When Alice Walton first revealed her plans for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art at a press conference in late May 2005, the biggest headlines focused on the incredible collection of American art -- collected for decades by Walton herself and including the $35 million Asher B. Durand work "Kindred Spirits" -- that would be housed in the Moshe Safdie-designed building. Tucked away in articles about the plans were scant but tantalizing hints about what the grounds of the museum might promise: Safdie expressed his intention of incorporating the body of water running through the acreage into the design. Public lawns and sculpture gardens were mentioned, as was the fact that the 120 acres that the Museum would sit on would contain hiking and biking trails connected to Bentonville's trail system.
"We're going to have to clean out the woods to help make it thrive," said landscape architect Peter Walker, adding that he intended to incorporate the oak, hickory and pine trees in the surrounding woods in the garden design. Walker came with a substantial resume: He had worked with Safdie on previous projects, was the landscape architect for the World Trade Center Memorial in New York City and was the head of landscape design at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.
Ten years later, the grounds of Crystal Bridges offer as much to marvel at as do the works of art found within the museum's walls. The robust sculpture garden includes pieces like George Dombek's "Tour de Tree," Pat Musick's "Place Where They Cried" and James Turrell's sky space called "The Way of Color." Seven themed trails -- some bike-specific, some pedestrian-specific and some a mix of both -- offer four miles of paths. Quartz crystals covering boulders excavated from a mine in west central Arkansas can be found beside the walkway that runs along the west side of Crystal Bridges' upper pond. Eco boxes -- audio boxes powered by a hand crank -- have started popping up on the grounds, designed to offer information about native plants, local history and outdoor sculptures. A Crystal Bridges app supplies interactive trail maps, art and plant guides and audio tour information about the grounds' features. Most awe-inspiring of all, though, is the way Crystal Bridges has used the outdoor spaces to program concerts, exhibits and classes in a way that complements and benefits from the beautiful surroundings.
"Crystal Bridges is a unique museum in the sense that we have an emphasis on art, but also nature and architecture," says Moira Anderson, associate director of public programs. "We have over 120 acres of cultivated grounds, and we have a unique opportunity to be able to create a variety of engagements that give guests a couple of different ways of interacting with our grounds."
Anderson has worked at the museum since 2013 and has a been in museum education for over a decade, with institutions like the Springfield Art Museum and the Yellowstone Art Museum on her resume. She says her current position is dependent on teamwork.
"With our nature programming, we really try and balance a variety of interests and multi-generational approaches to creating ways in which guests can connect and enjoy our trails and grounds," she says. "It's highly collaborative, in the way we plan and create these engagements to create really strong programs for our guests."
"Discover the Grounds," says Anderson, is a perfect example. A collaboration between the grounds team and the museum's educators, the program educates the public on the plants and animals commonly found on the museum grounds -- turning nature into its own art exhibit. Garden Party, now in its fifth year, is an outside event that "celebrates the beauty of Crystal Bridges' trails and grounds," according to its press materials, and offers guests food trucks, classes and demonstrations and live music.
"Those are a couple of programs that really showcase how we want to create ways in which people can learn and engage within our grounds," notes Anderson. "But we also value those moments of programming on our grounds to create the environment of being in nature ... as a setting and a way for people to come and socialize and connect -- which is where we have programs like our North Forest concert series that really position live music and entertainment out in a beautiful setting in our North Forest and invite people to come and commune in a space like that."
Anderson says the museum never stops brainstorming about future events that can take advantage of the natural beauty of the campus and points at two new programming opportunities as examples.
"Art Trail at Night, which will kick off in August, will feature art making -- different activities -- and music, spread down our art trail." she says. "We also created Nature Weekends, starting on July 17 and 18, where we'll have a variety of different programs and engagements that are all centered around the idea of pollinators -- from insects to animals to plants. In August, we're celebrating water, and in September, we'll conclude with edible gardens ."
Marina McCoy is the manager of horticulture development at Crystal Bridges, and she says her job is frequently unpredictable -- but that's part of its allure.
"The museum grounds are always changing, and we all have our favorite spots and things we look for in different seasons. Staying ahead of the weather is a struggle -- especially in spring, which is our busiest time for projects and planting. But it's also the most beautiful time of year in the Ozarks, and it's a thrill just to get to and from our project site every day as the dogwoods come into bloom and the forest greens up.
"I enjoy the challenge of figuring out new projects, especially projects I never expected to do as a gardener," McCoy adds. "For example, this spring, we installed a new outdoor sculpture, 'The Bruising' by Rashid Johnson. My team worked with the artist to select plants for the structure, which is an open, 20-by-20-by-20 metal frame. Then our gardeners climbed up (and in, and on top of) the frame to place the plants in delicate ceramic pots and fill them with soil. It was nerve-racking at times but so rewarding for our crew to collaborate with the artist's team and preparatory staff to see the structure come to life."
McCoy lists the museum's upcoming collaboration with the Amazeum, a children's museum that is located at the edge of Crystal Bridges' campus, as the one she's most looking forward to.
"I am very excited for the 'Convergence' project, which will connect the museum and the Amazeum with play spaces for all ages," she says. "It will bring people closer to the creeks that are such a special feature of our site and offer new ways for guests to explore and connect with nature."
Called a "collaborative playscape" between the two institutions, the space will occupy four acres and will be a "robust, outdoor, family play space inspired by arts, science, nature and design, inclusive for guests of all ages."
"Another thing that's exciting about this is the deep connection to nature and how the natural beauty and seasonal changes of the Ozarks not only enhance the experience at 'Convergence,' but also make the experience different on each visit," notes Amazeum Executive Director Sam Dean. "While the physical infrastructure remains consistent, the natural world continues to change, presenting new opportunities for playful exploration and discovery each visit."
"Convergence" is the future. Here's a look back at three of the most popular outside exhibits Crystal Bridges has hosted over the past 10 years.
Frank Lloyd Wright's
Bachman-Wilson House
This example of Wright's Usonian architecture was acquired in 2013 and relocated from its original site in New Jersey, saving it from flood plain damage. In an interview ahead of the 2015 opening of the exhibit at Crystal Bridges, Executive Director Rod Bigelow said of seeing the disassembled house in New Jersey, "I looked at it and instantly thought, 'What have we done? We've made the biggest mistake ever by destroying this house.' But it had to be done. It was the right thing to do to preserve it."
The painstaking process of assembling the house took nearly two years.
"It's been my experience at Crystal Bridges that the projects that make you say, 'Whoa!' are the ones that turn out to be most significant," said Niki Stewart, then the chief engagement officer for Crystal Bridges in a 2015 interview. "If you didn't have that moment, it was probably comfortable, it was probably standard, and something we've done before. It's when we're doing something that has never been done before that we wonder if we've made a mistake. And that's why the house is so special. Other Wright houses have been moved, but this one was taken apart piece-by-piece and moved. That was extreme, but in the end it's absolutely been worth it."
Today, the home -- styled with furnishings that are period-appropriate, including some designed by Wright -- can also be viewed virtually via an online tour, and audio tours in English and Spanish are offered.
North Forest Lights
Writer Jocelyn Murphy's 2019 story about the North Forest Lights exhibit is headlined "Moments of Magic." "The five installations comprising North Forest Lights are site specific and were developed by a team of nearly 60 Montreal-based and local artists, engineers, lighting designers, sound designers, programmers and more," she wrote of the collaboration between the Montreal-based collective the Moment Factory and Crystal Bridges. Located in the dense woods of the museum campus' North Forest, the exhibit took viewers' breath away with its beauty. A haunting sound design, elaborate light effects and the magic of the forest itself combined to create an outdoor experience like no other.
"It was all about developing this idea of the digital bonfire -- a place that we invite people to connect and to share positive vibes, adding to that the layer of making what we believe," said Moment Factory creative director Marie Belzil. "Because we've been passing so much time in nature, we believe that nature has a soul. This was also an opportunity to talk about that. That's the first thing we knew, for sure. But then it really all started from site visits -- walking the path many times, feeling the vibe of the different places, looking at this natural scenography. Basically, the nature became our canvas."
Dale Chihuly Exhibit
In 2017, Crystal Bridges exhibited more than 300 pieces of famed glass sculptor Dale Chihuly's otherworldly creations -- including a series of pieces that were positioned outdoors, along the North Forest Trail. Outside pieces included the "Sole D'oro," or "Golden Sun," a 5,000-pound sculpture consisting of more than 1,000 hand-blown glass pieces, created specifically for the Crystal Bridges exhibit. In 2019, the museum announced that several Chihuly pieces were back on display outside, where they would remain permanently. Those pieces include the "Golden Sun," located in the North Forest near the food court area; "Niijima Floats," located in the Upper Pond near the Great Hall; "Turquoise Reeds and Ozark Fiori," located near the bridge on the Art Trail; and "Fiori Boat," in the North Forest near the North Tower Bridge.
