By Design: A Conversation on the Crystal Bridges Expansion

Join us for a landmark moment as we celebrate the next chapter of Crystal Bridges. This special on-stage conversation brings together visionary leaders Alice Walton, Olivia Walton, and renowned architect Moshe Safdie for an inspiring dialogue on the Crystal Bridges’ expansion. Moderated by Vanity Fair art correspondent Nate Freeman, the discussion will offer insight into the broader cultural significance of the expansion. Marking a major milestone, this conversation will explore the ideas, ambition, and impact behind this transformative moment.

Tickets are $15 ($10/members). Reserve your spot online or with Guest Experience at (479) 657-2335 today. 

Nate Freeman

Freeman is known for his “True Colors” dispatch and previously served as a senior art business reporter at Artnet.

Alice Walton

Philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton is committed to increasing access to arts, improving education, enhancing health, and advancing economic opportunity for all. Alice is dedicated to promoting diversity and access in all of her philanthropic work.

In 2005, Alice Walton founded Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art as a non-profit charitable organization for all to enjoy. Alice’s interest in art began in her childhood when she discovered watercolors. She and her mother often painted with watercolors on family camping trips or on hikes in the Ozarks. As an adult, Alice began to collect watercolors, and over time, that grew into a broader interest in art history and all types of American art. Alice gifted her art collection to form the basis of the Crystal Bridges collection, and the Walton family gifted 120-acres of land in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas as the site for the museum. Designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie, the museum opened to the public on November 11, 2011.

Olivia Walton

Olivia Walton is a mother, investor, and philanthropist working at the intersection of economic opportunity, the arts, and maternal health.

She is the Founder and CEO of Ingeborg Investments and Ingeborg Initiatives, investing in companies and ideas that expand opportunity for women, mothers, and families. She founded the Maternal and Child Health Center for Policy and Practice at Heartland Forward to drive research and policy solutions that improve outcomes for mothers and children.

Olivia serves as Chairperson of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and sits on the Council of the Momentary. She is a Founder of OZ Art NWA, which brings contemporary art to public spaces across Northwest Arkansas. She believes cultural infrastructure is essential to economic development, civic identity, and quality of life.

Moshe Safdie

Internationally renowned architect Moshe Safdie is committed to architecture that supports and enhances a project’s program; that is informed by the geographic, social, and cultural elements that define a place; and that responds to human needs and aspirations.

In 1978, after teaching at Yale, Safdie relocated his residence and principal office to Boston where he also served as the Director of the Urban Design Program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and subsequently was the Ian Woodner Professor of Architecture and Urban Design. Safdie has written numerous books and received many awards, honorary degrees, and other recognitions for his work as an architect, urban planner, educator, and author.

Based in Boston with offices in Toronto, Jerusalem, and Singapore, Safdie has designed and realized a wide range of projects around the world. Many of his buildings have become beloved regional and national landmarks, including Habitat 67, Montreal, Canada; Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts; Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California; the National Gallery of Canada; and Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Jerusalem, Israel.