Dear Friend

Dear Friend is a free, focus exhibition on view in the Community Arts Gallery (located in the Lower Lobby), featuring a selection of artworks created by artist Leah Grant and local community members. These works are from a larger body of work created in 2022 as part of the museum’s CB to You Mobile Art Lab program, in which Grant facilitated creative writing workshops in community partner sites throughout Northwest Arkansas.

Community members were invited to write an open letter to a friend during the workshops. With the permission of the community members, the artist reproduced some of these letters at large scale for public display. Grant uses hot foil stamping to highlight specific words that resonate with her to create a new message within the letter, encouraging different communities to experience both intimacy and healing in public spaces.

Free, no tickets required.

Leah Grant uses collage techniques and images from a personal archive to recontextualize her experiences by revealing and/or concealing the vulnerable parts of her identity. Grant considers herself an Artist in The Multiple because she utilizes photography, writing, audio, and video in her art practice. Grant’s currently focuses on curating and exhibiting in partnership with local organizations and museums to facilitate community projects that build intimacy in public spaces. Grant has a BFA from Henderson State University and an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Arkansas School of Art. She is based in Fayetteville, Arkansas.