and Siloam Springs, Segerlin says. “We visit each town’s library, park, community center or food pantry for four days and also have scheduled a return visit, as we hope to spend time getting to know each town. … We will be traveling from Aug. 18 to Dec. 20 for a 56-day tour.”

Artists with experience in community outreach were chosen for the tour, with new faces coming from the University of Arkansas’ Master of Fine Arts program to join established favorites like Papa Rap and Lakisha Harper Bradley with My-T-By-Design studio, Segerlin says.

“We also looked to artists and local art organizations as the experts in fostering community storytelling, so we looked to partner broadly with literary organizations such as Open Mouth Reading Series, Ozark Poets and Writers Collective, and Poetic Justice Speak Your Jewel,” she adds. “In the future, we may move to an open call sign-up once we have figured out a good working model from this fall and spring’s pilot tour.”

Segerlin says “we look like a bit of an art caravan,” setting up portable artworks, pop-up tents, traveling performance spaces and “a buffet of art-making activities that are designed by local artists” in a community park or outside a library. One of those artists is Junli Song, who is working on her master of fine arts degree at the University of Arkansas.

“I was very fortunate as a child to grow up in a big city with an incredible

art museum, and also being raised in a home which was overflowing with beautiful art books,” she says. “I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t looking at art, and making. Simply put, it brings me joy!

“I am a printmaker, so I wanted to come up with an activity that gives some insight into the way I approach making my own work — primarily, to think about making work in layers of colour,” Song says. “Because of the wide age range of our visitors, I wanted something simple to execute, so I decided on stencil-making. We both help visitors make their own stencils, as well as offer a selection of pre-cut stencils, and they then use brushes/sponges with paint to create their designs, with the option to layer multiple stencils over one another to see the beautiful ways the colors can combine.

“I love it when people come up with their own stencils because it shows me what is important in their lives, what inspires them,” Song enthuses. “The reaction has been wonderful, and I feel so lucky to see how enthusiastic everyone is to be involved.”

“The CB to You Mobile Art Lab is a happy surprise for families and visitors,” Segerlin concludes. “Some ask if it’s a paid program, and we share it’s free, and also there are free art kits for families to take and continue making art at home. We hear that many are blown away by the museum efforts to visit their town in such a thoughtful way to highlight their town’s own library, school teachers and artists. Many people love the pop-up performances such as Papa Rap’s drum circle, as well as the unique poets of our region.

“Most of all people love talking to the artists hosting the activity. The conversations with visitors and the library staff are a great way to hear about each town’s history and culture.”