Images, Stories, and Beats: An Evening with NWA Photographers and Tatsuya Nakatani

Join us for an evening of live storytelling and performance with a rare gathering of some of the best photographers in Northwest Arkansas, inspired by the art of photography and our latest exhibition, Annie Leibovitz at Work.

Local photographers Ashley Lewis, Brandon Watts, Neal Holland, Jeremy McGraw, Kat Wilson, Meredith Mashburn, Shay Holloway, Stephen Ironside, Kyle Agee, and Xavier Smith will each showcase their favorite photographs and the stories behind them, letting you get to know both them and their work. Photographer and founder of Kidz n Cameras Brandon Watts will emcee the night’s events.

The event will kick off at 7 p.m. with a chance to mingle with the artists and your fellow art lovers, as well as enjoy free admission to the exhibition. At 7:30 p.m., the live storytelling and image-sharing session will begin, featuring each photographer in turn. And, to add a special touch to the evening, musician Tatsuya Nakatani will perform a percussion show in collaboration with the photographers’ images at 8:30 p.m.

Don’t miss this unforgettable evening of art and creativity!

Free, tickets required. Reserve your spot online or by calling Guest Services at (479) 657-2335 today.
Ticket includes event registration, admission to Annie Leibovitz at Work, and complimentary light bites. Cash bar available.

Tatsuya Nakatani is an avant-garde percussionist, composer, and artist of sound. Active internationally since the 1990s, Nakatani has released over 80 recordings and tours extensively, performing over 150 concerts a year. His primary focus is his solo work and his large ensemble project, the Nakatani Gong Orchestra. Originally from Japan, he makes his home in the desert town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. With his activity in new music, improvisation, and experimental music, Nakatani has a long history of collaboration.

Nakatani’s distinctive music centered around his adapted bowed gong, supported by an array of drums, cymbals, and singing bowls. In consort with his personally hand-carved Kobo Bows, he has spent decades refining and developing his sound as an arrangement of formations of vibrations, incorporated in shimmering layers of silence and texture.