A world-class collection of American art, stunning architecture, and 134 acres of Ozark forest with five miles of trails. Admission to the museum is always free.
Planning a visit to Crystal Bridges? Use this page to learn about hours, parking, and what to expect while you’re here.
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..
Find opportunities to give and keep art accessible to all, become a member, or join our team.
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.
Join renowned artist Glenn Ligon, University of Arkansas historian Caree Banton, and Civics Program Director at Democracy Prep Public Schools Rashid Duroseau for a conversation exploring the interconnection of the arts with Black social movements, from the antislavery movement all the way to Black Lives Matter. Viewing slave narratives simultaneously as history, literature, and visual sources, our speakers will raise questions about slavery, its afterlife, and how people at different periods in time recognized oppressive and unjust systems and found creative ways to become agents of change.
Free, tickets required. Reserve your spot online or with Guest Services at (479) 657-2335 today.
Educators, register here to receive two hours of PD credit with the purchase of your ticket.
Once registered, you’ll receive an email with information about the event and the Zoom link for your convenience.
In this interactive speaker series, we invite leading artists and educators to weigh in on culture and this American moment. By examining art and the impact it has on us, our guest speakers look at where we’ve been, where we’re going, and what we can do to shape that future for the better. As an added bonus, educators and activists alike will walk away from these discussions with concrete ideas and strategies to use in their work and classrooms. 2.0 hours of educator professional credit available with educator ticket registration.
Glenn Ligon
Glenn Ligon (b. 1960) is an artist living and working in New York. Throughout his career, Ligon has pursued an incisive exploration of American history, literature, and society across bodies of work that build critically on the legacies of modern painting and conceptual art. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University and attended the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program. In 2011 the Whitney Museum of American Art held a mid-career retrospective of Ligon’s work, Glenn Ligon: America, organized by Scott Rothkopf, that traveled nationally.
Important recent shows include Grief and Grievance (2021), at the New Museum, where Ligon acted as a curatorial advisor; Des Parisiens Noirs at the Musée d’Orsay, Paris; Blue Black (2017), an exhibition Ligon curated at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis; and Glenn Ligon: Encounters and Collisions (2015), a curatorial project organized with Nottingham Contemporary and Tate Liverpool. His work has been included in major international exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale (2015 and 1997), Berlin Biennial (2014), Istanbul Biennial (2011, 2019), Documenta XI (2002), and Gwangju Biennale (2000).
Caree Banton
Dr. Caree Banton is an Associate Professor of African Diaspora History and the Director of the African and African American Studies Program at the University of Arkansas. Dr. Banton earned a BPA in Public Administration and BA in History from Grambling State University in 2005. She received a MA in Development Studies from the University of Ghana in July 2012 and completed her Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University in June 2013. Much of her work focuses on teaching and learning with an emphasis on strong written and verbal communication skills, curriculum and instructional design, problem-solving around issues of diversity, justice, and equity, and cultivating empathetic listening abilities in adults. Her academic research focuses on movements towards freedom, particularly abolition, emancipation, and colonization through which she explores ideas of citizenship, nationhood, and race.
Her work has been supported by the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, the Andrew Mellon Foundation Fellowship, the Lapidus Center Fellowship at the Schomburg Center, the Nancy Weiss Malkiel Fellowship, and the National Endowment for the Humanities grant. Dr. Banton is a member of the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy and has been named a Master Teacher in Fulbright College. Her book, More Auspicious Shores: Barbadian Migration to Liberia, Blackness, and the Making of the African Republic, was published by Cambridge University Press in May 2019.
Rashid Duroseau
Rashid Duroseau is the Civics Program Director at Democracy Prep Public Schools—a national network of 22 charter schools founded with the explicit mission of preparing the next generation of changemakers. In his role, he coordinates community engagement experiences and K-12 nonpartisan civic education curricular materials for over 7000 children and 900 adult staff members. A graduate of Williams College and the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, Rashid is a lifelong learner who is committed to empowering communities, dismantling systems of oppression and discrimination, and contributing to the work of building a more empathetic and interconnected world.
Sponsored by Northern Trust
