Art initiative brings isolated Arkansans ‘together’
BECCA MARTIN-BROWN
bmartin@nwadg.com
Kinya Christian loves trees — “and what they represent.” So, tasked with bringing the word “together” to life in a piece of art, she began with what she loves.
“I started thinking about being together but staying apart to keep each other safe,” she remembers. “You know, the largest living organism on earth is a grove of aspens, because they all share the same root system. And I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, that’s it!’ A tree never really dies; it creates oxygen through photosynthesis, and it drops its seeds to make new trees, and it continues to give shelter and food throughout its whole life. But these aspens, in particular, all share the same roots.”
Leana Fischer’s “together” image focuses on a sure sign of spring.
(Courtesy Image/Crystal Bridges Museum)
Christian went from thinking about aspens to thinking about the giant redwoods in California.
“There’s a particular tree there that has been photographed a million times, huge, gnarly, with all of these branches and limbs reaching up to the sky. And it has to count on an amazing root system as well to keep going. So, we’re all in this together, and we’ve just got to keep going. Then, as an abstract artist, I wanted to include faces in this tree and the face of the sun to give it character — because the sun is part of photosynthesis, and it’s all part of a huge circle of life thing.”
Starting this week, postcards bearing Christian’s line drawing of her tree of life — plus the works of eight other Northwest Arkansas artists — will be going out to staffers, volunteers and members of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary. It’s all part of a community initiative intended to “help those especially vulnerable to the negative effects of isolation.”
Called “the Social Connecting Campaign,” the effort asks members of the community to color the line drawings and write “inspirational messages” on the back. Then the postcards will be returned to Crystal Bridges and, in Phase One, be delivered to hospitals and senior living facilities — along with art kits — hopefully bringing joy and social connection with them. The artists will also paint large-scale, colorful versions of the postcard drawings which will be displayed outside the same hospitals and nursing homes.
Among the featured artists is Kenny Arredondo, whose vision of “together” looks to nature.
(Courtesy Image/Crystal Bridges Museum)
The idea was “the synthesis of so many great, creative minds,” says Marissa Reyes, chief education officer for Crystal Bridges. In that role, which she took on in December 2019, she is “responsible for the education division and works cross-departmentally to develop some 800 public programs (lectures, classes, family events, and more), school and teacher programs, community outreach, the guide program, online learning, and access and inclusion initiatives that include on-site accommodations and programs for individuals with disabilities.”
Reyes explains that museum staff reached out to social service organizations to find ways to help during the paralyzing quarantine that came with covid-19. Working in cooperation with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Schmieding Center for Senior Health and Education of Northwest Arkansas, they came up with the Social Connecting Campaign.
“From their fact-finding process, our partner organizations were able to point to so many groups of people who are isolated and feeling lonely and afraid,” Reyes says. “We believe in the power of art to really tap into our social or emotional core. So putting those things together with our experience working with local artists, the tactical team got together and had an amazing brainstorming session and what started out as three different projects morphed into this one beautiful initiative.”
Springdale artist Kinya Christian was invited to create one of the images illustrating the word “together” for the Social Connecting Campaign, an outreach effort by Crystal Bridges Museum and the Momentary. In addition to a line drawing that will be colored by volunteers and sent to isolated Northwest Arkansans, Christian is working on a large-scale piece of art that will be displayed at hospitals and assisted living facilities.
(Courtesy Images/Kinya Christian)
As the artists move on to creating their large-scale works of art, the public will be able to get involved coloring the postcards and suggesting facilities that might be included in later phases of the initiative. The original artworks will travel to be displayed outside the various facilities for residents, patients, employees and visitors to enjoy.
“We know that there’s a particular impact that the arts can make, and we know people have a real desire to help others,” Reyes says. “In the range of great community work happening across out region, this project is unique, thoughtful, and anyone of any age can participate.”
Other participating artists are Kenny Arredondo, Stacy Bates, Tram Colwin, Leana Fischer, Octavio Logo, Matt Miller, Hannah L. Newsom and Alan Rodriguez.
Springdale artist Kinya Christian was invited to create one of the images illustrating the word “together” for the Social Connecting Campaign, an outreach effort by Crystal Bridges Museum and the Momentary. In addition to a line drawing that will be colored by volunteers and sent to isolated Northwest Arkansans, Christian is working on a large-scale piece of art that will be displayed at hospitals and assisted living facilities.
(Courtesy Images/Kinya Christian)
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FYI
Social Connecting Campaign
For more information on locations, timeline and process of picking up postcards:
https://crystalbridges.org/postcards
