BENTONVILLE — An armada of bright, pink snails popped up on the city square on Wednesday afternoon, drawing children newly released for summer vacation onto their squishy backs as their mothers snapped photos.

The 21c Museum Hotel, under construction just north of the square, is sponsoring the outdoor contemporary art exhibit to coordinate with the city’s monthlong ArtsFest in June. Eleven snails will be on display downtown, with a few wayward crustaceans migrating around town, from now until the end of June, according to Stephanie Greene, hotel spokeswoman.

The display supports the hotel’s mission of integrating contemporary art into everyday life, said Alice Gray Stites, chief curator and director of art programming for the hotel.

“Bentonville has a vibrant arts scene,” Stites said. “The 21c Museum Hotel wants to be a part of that community.”

Daniel Hintz, director of Downtown Bentonville Inc., said he’s happy to partner with 21c for the ArtsFest even before the hotel opens.

“This is kind of a glimpse into what this hotel is bringing to the cultural table in Bentonville,” Hintz said.

Barbara Young of Bentonville saw the snails as she was driving downtown and brought her 5-year-old son, Dakota, back to play on the fuschia rubbery fixtures. Dakota climbed and jumped and declared the creatures “slimy.”

“This is just another interesting thing coming to Bentonville,” Barbara Young said. “It’s very exciting here.”

Stites said the interactive exhibit is designed to stimulate the imagination and get people talking. The “escargatoire” was created by Cracking Art, an art collective that is also responsible for the 21c Museum Hotel’s iconic red penguins. Bentonville, like the Louisville location, will have its own color of signature hotel penguins when the hotel opens next year.

The snail exhibit was first displayed in Miami in 2010 and has been traveling around Louisville, home of the flagship 21c Museum Hotel, in recent years.

The snails are made from recycled plastic found in landfills and are designed to explore the interactions between natural and artificial life, according to a news release from the hotel. Themes include the concept of home, the pace of modern life and the importance of listening to one another.

The display is one of two opening this week on the square. An art wall mural will officially open at 6:30 p.m. Friday near T.H. Benton’s Cafe featuring designs from 8,200 Bentonville students.

The public display also ties into ArtsFest, a month of arts and cultural events sponsored by Downtown Bentonville Inc. The celebration of the arts kicks off with an Arts Fete on May 31 at the Peel Mansion and continues with events almost every day through the end of June.

ArtsFest will celebrate local artists alongside acclaimed artworks at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and local delicacies inspired through the group’s partnership with the James Beard Foundation.

“There is a wide range of art informing the public realm,” Hintz said. “This is very much what Bentonville is all about.”