Skip to main content

Your 2022 Fall Guide to Crystal Bridges

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art will be closed Monday, May 13, to prepare for the visit of Antiques Roadshow. We will return to normal hours of operation Wednesday, May 15.

There is nothing quite like the autumn season at Crystal Bridges. Beyond the gallery walls, there is so much beauty to be seen in the changing leaves and nature surrounding the museum. A perfect fall day can be spent with a few hours admiring art, then grabbing a cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa from our Coffee Bar and enjoying a walk on the trails. This fall season, Crystal Bridges has so much to experience, with a new fashion exhibition, a new outdoor, nighttime forest exhibition, a rare original print of the US Constitution on view, and an array of programs and speakers to entertain everyone in the family. 

Use this guide to see what’s on at Crystal Bridges this season and plan your trip today. Remember that general admission to the museum is always free.

We’re Closed Thanksgiving Day: Crystal Bridges will be closed Thursday, November 24 for Thanksgiving Day so our staff and volunteers can spend the day with their families. The trails will remain open sunrise to sunset.

Pardon Our Construction: Our museum is expanding and it’s literally a BLAST! During your time here, you may hear loud construction noises or feel ground vibrations while the construction team works to remove rock. You may also be asked to temporarily move out of a gallery space. Thank you for your patience while we work to expand art access for all.

 

New Exhibitions, Indoors and Outside

In the Galleries

 

a gallery space featuring mannequins dressed in nudie suits and a bright pink wall featuring the exhibition's title,
Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour

Open now through January 30, 2023
Get tickets here | Temporary Exhibition Gallery

Get red-carpet ready for the museum’s first exhibition dedicated to fashion! From dresses worn by first ladies to art-inspired garments to iconic fashion moments that defined a generation, Fashioning America offers a dynamic interaction between video, imagery, and over 100 garments and accessories selected from across two centuries of fashion.

The exhibition emphasizes the work of designers who immigrated to America, Native American and Black designers, as well as iconic fashion brands and their impact on visual culture in every decade. This sweeping presentation conveys how American fashion and its contributions reflect the American spirit of ingenuity on the national and world stages.

 

Out on the Trails

 

people stand on a bridge at night looking out onto a ravine lit with bright blue and purple lights
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Listening Forest, "Summon", 2022, Bentonville Arkansas / United States, Photo by Stephen Ironside.
Listening Forest

Open now through January 1, 2023
Get tickets here | North Forest

Crystal Bridges’ North Forest is coming to life once again with a brand-new outdoor, nighttime experience.

Listening Forest, created by artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, uses light, sound, and projections to create an interactive walk through the woods. This site-specific exhibition brings together eight immersive installations, each one activated by you: your heart rate, your body, your voice, and your movements direct the forest’s response.

Add your heartbeat to an array of 3,000 lightbulbs each glimmering to the pulse of a different participant from the past. Control giant, 20-foot-tall stick figures made of light. Leave a voice recording that will join a chorus of echoes left by previous forest visitors, and much more.

 

Two people walk along a paved trail lined with trees and grass. A small and angular pink house and other structures are visible among the trees ahead of them.
Architecture at Home along the Orchard Trail. Photo by Stephen Ironside.
Architecture at Home

Open now through 2023
Free | along the Orchard Trail

Architecture at Home, Crystal Bridges’ outdoor architecture exhibition, brings together five prototypes for homes to spark a dialogue about contemporary housing. Through research, interviews, and innovative thinking, five architecture firms based across the Americas designed and fabricated 500 square-foot prototypes for a contemporary house to be displayed in the exhibition and visitors can enter and walk around them.

Overall, this exhibition helps us better understand how architecture affects our lives, determine what makes a house a home, and celebrate the artistry in building and shelter.

Learn more about this project and the participating architects.

 

Resource: Plan a day of architectural discovery at Crystal Bridges with this day-long architecture itinerary.

 

a group of people look at documents encased in glass on a pedestal and walk around a gallery space
Photo by Stephen Ironside.

We the People Brings Big Speakers and Programs This Fall

Have you seen the Constitution yet? In We the People: The Radical Notion of Democracy, a rare, original print of the US Constitution (one of only eleven known in the world) is on view alongside other founding documents and in conversation with works of art by influential historical and contemporary artists that provide diverse American perspectives on the nation’s founding principles.

In celebration of this monumental exhibition, we have a packed fall lineup of programs and speakers. Come learn about and commemorate the ideals that shaped a nation with art, conversation, and community.

 

the studio at crystal bridges decorated with stars, wallpapers, and customized layouts for the
Photo by Stephen Ironside
Stop by the Constitution Studio

Located just off Walker Landing, the Studio is an artmaking space for kids and adults alike that is rebranding as the Constitution Studio during the course of the exhibition. This hands-on space welcomes visitors of all ages to engage creatively with the ideas that inspire our nation with themed artmaking projects and activities.

 

 

Enjoy Free Focus Exhibitions

four young people look at their reflection in a funhouse mirror and hold up a camera
Photo by Stephen Ironside
Loring Taoka: ±

Open now through March 27
Free | in the Contemporary Art Gallery

In ±, artist Loring Taoka immerses a section of the Contemporary Art Gallery in this pattern, inviting visitors to leave their expectations and comfort zones behind and fall into a space of illegibility. Walking down the hall, one can engage with the pattern through moments of optical disruption through the lenses of frosted glass, light boxes, gels, acrylics, and protrusions that pull the pattern off the wall and bring it into one’s own memories, experiences, and personal references.

 

Martine Gutierrez, Demons, Xochiquetzal ‘Flower Quetzal Feather,’ p95, 2018, printed 2020, chromogenic color print mounted on foamboard, hand-painted artist frame, 41 3/8 x 29 3/8 x 2 in. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2020.75. Photography by Edward C. Robison III.
Entre/Between

Open now through March 2023
Free | in the Early American Art Gallery

Entre/Between is a multi-sited exhibition presenting works that speak to Latinx* histories living within and between the United States. Surveying a visual history from 1851 to the present, the exhibition consists of paintings, photos, sculpture, works on paper, and video exhibited at Crystal Bridges, while video works and performances will be featured at the Momentary. Together, the exhibition explores themes of US border history, labor, and identity experiences that have defined and impacted Latinx communities–both in the US and across the diaspora.

*Here, we use Latinx, a gender-neutral term for a person of Latin American origin or descent who no longer lives in that region.

 

trail at crystal bridges in autumn

Take a walk on the trails and enjoy the fall nature 

Pick up a seasonal treat or your favorite coffee drink from our Coffee Bar and hit the trails for a gorgeous autumn walk. Now available, try our fall seasonal menu of coffee drinks, such as our spin on the PSL, a Breakfast in Bed Latte (maple spice syrup, white chocolate, espresso, and milk), Cinnabun Latte, or a Caramel Apple Cider. Along the trails, you’ll find sculptures to enjoy art within nature, not to mention exhibitions like Architecture at Home or taking a break by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman-Wilson House.

Inspired by our grounds to get out in your own backyard? Here are some tips for your fall and winter garden from our outdoor interpretation specialist.

 

Crystal Bridges Gallery Conversation

Become a Member

Become a museum member this season! Members enjoy a wide range of benefits, including free admission to temporary exhibitions, discounts on programs, events, and Museum Store purchases, and invitations to members-only events. Plus your support helps fund the free or low-cost events, classes, and community outreach that allow Crystal Bridges to make the power of art accessible to all.

Start your membership here.

 

a white canopy tent with two spires set against a setting sun and foregrounded by yellow and brown flowers
The Momentary Green. Photo by Ironside Photography.

Visit Bentonville and the Momentary

Make your trail walk (or bike) count! Take the Art Trail to downtown Bentonville and continue on to the Momentary at 507 SE E St., about 1.5 miles one-way. Read the Momentary’s Fall Guide to learn what’s going on in the space during this season.

Visiting Bentonville for the first time this season? There’s something for everyone, from public art and cultural museums to unique food and drink options to exciting nightlife and over 40 miles of connecting bike trails. Go to VisitBentonville.com for more information to plan your fall trip.

 

Thank you to our sponsors:

Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour sponsored by The Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation | JP Morgan | JT and Imelda Rose | Blakeman’s Fine Jewelry | Dillard’s Inc | Gelmart International | Jim and Susan von Gremp | Neal and Gina Pendergraft | Pamm and Paul Prebil | Diane and Mark Simmons | Tony Waller | Shannon and Charles Holley.

Listening Forest sponsored by The Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation | Kenneth and Mandy Davis | Sue and Charles Redfield.

Architecture at Home sponsored by Ford Foundation | Airways Freight Corp. | Engel & Völkers | Michelle Dearing | Ken and Liz Allen | The Incredible Building Co. | Tartaglino Richards Family Foundation.

We the People: The Radical Notion of Democracy is sponsored by Kenneth C. Griffin.

Learning and engagement programming for We the People: The Radical Notion of Democracy is sponsored by Scholastic Inc. | Walmart | Tyson Family Foundation | Sarah and Ross Perot, Jr. Foundation | Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates, & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. | Johnny and Jeanie Morris, Bass Pro Shops | Alturas Foundation | Harriet and Warren Stephens, Stephens Inc. | Sotheby’s | Bob and Becky Alexander | Marybeth and Micky Mayfield | Lamar and Shari Steiger | Jeff and Sarah Teague / Citizens Bank | Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities | Avis and Bill Bailey | Scarlett and Neff Basore | June Carter Family | Terri and Chuck Erwin | Jackye and Curtis Finch | The Harrison and Rhonda French Family | Jim and Susan von Gremp | Laurice Hachem | Shannon and Charles Holley | Valorie and Randy Lawson / Lawco Energy Group | Donna and Mack McLarty | Steve and Susan Nelson | Neal and Gina Pendergraft | Helen Porter | JT and Imelda Rose | Lee and Linda Scott | Stella Boyle Smith Trust, Catherine and Michael Mayton, Trustees | William Reese Company

Entre/Between sponsored by Phillips.