Thinking about where to make your next move? If you’re passionate about the arts, you may think that you need to move to a large city like New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. But what culture vultures really need is a place that nurtures artistry, encourages experimentation and provides a supportive community that feels like home.
They’ll find it in Arkansas.
In Arkansas, creativity thrives naturally. Our communities embrace expression support artists and offer a deep cultural heartbeat. Arkansas has galleries, artist collectives, dance companies, symphonies and theaters that create opportunities for learning and engagement.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville (Northwest Arkansas) is ranked as one of the top art museums in the world. Nestled on 134 acres in the beautiful Ozark Mountains, the museum’s glass-and-wood campus was designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie and features pavilions located by forest trails and creek-fed ponds. The museum’s permanent collection features American art from the Colonial era to today and includes notable works by Charles Willson Peale, Winslow Homer, Norman Rockwell, Jackson Pollock, and Andrew Wyeth. It’s one of more than 200 art museums and galleries throughout the state. Admission is always free!
The Delta Symphony Orchestra in Jonesboro (Northeast Arkansas) has been entertaining audiences in Northeast Arkansas for half a century. The symphony’s Young Artist Competition draws young musicians up to age 26 from across the nation to audition for awards and cash prizes, including the opportunity to appear in concert with the DSO. Musicians are community leaders, academics, military personnel, artists, medical professionals, and more. Arkansas has 17 symphony orchestras around the state.
Ballet Arkansas in Little Rock (Central Arkansas) traces its roots to the Little Rock Civic Ballet founded in 1966. Ballet Arkansas is the state’s official ballet company, serving all areas of the state through performances and education. The company of 15 dancers is ranked among the largest 75 ballet companies in the U.S. by the Dance Data Project. Its repertoire includes classics, masterworks of American dance, and premieres of modern works, with some opportunities for community dancers to join in the fun! Other popular ballet companies include the Northwest Arkansas Ballet Theatre, Ozark Ballet Theater, Arkansas Festival Ballet, and Western Arkansas Ballet.
Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock (Central Arkansas), affectionately known as “The Rep,” is the state’s largest professional theater company. Their mission is to “create a diverse body of theatrical work of the highest artistic standards. With a focus on dramatic storytelling that illuminates the human journey, the Rep entertains, engages, and enriches local and regional audiences of all ages and backgrounds.” The Rep stages as many as 10 productions each year, including at least one children’s play. The “Downtown Playmakers Project” is a playwriting and mentorship program, similar to New York City’s The 52nd Street Project, that connects actors with elementary students at MLK Elementary School in Little Rock. There are also programs in the summer and year-round for high-school students pursuing performance opportunities. The Rep partners with TheatreSquared, a professional company in Fayetteville to produce plays through the Arkansas New Play Festival that helps new playwrights gain exposure. It is under a letter of agreement with Actors’ Equity and is a member of the League of Resident Theatres.
The Murphy Arts District in El Dorado (South Arkansas) seeks to provide the area with creative outlets to explore music, dance, theater, art and food in fun and immersive ways. Affectionately known as “MAD,” the district began by turning a 1928 fuel station and showroom for Model T Fords into a restaurant with a cabaret stage, a 2,000-person music hall with a stageside elevator, multiple bars, a VIP loft, a concession area, dressing rooms, and a patio complete with a statue of an oil derrick. An outdoor amphitheater can accommodate 8,000.
The King Biscuit Blues Festival is held every year in Helena (Southeast Arkansas) the weekend before Columbus Day in October. Named for the “King Biscuit Time,” the longest-running daily radio show, the festival attracts hundreds of thousands of people to the Mississippi Delta to hear the best of the blues. It’s one of more than 350 festivals held around the state each year.
Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs isn’t necessarily “arts” in the traditional sense, but the gardens are a great backdrop for painters and photographers. The 210-acre botanical gardens are part of the University of Arkansas and include Anthony Chapel, designed by architects Maurice Jennings and David McKee. The architects, who are alumni of the University of Arkansas’ Fay Jones School of Architecture, designed the chapel to capture the beauty of the gardens and Lake Hamilton shoreline surrounding it. The chapel has towering glass walls encased in wood beams.
Arkansas knows that culturally vibrant areas attract business investment, tourism, and talent. Arkansas’ arts-related industries from galleries to festivals, support a wide range of jobs and build community identity and pride.
Interested in making the move to Arkansas? Visit https://livehereark.com/ and take our Arkansas quiz to find the perfect place for you! While you’re there, check out more interesting facts about Arkansas and discover who’s hiring!
Arts lovers can express themselves in Arkansas
