School of Art, Crystal Bridges Museum Co-Host Art Historians’ Seventh Biennial Symposium

Endowed professor of American art Jennifer Greenhill and Austen Barron Bailly, chief curator, Crystal Bridges.

The seventh Biennial Symposium of the Association of Historians of American Art was recently co-hosted by the art history program in the School of Art and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. More than 150 art historians from across the country and abroad descended on Northwest Arkansas for panels, workshops and lectures hosted during the three-day symposium. 

Events took place both on the U of A campus and at the museum, and incorporated artist and art historian guest lectures.

This is the first large-scale event art history faculty and Crystal Bridges have organized together. Collaborators described it as a chance to build on each other’s respective strengths, from the museum’s collections and curatorial knowledge to the academic expertise in the School of Art.

“The symposium was a unique collaboration between the art history program and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art,” said John Blakinger, art history program director and endowed associate professor of contemporary art. “The events and program throughout the weekend reflected new changes in the field and embraced both emerging voices and senior scholars. But what was most exciting was the chance to showcase the growth of the arts and art history in Northwest Arkansas to our colleagues in the field.” 

This AHAA biennial symposium had the highest number of registrants ever for an in-person conference for the organization. It attracted new members to AHAA, and for many attendees, it was their first time in Northwest Arkansas. 

“The attendance and interest in this year’s AHAA symposium is strong evidence that the two organizations coming together is more efficient than working separately to make a difference and find broad reach,” said Mindy Besaw, director of research, fellowships and university partnerships and curator of American Art at Crystal Bridges. 

The content of the symposium embraced Latin American and LatinX topics and encouraged a hemispheric approach to American art. Scholarly sessions spanned time and media, from new readings on colonial painting to 1930s post office murals, decorative arts made in Caribbean prisons and 1960s psychedelic posters.

“The events also emphasized the deepening relationship between Crystal Bridges and the University of Arkansas through the Tyson Scholars of American Art Program,” Besaw added. “The Tyson Scholars Program celebrated the first decade since its establishment, highlighting the talent of our scholars and importance of their research topics while keeping an eye to the ways our partnership can further bolster the growth of the program.”

The symposium opened by celebrating this milestone, the 10th anniversary of the Tyson Scholars of American Art Program.

The program invites Ph.D. candidates, post-doctoral researchers and senior scholars from any field who are researching American art to apply for fellowships designed to support full-time writing and research. Tyson scholars have access to the art and library collection of Crystal Bridges, as well as the library and archives at the U of A. 

The first day of the symposium brought Tyson scholars together for workshops on pressing issues such as art and philanthropy. In addition, scholars and contemporary artists had dynamic discussions about works of art in the Crystal Bridges collections.

“It was such a pleasure to host 10 years of Tyson scholars,” said Jennifer Greenhill, endowed professor of American art and director of museum partnerships with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. “It was remarkable to see just how many books, articles, exhibitions and other projects the scholars have produced following a period of focused research and writing with us here. As a former Tyson scholar myself, I look forward to the program’s next decade and the new initiatives we can develop through our partnership with Crystal Bridges.” 

As the symposium continued, art history faculty including John Blakinger, Jennifer Greenhill and Alexis Salas moderated, led and participated in discussions throughout the weekend. Abra Levenson helped organize the event in the year preceding.

Faculty and Crystal Bridges curators agreed that this is only the first of many collaborations to come. The School of Art will soon launch the Master of Arts in art history graduate program focusing on the arts of Americas. The program was developed in close partnership with Crystal Bridges and designed to diversify the knowledge systems recognized and cultivated by art historical research.

“The collaboration between the School of Art and Crystal Bridges to build such a robust symposium and welcome so many experts from the field was a great success,” said Marty Maxwell Lane, director of the School of Art in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. “Thanks to the hard work of the entire faculty, staff and curators, our students’ education continues to be enriched by this innovative partnership. The continued exploration and presentation of new approaches in the field is certainly developing a new generation of art historians.”