Crystal Bridges
I’ve always boycotted Walmart and it’s subsiduaries as I’ve disagreed with their business model which I think ultimately depresses an economy. My views were further entrenched when I’d hear stories of Alice Walton, snatching artwork away from the Metropolitan Museum and the National Gallery of Washington by paying over the odds for the work, when the museums were trying hard to keep it in the public eye. She’s also currently embroiled with the Fisk University’s financial turmoil offering to take shared ownership of Alfred Stieglitz’s photographs pending an appeal with the Georgia O’Keeffe museum according to the FT.
However I’ve had to sit back and think twice about the Crystal Bridges Museum that Alice Walton and the Walton Family Foundation have spent $50million on. The 100 acre site in Bentonville, Arkansas will be home to a beautiful museum of American art, housing much of Alice Walton’s art collection in the midst of a wonderful nature park.
The unique glass and wood buildings have been designed by Moshe Safdie which will lie by a natural spring called Crystal Spring gives the museum its name. The museum is hoping to become a venue for outdoor concerts and public events as well as for private meetings and events such as weddings and conferences. It also states on its web site that “encouraging community uses and activities (is) of its highest priorities.”
The plans look fabulous and it will be a wonderful development for the region. Current plans expect the museum to open next year. I will look forward to visiting it and hope that it succeeds in its mission.
