When people ask Jenni Taylor-Swain for suggestions about what to do during Artosphere, she usually needs more information from them first.
The Walton Arts Center's vice president of programming is happy to help. But there are just so many things to experience during the course of the festival, which explores the intersection of art and nature. It begins in late April and continues well into June.
If they have young kids, Swain may suggest "The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer" or Compagnia TPO's production "Bleu."
Those looking for something more provocative or intellectual might instead choose the Tiny Concert Tours, which will bring small groups of professional musicians into the restaurants and bars of downtown Bentonville and Fayetteville. Or perhaps the event called "Synesthesia," which presents visual arts alongside related smells.
"It's about trying to get people out and thinking about the environment we live in," Swain says.
The environment comes in to play in many ways during Artosphere, which this summer will celebrate five years.
The official Artosphere opening celebration takes place May 16 even though some associated events beat that date. During the two-month-long celebration that precedes and follows that kickoff party, artists from here and abroad, of particular renown or just-discovered talent, will participate. Instead of looking for quotas of local versus outsiders or new versus established, Swain instead seeks to support the message.
FAQ
Artosphere
WHEN — Through June 21
WHERE — Various venues around Northwest Arkansas
COST — Admission prices vary
INFO — 443-5600 or via waltonartscenter.org
"We look for artists that want to be part of the conversation," she says.
Conversations about art come via several of the programs. Returning are popular events such as the chamber music series, which places musicians in beautiful buildings, often with stunning views, and the already-sold-out Mozart in the Museum event, which puts an orchestra and patrons inside Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art to listen to music while surrounded by views of the hillside and the stream that cuts through it.
Also returning is the Trail Mix Concert Tour, which places musicians on nature trails in Bentonville and Fayetteville.
Last year's Trail Mix was moved indoors due to a late season snow shower. Swain hopes a later June 1 date this year allows the Walton Arts Center to show off the trails. That it takes place in both Bentonville and Fayetteville is important, Swain says. As the Razorback Greenway nears completion, more Artosphere events might happen along that multi-city trail.
Already, other cities in the region are hosting Artosphere: Bella Vista and Eureka Springs with chamber concerts and many cities serving as host sites for an "Envirofountain." The latter are a series of terrariums that will be installed at churches, libraries and local businesses.
Beth Bobbitt, public relations director for the Walton Arts Center, suggests the events and artists all come together with the community that supports them. Members of the Artosphere Festival Orchestra, for instance, can be seen at several events during the course of the festival, and they may become familiar faces in the community.
The first events of Artosphere begin April 26 and April 30 with a party and a panel discussion, respectively.
NAN What's Up on 04/18/2014