If you are a fan of fashion, art, music and/or elevating underrepresented voices, then INTERFORM has an event for you. In fact, they have an entire month of events for you to choose from.
ASSEMBLY, a fashion and art biennial, will showcase more than 60 artists of Northwest Arkansas throughout June in a monthlong series of exhibitions, runway shows and retail pop-ups that commemorate Juneteenth and LGBTQ+ Pride.
The exhibitions and pop-ups will take place in Bentonville and Springdale. Those varying locations will give visitors a chance to see unique things in a number of venues.
"It gives local artists the chance to get visibility and showcase their work that they've worked so hard on," says Ro Bailey, communications manager for INTERFORM. The nonprofit organization is working to create a self-sustaining design-led fashion and art industry in Northwest Arkansas. "A lot of times when you go to art exhibitions and museums, you're seeing works from thousands of years ago, and while it's beautiful, sometimes it's hard to make that connection -- sometimes the artists don't look like you."
Showcasing artists of all backgrounds is a huge part of what INTERFORM does, often showing off works by folks who haven't had much of a platform before. That's what Bailey loves most about it, as well as discovering that people she knows socially are creative souls with meaningful works.
This year's biennial will be bigger than the original, which took place in 2021, she says, thanks in part to the partnerships INTERFORM has with the Walton Family Foundation and the Tyson Family Foundation.
In its first iteration, ASSEMBLY had between 30 and 40 artists, and it was difficult to find a venue that would let them set up exhibits for an entire month. That it took place in the middle of the covid pandemic was just one of many challenges, but Bailey says the INTERFORM crew learned a lot through the process.
"It took our staff, everybody, all hands on deck," she says. They worked through the constraints of space and weight of the work, finding just the right areas for it and more. But in the end, "we got a lot of artists some visibility, [and] we have a few returning artists this year as well."
This year visitors can enjoy works from nearly twice as many regional artists, including headliners Rachel Hayes and Danielle Hatch, and chosen by curators Alex Bodishbaugh, Amy Terry, Kennedie Daniel, Allan Paulose, Jasper Logan and Sarah Turner.
Bailey loves that the nonprofit gives each artist an opportunity to be compensated so that they don't have to choose between doing something they love and making money.
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Curators Amy Terry and Allan Paulose have picked up a lot of experience this year in hand selecting the themes, artists and works for their exhibits.
Terry, who had worked with INTERFORM by doing hair and makeup for models in many of its Fashion Weeks, chose to start with a theme and then set about selecting the 23 artists she wound up featuring at The Medium at 214 S. Main St. in Springdale. Her exhibit is in two parts, one called "Cake" and the other "Herd/Heard." Both revolve around an idea of empathy, she says.
"Cake" is "over the top, opulent and visually beautiful," Terry says. It centers on consumerism, and many of the artists used recycled materials. "I want people to question what they're consuming, and maybe make small changes."
Allan Paulose had previously curated for Art on the Square and through exhibits for WeWork Labs, but wanted a chance to focus on highlighting individual artists who may have difficulty getting into galleries to solve a larger problem for underrepresented artists.
For ASSEMBLY, he's bringing a mix of international and local artists for an exhibit called "We Them People," showing at 132 Emma Ave. in Springdale, which examines how people of all backgrounds and heritages can truly belong in America.
"As a person of color living in America ... people see a name that they find hard to pronounce or they don't understand as much, (and say) 'maybe I'll skip this for a more familiar sounding name,' it's a little harder for people of color and other heritages to come to the forefront," Paulose says. "My approach with this exhibition was to look for those ... who were generally not picked first ... not getting those opportunities ... and bring those artists to the table."
The international artists he chose hail from Japan, Germany, Canada, Chile, India and Sri Lanka. Getting their art into the country posed a challenge for Paulose with customs procedures, so not all of the items may make it before exhibit time, but many works are on their way.
Local artists include Kinya Christian, Paulose's father and a local artist that works primarily with recycled denim.
"We like to be represented, equitable and fair systems, but I think we all just want to feel like we belong," Paulose says. "That's a universal ... core need for all of us."
Of the exhibits you shouldn't miss, Bailey says visitors have a lot to choose from, but Alex Bodishbaugh's "Fast" at 202 Railside in Springdale is a special, full collection inviting others to take a minute to slow down. Jasper Logan will have a retail space for his clothing line, among many other talented young artists.
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The major celebrations and events to take part in are Juneteenth and LGBTQ pride.
On June 17, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Yung Joc and Ohio Players will perform in Springdale to celebrate Juneteenth. Bringing those big names to Northwest Arkansas was made possible by INTERFORM supporting Music Moves and partnering with the NAACCP Community Cohesion Project, as well as the Juneteenth committee from the University of Arkansas.
A fashion show will take place that day too featuring Koto Momolu of "Project Runway All Stars," who will be showcasing her designs. The Juneteenth celebration is all free.
Bailey will be emceeing this year's Pride Parade, and says she's really excited for it.
"Last year was really fun even though it rained," she says. "The energy was high, everybody was positive and happy." The parade is in the midst of finding a new central location, but as of last week Bailey suspected that would be TheatreSquared.
This year's Fashion Week will take place at the Momentary in Bentonville and consist of three evenings of runway shows, beginning at 7 p.m. today.
The Fashion Week that took place at the Momentary in spring 2022 was the first INTERFORM had done in three years. Then it celebrated with one day of Fashion Week events at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in November.
Scheduled for the catwalk are design creations from locals, students of INTERFORM's LEARN department who take instruction on sewing, then make their own garments. Similar to last year, audiences can expect a variety of cultural clothing lines, including Marshallese, Congolese, some general students and also a gender bending collection.
"They work so hard ... they stamp their own designs and they spend hours sewing things," Bailey says. "They definitely need to be recognized for all the hard work they put in."
Several pop-up installations will take place at Crystal Flats in Bentonville, one of which will focus on educating the community on Black hair and the various textures of natural hair, with the help of Carol's Daughter and Conair; others will take place at the Quonset Hut and other locations in Northwest Arkansas.
Other beauty partners are connected to the biennial events, such as Walmart Beauty, Conair, Curl Daze and Pink Luster.
April Wallace is Associate Features Editor -- Our Town and Profiles. Email her at [email protected].
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Go & Do
ASSEMBLY
When: Galleries open all throughout the month of June; NWA Fashion Week June 8-10
Where: Art exhibits in Springdale; pop-up installations in Bentonville; runway shows at the Momentary
Cost: Entry to galleries free; NWA Fashion Week tickets $75-$150
Information: More details can be found on the INTERFORM Facebook page and at assemblybiennial.com
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Listen Here!
Listen to a conversation between Associate Features Editor April Wallace and Ro Bailey, communications manager for INTERFORM -- who you might know as "Ro on the Radio" and founding organizer of Black Girls Talk, or whom you've seen in modeling for local boutiques and companies in Northwest Arkansas -- at:
https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2023/may/24/interform-launches-north-americas-first-fashion-and-art-biennial-assembly/
The artwork pictured here is a 2021 Kennedie Daniel piece that had real syrup flowing out of it. The inspiration came from negative comments her former partner made about her body. Making art based on the experience enabled Daniel to work out the complicated feelings those comments created. Daniel is a curator for the 2023 ASSEMBLY event. (Courtesy Photo)
Robin Wallis Atkinson, founder and CEO of INTERFORM, curated "Yes. And…" This 2021 ASSEMBLY exhibition held space and granted permission for the celebration of art. Atkinson hoped this exhibition would allow visitors to hold two contradictory thoughts as true simultaneously, letting things to be as complicated as they are. (Courtesy Photo)
Showcasing artists of all backgrounds is a huge part of what INTERFORM does, often showing off works by folks who havent had much of a platform before. Thats what Communications Manager Ro Bailey loves most about it, as well as discovering that people she knows socially are creative souls with meaningful works. (Courtesy Photo)