Community Engagement
The Momentary and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Community Outreach Initiative during COVID-19*
The Momentary and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art are mobilizing staff to help our region’s communities during this crisis. We consulted with 30+ partner organizations in health, social services, arts, culture, schools, and housing sectors and determined five areas in which we can provide support.
PROGRAMS
Arts and Social Impact Accelerator Program (ASAP)
ASAP cultivates partnerships with social service agencies and local artists in Northwest Arkansas. The partnerships will incubate ideas that creatively address social issues through collaboration, arts-based solutions, and socially-engaged experiences.
SOCIAL CONNECTING CAMPAIGN
This campaign is organized by Crystal Bridges and the Momentary to help those especially vulnerable to the negative effects of isolation, including patients in hospitals and senior living facilities.
Learn about the campaign’s inaugural effort where 10 local artists draw and paint in response to the word “TOGETHER” to bring comfort and joy.
FOOD
Through a partnership with Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, we are distributing nearly 2,000 food boxes per week to area food pantries as well as providing an additional 3,600 meals for school children.
Housing Support
We’re working with the Northwest Arkansas Continuum of Care to provide personal hygiene kits and house cleaning kits to those who are housing insecure.
Internet and Information Resources
For those without internet service, accessing information that could help them during this crisis–such as low-cost internet options, helpline phone numbers, and information about social services–is a hardship. We are partnering with the Northwest Arkansas Continuum of Care to develop and distribute resource information.
Artist Support
Local artists in our community–many of whom have worked with Crystal Bridges–are experiencing hardship during this crisis. We are partnering with the Northwest Arkansas Regional Arts Council to provide support to them. In addition, we are working with– and paying–local artists to develop arts-based experiences for our Social Connecting Campaign.
COVID-19 Response Report – 2020
Learn about our community engagement efforts.
Blood Drives
The Momentary, the Red Cross, and Community Blood Center of the Ozarks are hosting regular blood drives in the RØDE House to help ensure a stable supply of blood is available in our community throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.
The need for blood is constant, and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in our community. Donating blood products is essential to community health, and eligible donors are strongly urged to donate. Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every 2 to 3 seconds, and most of us will need blood in our lifetime. Please join our lifesaving mission and schedule an appointment today!”
Please check back to our calendar for upcoming blood drive events.
*Crystal Bridges Art Kits: With every meal, personal hygiene, and cleaning kit we distribute, and with every visit to a hospital or senior living facility as part of the Social Connecting Campaign, we provide art kits to encourage creativity and help counteract the negative effects of isolation. The kits contain art supplies and activities and prompts inspired by the museum’s collection.