A New American Town - Bentonville, Arkansas

Fall at the Museum: Get in the Game, Time Loop, & Crystal Bridges 2.0

• Visit Bentonville

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Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is buzzing this fall with updates including the "Get in the Game" exhibition, the return of "Time Loop," and plans for a massive expansion doubling the museum's size by 2026.

"Get in the Game: Sports, Art and Culture" is open through January 26 and explores the intersection of sports and art with over 150 objects representing 22 sports with items like the iconic Air Jordan 1 sneakers, USA Cycling Olympic bikes, and more. "Time Loop" returns for a second year, transforming the North Forest with light and sound and runs through January 4. Crystal Bridges is also expanding by 50%, with new galleries, educational spaces, community areas, and more opening June 6-7, 2026

Visit crystalbridges.org for tickets and to learn more about future plans.


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Natalie Leding:

Welcome back to A New American Town presented by Visit Bentonville. I'm your host, Natalie, and today we're joined by Alejo Benedetti, the Curator of Contemporary Art, and Laura Pratt, the Manager of Curatorial Affairs at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. We're going to talk about a season full of exciting updates, from the brand new exhibition Get in the Game to the return of Time Loop, and even a look ahead at the museum's ambitious expansion project. Crystal Bridges is doubling in size, creating more space for art, architecture and experiences that connect people with American creativity. I'm so excited to dive in. I feel like I'm in the presence of royalty. So thank you guys so much for joining me today. So, laura, I would love to start and chat with you about Get in the Game. It just opened up. How are you feeling?

Laura Pratt:

Absolutely. I'm feeling wonderful and I think that it's such an exciting show for our audiences and brings a lot to the area. So I'd love to share a little bit more about Get in the Game. Get in the Game sports, art and culture is an exciting exploration of all the intersections between art and sports that really highlights what our love of the game can tell us about our contemporary culture. So, whether you've been watching the US Open, whether you are challenging your friend to a weekend bike race, that desire to play, to compete, to cheer and win is everywhere the joy and risk-taking of athletics, and they channel it into vibrant, engaging work that really sparks dynamic conversations about identity, passion, resilience, ambition and a lot more.

Natalie Leding:

Yeah, and sports really are present in our society everywhere. They change the landscape of how we live our lives. Whether it's a football game you want to watch on Saturday or even hear the LPGA coming to Northwest Arkansas, it really shapes who we are and I had the privilege of seeing it, and the fact that you walk in and see the University of Arkansas, the stadium and all the fans cheering and doing the famous woo pig you know, we know what that sounds like. If you haven't heard it listeners, go and look it up, because it's iconic. It really sets the scene and it sets the scene for the culture here in Northwest Arkansas specifically that.

Natalie Leding:

I feel like you walk in with the perfect lens. What are some of your particularly favorite aspects of the exhibition and how do you feel like you've connected to it as a person?

Laura Pratt:

Yeah, it's just been a really fun exhibition for me as someone who would not previously have considered myself a sports person. But really, what Get in the Game has illustrated for me is that sports are everywhere. I catch myself, since, working on the exhibition using sports metaphors, I'm like hold on. There's a reason for that, there's a reason that I'm using this terminology and it's just it's ever present.

Laura Pratt:

What I really love about the show is that, with over 150 objects representing 22 sports across a range of different media, there's really something for everybody in this show, whether you're interested in learning about new contemporary artists that have never been exhibited at Crystal Bridges before, whether you're interested in evolutions of sports equipment design, whether you are a sneakerhead, whether you're interested in seeing all the great collaborations that Nike has done over the years with their athletes. The show is bright and vibrant and engaging and really allows for multiple points of connection for anybody who comes into the show, and I've really enjoyed building on that excitement, really feeling that roar of the crowd as you come in and as you're charging down the field with those yard lines on the ground. It really feels like you're entering a stadium of competition and it's been really wonderful to learn more about sports in general, and also about how athletes take this challenge of sports and use it to show us new things about ourselves and our culture.

Natalie Leding:

Yeah, absolutely, you hit it on the head. I could dive into every single thing you talked about, but particularly the sneakerhead part is what hit home for me I love Nike and I love the story behind the Jordan 1s and the fact that you guys have those on display.

Natalie Leding:

People should go just to see those, but I mean the whole exhibition lives up to that expectation and stands beside amazing pieces of art and parts of our history, so I love it. I would love to know how the idea for this really came to happen and why is it at Crystal Bridges?

Laura Pratt:

Absolutely so.

Laura Pratt:

This exhibition was originally developed by an amazing team of curators at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and they were really inspired by that central role that sports play in our everyday lives.

Laura Pratt:

The curators then created a show that would attract and welcome broader audiences by highlighting the relevant and meaningful points of connection between art and athletics. There's a common misconception that I think that this show does such an incredible job of addressing is this thought that athletes and artists are like diametrically opposed. But what this show really shows us is that there are all these incredible parallels between the two the hours of practice and preparation that go in to presenting on this main stage, hours of practice and preparation that go in to presenting on this main stage either the arena or the museum, and just like all the invisible support that they have behind them those teams of you know gallerists or trainers. And so what this show really allows us is it provides sports lovers the chance to explore art in new ways, just as much as it allows our art lovers to explore new perspectives through the world of sports.

Natalie Leding:

Yeah, absolutely, and like the connection of movement too, and how sports has inspired these artists and vice versa. I love how it's all interconnected and it really makes anyone feel like they can walk into the show and connect with a certain piece of art or multiple pieces of art, Absolutely.

Laura Pratt:

We're so thrilled that this show could travel to Crystal Bridges from San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. It gives us the opportunity to welcome in new audiences with that content that is exciting and relevant and to provide access to incredible examples of contemporary art, fashion and design.

Natalie Leding:

Yes, oh my gosh, all of the different pieces of art. We could spend all day talking about the different mediums, from fashion and design to trophies, to, obviously, regular painting and textiles, the sneakers, digital. There's even an Atari.

Laura Pratt:

I mean, it's pretty cool.

Natalie Leding:

I really love that you guys have the FIFA. It's the FIFA soccer balls right.

Laura Pratt:

That's right.

Natalie Leding:

Yeah, those were really exceptional to look at. Lastly, I really want to talk about the USA Cycling bikes that are being displayed, and how did that come to fruition? Of course, we have a close connection to USA Cycling as one of their sponsors, but it's really special to us to see that being displayed, because we're the mountain biking capital of the world.

Laura Pratt:

Exactly, you hit it right on the head. So, as San Francisco's presentation gave some special focus to surfboarding and skateboarding, which we don't see, as much of here we had to make sure that we really represented our local audiences and our local sports communities.

Laura Pratt:

So, in addition to spotlighting, of course, the? U of A team and fishing, we were fortunate enough to partner with USA Cycling to bring in these three incredible examples of bike design evolution. So USA Cycling generously facilitated these loans from their athletes, and so we have three very different examples. One is a custom painted cyclocross bike, an emerging Olympic sport that is belonging to four-time cyclocross national champion, clara Hansinger. The cyclocross national championship is coming back to Fayetteville this December, so it's the perfect time to have it on view at Crystal Bridges.

Laura Pratt:

The connection to mountain biking, of course, is one that we are all very familiar with, and on display in the exhibition is the mountain bike ridden by two-time Olympian and former world champion, Christopher Blevins, and it's that solid frame that we're all familiar with that is built to absorb shock on all of our trails around here that people love to race on. And last is a really fun example that almost doesn't look like a bike at all. It is from USA Cycling's Project 405, which was this research-based initiative to create an aerodynamic bike frame that could travel and take the athletes across the course in under four minutes and five seconds, which is the time needed to get an Olympic gold, and they achieved that goal in Paris 2024. It was designed and engineered specifically for USA Cycling Olympic track team and the women's team pursuit brought home that gold at the Paris Olympics and it's such an interesting compare and contrast with the different frames and we're so fortunate to be able to spotlight a range of different experiences of biking that is so meaningful to our audiences.

Natalie Leding:

Yeah, absolutely. I love that. With all of the festivities coming up, it's like anyone can walk into this exhibition and feel welcomed and seen and it's beautiful. So, kind of changing to that, how can visitors? Culture is open now and on view until January 26, 2026.

Laura Pratt:

Tickets are $15 for adult general admission. The tickets are free for members, snap participants, veterans and youth 18 and under.

Natalie Leding:

That's great, yeah, that's perfect. And, ultimately, I feel like we've really hit the nail on the head that we want everyone to walk in there and feel seen, feel welcome and feel like they're a part of the cheer and of the audience. Yeah, yeah.

Laura Pratt:

The ability to come together with your fellow fan and have a game of Atari, like you mentioned, or a game of foosball in that last gallery, is really important to celebrate all that athletics and sport can show us about ourselves, and that moment of celebration is really critical to experiencing the exhibition.

Natalie Leding:

Yeah, absolutely. Thanks, Laura.

Laura Pratt:

Thank you.

Natalie Leding:

So, pivoting over to Alejo, I'm so excited to talk to you about the second year of Time Loop. So for those who haven't been yet, a little bit of background. How would you explain time loop and 30 seconds?

Alejo Benedetti :

sure so or less time loop is an outdoor nighttime light experience that is happening in our north forest and is organized by clip collective and which is a group of artists who are based in philadelphia, and they came out and they were inspired by our forest and they said we can do something here and we're going to think about this very specific place. We're going to respond to the forest in ways that you could never imagine and we're going to transform it into something that feels familiar but totally new.

Natalie Leding:

Wow, I actually had no idea that it was created specifically for our forest here. That's really special.

Alejo Benedetti :

Yeah.

Natalie Leding:

And because it feels like that when you walk through it you're like, oh my gosh, like that was made just for that space, Absolutely Cool. Is there anything new or different from this year?

Alejo Benedetti :

So if you did come last year, what you will see this year is more light, more sound.

Alejo Benedetti :

Fun is more light, more sound, fun. The path has changed a little bit. We've also gone back in, and Ricardo Rivera, who is the kind of mastermind behind Clip Collective, he was like I want to take all the works up to 11 in the second year. I want to amp it up a little bit, I want to go back in, I want to remix some of these things. But the biggest thing, the coolest thing, is that last year when this happened up in the forest, it was a couple months after all the storms and all the tornadoes, and so the forest looked pretty devastated.

Natalie Leding:

Yeah.

Alejo Benedetti :

This year the forest is back. The forest looks stunning and everything feels a little bit different. It feels a little bit fuller and you can tell that the artwork is interacting in a more intentional way now, because Mother Nature is there playing a part.

Natalie Leding:

Totally rejuvenated itself.

Alejo Benedetti :

Absolutely.

Natalie Leding:

Did they originally create it when the forest was before the tornado hit was?

Alejo Benedetti :

before the tornado hit. So we had all the plans in place, we knew what we were doing. That happened and there was a big discussion of okay, are we going to pause this? Are we going to delay it? And, to his credit, Ricardo said here's the thing nature is resilient, nature is going to come back, nature is going to show us what we need to do in order to, to respond to this space and you know, for a show that is called time this sort of cyclical nature loop. That is about of uh, of the world around us and of the natural world.

Natalie Leding:

this is living proof like meaning wow, that's cool, wow. So if you saw it last year, that means that this year looks totally different it looks.

Alejo Benedetti :

It looks very different, and, and the coolest thing is that it will continue to look different as time goes on. So we're here, we're still in summer, frankly, and as we get further into fall and then into winter, the vistas are going to change. The way that the forest is interacting with the light out there is going to continue to feel different, and so it's something that it's great to see it right now, because everything's so full.

Alejo Benedetti :

It's so cool to see it in the winter too, because again the leaves have fallen off. You have a different kind of feel, a different kind of openness that happens in there.

Natalie Leding:

Absolutely, and there's sort of like this meditation that happens as you're walking through. What was the artist or clip collective's overall point to having that kind of meditative sound as you're walking through the forest?

Alejo Benedetti :

Yeah, I mean the thought is that this is supposed to be, this is supposed to feel like a journey, this is supposed to feel like you are transported to someplace that is at times, otherworldly, and the music is part of that. The music is all, again, custom to this experience. They worked with incredible musicians and collaborators to come up with something that felt really right for here, and you can't really have this experience without the music component. You can't have it without the light component.

Alejo Benedetti :

It's all sort of part of a package to really transport you somewhere else.

Natalie Leding:

Yeah, and really make use of the space when the rest of the year, people, we don't walk in the forest in the middle of the night, you know, it's like super awesome to feel like you're making use of a forest like you haven't been able to for the rest of the year and appreciating the darkness and that what surrounds you looks so different when it's not sunlight out.

Alejo Benedetti :

For sure.

Natalie Leding:

What's your favorite part about?

Alejo Benedetti :

the exhibition. But I would say that when Ricardo and I first started talking about this project, he said I want to build a time machine and I was like, all right, this is scratching all of the sort of like nerdy, like geeky, like itches that.

Natalie Leding:

I have. This is my project.

Alejo Benedetti :

And he did it. And so there's a work that's in the show that's called the Broken Time Machine, and so you walk up to it and it's like sort of shattered. And as you walk up you see yourself, because there are cameras that are set up that are transmitting your image onto the surface of this, your image onto the surface of this. And what he's done in the second year is that you see that. But then on another one of the parts of this you see it start to kind of glitch, and so your image shows up, but it's glitching and it's a couple seconds delayed, and so you see these different moments on these three different parts of this broken time machine, and so you get the sense that, okay, I am here, I'm part of this exhibition, but I'm also experiencing this in kind of a range of different ways. And so I'm in this space, I'm on this screen, I am part of this exhibition or part of this experience in an exciting way.

Natalie Leding:

Yeah, yeah, it's very interactive. I feel like for more than just that, but that piece is, yeah, like the anchor piece and I love it. It's so fun to see other people's faces in line. I feel like oftentimes we never you really start to pay attention. And yeah, it's, it's really beautiful. Um, I love that there's an opportunity to kind of take a resting point in the middle of this exhibition. Um, you guys have a food truck out there. There's some um bathrooms out there, just like a resting spot, um, which I Make sure that you don't rush through that experience. So if you've never been before, there is a place to stop in the middle of. You don't have to sprint through the forest, but you can really take your time and appreciate it.

Alejo Benedetti :

And in that same spot. There are games in there like different light up, sorts of things that you can make truly an evening of this. This is an outing, this is an event for folks to experience.

Natalie Leding:

I love that no one's kicking them out, right.

Alejo Benedetti :

No, until you close.

Natalie Leding:

Cool. So for visitors that want to go, how can they get their tickets? When can they come and see it? And what do you want people to come feeling or learning after they've left?

Alejo Benedetti :

Right, so the experience runs through January 4th, so anytime between now and then. It's open Wednesdays through Sundays, every evening after sunset. Easiest place to get tickets is on our website, .

Alejo Benedetti :

The easiest place to get tickets is on our website, crystalbridges. org, and I think the most important thing if you're coming to this, come with an open mind and if you know the Ozarks, if you know the Ozark Forest, expect to be a little surprised, because you will see it in a new light. You will see it in a slightly different way, and that is the sort of thing that a really great artist or really great collective of artists is able to show us, the world around us in ways that we could never have expected.

Natalie Leding:

That's really sweet. I'm going to cry. I love that. Well, thank you both. So much for talking about those specific exhibitions. I'm so excited for all of our listeners to go to them and experience the amazingness that is right in our back door. It's so cool. But speaking of right in our back door, I mean there's the huge expansion that we've all been watching take place. From the A Street Flyover, you can see what's happening. Everyone is so excited about the expansion, so I wanted to take a second to just pick your brain both of your brains about when is the opening date and what can people look forward to.

Alejo Benedetti :

This little project that we have going on. Yeah, yeah, June 6th and 7th of 2026.

Natalie Leding:

Mark your calendars, mark your calendars, mark your calendars.

Alejo Benedetti :

Yes, that's good, it is going to be wild. We have so many different things that we are planning over the past 15 years since we've been open, and how do we take what we've learned and run with it?

Laura Pratt:

It's incredible just thinking about the sheer scope that we're expanding by 50%.

Natalie Leding:

We can put an entire.

Laura Pratt:

Crystal Bridges on the other side, adding on to what we already have. And, in addition, we're not just getting more gallery space for all of our incredible acquisitions and exhibitions, we're getting more educational spaces, we're getting dedicated floors for community gathering areas, art studios, maker spaces, a new cafe and even, for those who like to be outdoors, a splash pad in our outdoor plaza.

Natalie Leding:

Wow, that's exciting. So, as far as what's happening right now in the museum space that we know, is the temporary exhibition space going to stay over there or is that going to be moved over? Is there any thoughts you can share with our audience on that?

Alejo Benedetti :

So we will continue to have the current temporary exhibition space that we have. It's an exciting space. It's where Get in the Game is right now. It's a space that we've come to love over the years, and the coolest thing is that we're going to keep that going. We're also going to open a second temporary exhibition space, and the feel of that one will be slightly different. It's a little bit bigger, airier, and so we will be able to have two large temporary exhibitions up and running simultaneously.

Natalie Leding:

Wow, yeah, so excited. So are we Super cool? That's going to be a game changer and people will really spend like a full day at Crystal Bridges and keep coming back and, yeah, it's going to be awesome. So why should people come and visit Crystal Bridges at the expansion date in particular?

Alejo Benedetti :

There are folks who, to this day, will come up to me and talk about how, on 11-11-11, when the museum opened, they were one of the first people in the door. We are thinking about this expansion, really, as it is a continuation and there's a certain way that that weekend is going to be part of our history moving forward, and it's cool to be part of something like that. That feels like a big shift, that feels like a momentous occasion. That feels like a momentous occasion.

Laura Pratt:

And so, while we want folks to continue coming long after that weekend, there's something exciting about being there when it all happens. Yeah, just really thinking about the influence of building on our mission and that goal of providing access to art for all in this setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature for all in this setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature, and what we're able to accomplish with this massive expansion project is really powerful and we are so excited to welcome our community in to support that mission and be a part of that. Crystal Bridges 2.0.

Natalie Leding:

That was so well said. Absolutely, Crystal Bridges changed the trajectory of Bentonville massively and it shifts our culture and it shifts all the people that you pass by on the street, all the people that visit. So it is amazing to hear you guys say that and hear the stories. So, between getting the game and time loop and the expansion, what is one thing that you don't want visitors to miss over the next year?

Alejo Benedetti :

I think that for me, one of the coolest things is that at no point over the next year, I think that for me, one of the coolest things is that at no point over the next year are we going to be closing the museum. We are going to stay open the entire time, and yet we are also reinstalling all of our galleries, and so if you show up right now, you get a little bit of a behind the scenes, like a sort of work in progress. You can see how we are rethinking some of the ways that we're going to be telling stories. That is a cool thing. It will be great to show up and go and see. Get in the game. You should absolutely do it, but don't miss out on the permanent collection galleries, because they will continue to be open.

Alejo Benedetti :

The early American galleries are what we're calling the foundations of American art, which is a big part of our pre-1960s collection. We finished that. We have opened it, so you can go and you can see. You can get a taste of what it's going to look like throughout the rest of the museum that's great.

Alejo Benedetti :

Already up in the galleries.

Natalie Leding:

Yeah, I didn't know that. That's really exciting.

Laura Pratt:

And Alejo stole my answer. I was going to echo that. The ways that we're thinking about reinstalling the collection. It's putting new acquisitions and these really exciting conversations with old favorites and bringing out some artwork that people have long loved, that we haven't had a chance to have on view in a while, and really thinking of a prominent position for them. And so just thinking about these incredible conversations and illuminating new American stories of art is really powerful and one of, as Alejo mentioned, you shouldn't miss out on.

Natalie Leding:

I love that. Thank you both so much. That was great insight. So anyone that wants to learn more, how should they go find tickets for getting the game? Obviously, tickets for time loop. You mentioned it before but to reiterate, CrystalBridges. org.

Natalie Leding:

Yeah, that's one-stop shop. You can even see all of the fun events and all of the things in the culinary space, things for kids. There's an array of things ready for you to experience when you come and visit Crystal Bridges. So thank you guys for joining me, thank anyone that is listening right now. We're so excited to have you visit Bentonville. Don't forget that you can go to visitbentonvillecom to learn more. Follow us on social media at Visit Bentonville and stay tuned for the next one. Thank you, guys. Bye.