Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a museum that focuses on American contemporary art. This museum is located in Bentonville, AR and first founded by Alice Walton on 11 November 2011. The admission of this museum is sponsored by Walmart, so everyone is welcome to come without an entrance fee.

The Crystal Bridges Museum has unique modern architecture designed by Moshe Safdie. It looks like a giant concert hall with a pond in the middle. Not only does the museum have an immaculate architectural design, but it also provides visitors with contemporary arts, such as paintings, sculptures, and outdoor arts. One of the greatest outdoor designs we saw was a giant light-up ball. It is located at the entrance of the museum area, which signals a great welcome to visitors. When we entered the building, a horse sculpture made from branches welcomed us as well as some volunteers that work there. While we toured the museum, one painting we found especially attractive was a painting by Asher Brown Durand in 1849. In fact, it is the second most expensive painting in the museum costing about $36 million!

Our main purpose for coming to the museum was for the International Student Night. This event was a night for international student to display their countries customs and cultures. There were some performances from international students, for example, Brazilian traditional dance, Panamanian traditional dance, Philippines bamboo dance and music by International Culture Team band from University of Arkansas.

Another exciting activity was the international fashion show at the great hall. Many students from different countries wore their beautiful traditional clothes and walked on the catwalk. It was just like a professional fashion show. Some of the participants were: Panama, Brazil, Vietnam, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Trinidad and Tobago, and India. It was overall a great experience and is definitely worth checking out if you are ever out and about in the Bentonville area!