Jun 15, 2023 Evening to feature selections by six Latinx composers and family members of Carlos Chávez, a close friend of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Photos of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and Carlos Chávez are available here. BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Crystal Bridges Musuem of American Art and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA) have put together a moving concert experience inspired by the museum’s special exhibition Diego Rivera’s America. Designed to sonically bring the artwork to life, the musical program will feature selections by six Latinx composers, including Javier Álvarez, Alejandro Basulto, José Pablo Moncayo, Gabriela Ortiz, Silvestre Revueltas, and Carlos Chávez — a friend of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Members of the Chávez family will travel from Mexico to attend the concert. The evening of music, which takes place at Crystal Bridges on June 30 at 7 pm, will bring together the visionary voices of Musical Curator and Conductor Felipe Tristán, Music Director Paul Haas, Crystal Bridges Acting Windgate Curator of Craft Jen Padgett, and a SoNA chamber orchestra. The unique collaboration will focus on the exhibition’s key themes, using the arts to highlight the profound beauty of the working class and everyday life, especially as it relates to Mexico’s mestizo and Indigenous roots. “Diego Rivera’s artwork depicts the breadth of human experience — families and workers, struggles and celebrations, histories and imagined futures,” said Padgett. “SoNA’s musical interpretation of the exhibition will give our visitors a new medium to enjoy themes we see visually in his work. We’re thrilled to share this moment with our community and celebrate a groundbreaking artist alongside those who’ve been connected to him personally.” The special musical performance will be part of the Symphony’s concert series, SoNA Beyond, which explores new avenues for accessibility and focuses on music’s ability to provide insight and inspiration in unexpected ways. Conductor Felipe Tristán, who conducts with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, Teatro Grattacielo, and serves as a Creative Partnerships Manager with the Grammy award-winning Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, will bring the music to life from his podium. “Tristán’s strong connection with both classical music and Afro Latin culture has been essential to developing this show and honoring Rivera’s values,” said SoNA Executive Director Riley Nicholson. “The deep relationship between sonic and visual arts will help guide this extraordinary event, and music and art lovers alike won’t want to miss it.” One of the most significant artists of the twentieth century, Diego Rivera told the story of everyday experience in epic murals and individual paintings. Diego Rivera’s America, on view at Crystal Bridges through July 31, examines the artist’s production through more than 130 works, including his drawings, easel paintings, frescoes, and more. The rare presentation reveals the broad range of Rivera’s creativity through a series of thematic sections that bring together more works from this period than have been seen together since the artist’s lifetime. To learn more about Diego Rivera’s America, visit here. To learn more about SoNA Beyond visit here. Tickets to SoNA Beyond and Crystal Bridges Present: I Paint What I See are $30 ($75 for VIP tickets, and $15 for students or self-identified low-income individuals), and guests can reserve their spot online through Eventbrite. SoNA’s appearance at Crystal Bridges is supported by Greenwood Gearhart Investments and the Walmart Foundation. Diego Rivera’s America is co-organized by Crystal Bridges and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition is curated by James Oles, guest curator, with Maria Castro, assistant curator at SFMOMA, and coordinated at Crystal Bridges by Jen Padgett, the museum’s acting Windgate curator of craft. Diego Rivera’s America is sponsored by Goldman Sachs, Christie’s, The Coca-Cola Company, Avocados From Peru, Shelby and Frederick Gans, Blakeman’s Fine Jewelry, Esther Silver-Parker, Halperin Foundation, Jim and Susan von Gremp, and Cardinal Four Foundation. This project is supported in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. ### About Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. Since opening in 2011, the museum has welcomed more than 6.2 million visitors, with no cost for admission. Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 as a non-profit charitable organization by arts patron and philanthropist, Alice Walton. The collection spans five centuries of American masterworks from early American to current day and is enhanced by temporary exhibitions. The museum is nestled on 120 acres of Ozark landscape and was designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. A rare Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house was preserved and relocated to the museum grounds in 2015. Crystal Bridges offers public programs including lectures, performances, classes, and teacher development opportunities. Some 300,000 school children have participated in the Willard and Pat Walker School Visit program, which provides educational experiences for school groups at no cost to the schools. Additional museum amenities include a restaurant, gift store, library, and five miles of art and walking trails. In February 2020, the museum opened a satellite contemporary art space in downtown Bentonville called the Momentary (507 SE E Street). For more information, visit CrystalBridges.org. The museum is located at 600 Museum Way, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712.
