ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS

The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, University of Arkansas advances design excellence through a multidisciplinary, place-responsive design education, in service to Arkansas, the nation, and the world. Within the curricular context of an excellent professional design education, the school provides a vital design culture and educational environment grounded in critical design thinking, multidisciplinary collaborations, and civic engagement. Founded in 1946 with degree programs in architecture, and named in honor of the Arkansas-born Fay Jones, the 1990 AIA Gold Medalist, today the school is constituted by nationally recognized degree programs in architecture, interior architecture and landscape architecture, as well as the award-winning University of Arkansas Community Design Center, the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation and Garvan Woodland Gardens, a botanical garden in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Across the school, students focus on issues of community with a global awareness, designing for the lives of real people and towards a better environment, through a responsible emphasis on the materiality and experience of design, preparing students to work productively across geographies, societies, and cultures. 

As Arkansas's flagship institution, the University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas's economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity, while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News. 

DesignConnects’s mission is to create and nurture places and organizations using art and design, collaboration, and civic leadership. DesignConnects provides services in design, non-profit management, community engagement, advocacy, policy-making, government operations, and public/private partnerships, associated with culture, architecture, preservation, landscape, and urban design and planning. Recent projects include: Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden; New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden renovation; Portland, Oregon’s Back to Square One: Rethinking O’Bryant Square; and Scandinavia House at 25, Nordic American Connections: Conversations on Architecture and Design.

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 14 million visitors across its spaces, 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 134 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. Home of the prestigious Don Tyson Prize for the Advancement of American Art and Tyson Scholars of American Art Program, Crystal Bridges offers public programs including lectures, performances, classes, and teacher development opportunities. Some 478,375 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 the Momentary in Downtown Bentonville (507 SE E Street), conceived as a platform for the art, food, and music of our time. In 2026, Crystal Bridges will complete a 114,000 square foot expansion that will allow the museum to expand access for all. For more information, visit CrystalBridges.org. The museum is located at 600 Museum Way, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712.