Melbourne Australian-based performing arts company Strange Fruit (appearing as “The Fruits”) will perform “The Spheres” at 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. June 19 in front of the Walton Arts Center on Dickson Street in Fayetteville.
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The festival that has resulted in several public art installations, lots of free community events, pop-up concerts and more every summer for the last five years returns to Northwest Arkansas this week.
Of course, we’re talking about Artosphere, the annual festival celebrating art and nature organized by the Walton Arts Center.
As always, Artosphere features dozens of events spread all over the region, including the popular Trail Mix Series, featuring mini-concerts along the Frisco Trail in Fayetteville, a performance by Alonzo King LINES Ballet, a handful of performances by the Artosphere Festival orchestra, and others.
Two new art installations will make their debut in the coming weeks. The first, titled Remembered and Rendered: A Ceramic Garden, will debut June 11 on Tyson Plaza in front of the Arts Center. The installation was created by artist Katie Sleyman in collaboration with the Community Creative Center, and features thousands of handmade ceramic wildflowers created by volunteers and students who’d been on a guided nature walk along the Fayetteville Trail System.
I Think I Can by Australian company Terrapin Theatre
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The second installation is called I Think I Can by Australian company Terrapin Theatre. The installation features a model railway and city layout in Joy Pratt Markham Gallery, and invites visitors to interact with the piece by becoming temporary residents through the form of tiny puppets.
Music-wise, the Artosphere Festival Orchestra will return for several performances, including “tiny concerts” at restaurants and bars across the region.
The popular Trail Mix series is set for Saturday June 20 along Frisco Trail in Fayetteville, with an encore performance set for Sunday, June 21 along the trails around Crystal Bridges. Performers include Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project, Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem, Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players, and a handful of Arostphere Festival Orchestra ensembles.
Also notable are two performances planned by Australian performing arts company Strange Fruit (appearing as “The Fruits”) , who will perform two of their shows from atop 14-foot poles. The first show, called “Spheres,” will be performed on June 19 on Tyson Plaza in Fayetteville at 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. The second show, called Swoon will be performed alongside the Trail Mix concerts in Bentonville at 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. on June 21.
Many of the events associated with the festival are free, though a handful require tickets (visit waltonartscenter.org to purchase).
More details about this year’s individual events are below. Happy Artosphere-ing.
Descriptions provided by Walton Arts Center.
Alonzo King Lines Ballet
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I Think I Can
What: Art Installation
Location: Joy Pratt Markham Gallery, Walton Arts Center
Dates: 12:30-2:30 p.m., 4-7 p.m. June 16-19, 22-26 / 4-7 p.m. June 20
Admission: Free
Details: I Think I Can is an interactive installation by Terrapin Theater of Australia that will place a model railway and city layout in Joy Pratt Markham Gallery. This exhibit unites model trains, intricate puppetry, live video and audience participation to create an innovative public artwork that invites participants to become temporary residents through the form of tiny puppets. Each participant plays a role in creating a community story that evolves throughout the project and is accessible to all through an online newspaper.
Remembered and Rendered: A Ceramic Garden
What: Art Installation
Where: Tyson Plaza, Walton Arts Center
When: June 11-27
Admission: Free
Details: Created by artist Katie Sleyman in collaboration with Community Creative Center. Northwest Arkansas is home to hundreds of species of wildflowers, some exclusive to the region. Excursions on the Fayetteville trail system gave volunteers and students the chance to experience the beauty of native wildflowers on a guided nature walk. Afterward, participants gathered to translate their experiences with nature into thousands of handmade porcelain wildflowers. Their individual pieces of art, when put together, make up Remembered and Rendered: A Ceramic Garden, an outdoor installation by Fayetteville artist Katie Sleyman in collaboration with Walton Arts Center’s resident company Community Creative Center. The installation includes small paths that invite viewers to stroll through the porcelain wildflower garden on Tyson Plaza for reflection and appreciation for the natural world around us.
Alonzo King LINES Ballet
What: Contemporary ballet
Where: Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 16
Admission: $10-$25
Details: This celebrated contemporary ballet company leaps into Artosphere with a bold new dance featuring the natural soundscapes of Bernie Krause and composer Rickard Blackford. Krause has spent over forty years travelling the globe with microphones tuned to the earth and its creatures. His recordings of over 15,000 species immortalize entire ecosystems. LINES Ballet thrives on collaboration; pairing music and sounds from all over the globe with extraordinary dancers who will dazzle and inspire audiences.
A creative conversation with Alonzo King is planned before the show at 6 p.m., and there will be a post-show party at the conclusion of the show. Masterclasses will be held for all levels of dance enthusiasts, from children to adults and beginner to advanced. Please check the website for specific times and classes.
Chapel Music Series – Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem
What: Roots music
Where: Thorncrown Chapel, Eureka Springs
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, June 18
Admission: $10
Details: For 15 years, Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem have been brewing their own blend of American roots music. Their shows sparkle with songs and stories that celebrate and tackle the human condition. From an early 1900s farmers’ lament to a swing tune penned for Arbo’s elderly neighbor, the band’s repertoire is crafted to build bridges between musicians and listeners and between performance and life. The quartet’s energy and warmth pull audiences in, enthrall them, and return them home with opened hearts. Musically, the band is a melting pot of American folk melody and style, “a mini music festival of different styles filtered through the vibrant interaction of all four players.” (Dirty Linen) Gleefully drawing from a variety of traditions, they hang a Georgia Sea Islands song on a New Orleans groove and sneak an Afro-Cuban cajón groove under an Irish fiddle tune. Their signature four-part harmonies can shake the rafters or hush the room. Audiences will be transported as they listen to exquisite music played in this architectural marvel. Plan to see them again at Trail Mix on June 20 and June 21.
Artosphere Tiny Concerts – Bentonville
What: Music (Orchestral)
Where: Downtown Square, Bentonville
When: 6 p.m. Thursday, June 18
Admission: Free
Details: Settle in or move around your favorite local restaurants, coffee shops, pubs and other gathering places around downtown Bentonville to hear Artosphere Festival Orchestra ensembles perform “tiny concerts.”
Earth Sounding
What: Music (Orchestral)
Where: Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 19
Admission: $10-$25
Details: Artosphere Festival Orchestra Concert featuring symphonic works by Edvard Grieg, Bernie Krause/Richard Blackford and Carl Nielsen. In its fifth year, the Artosphere Festival Orchestra, comprised of more than 80 musicians from prestigious ensembles, orchestras and music programs around the world, will once again gather in the Ozarks for professional a music-making experience unique to Artosphere. Under the baton of acclaimed Music Director Corrado Rovaris, the orchestra will perform selections from Grieg and Nielsen alongside a piece taken from Alonzo King LINES Ballet performance, which features natural soundscapes of Bernie Krause and composer Rickard Blackford. Krause has spent over forty years travelling the globe with microphones tuned to the earth and its creatures. His recordings immortalize over 15,000 species and ask us to consider the effects that our actions have on entire ecosystems.
Strange Fruit – Spheres
What: Theatre/dance/circus
Where: Tyson Plaza, Walton Arts Center
When: 9:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. Friday, June 19
Admission: Free
Details: After the AFO Concert, enjoy a night under the stars on Dickson Street featuring the world renowned performing arts company Strange Fruit (appearing as “The Fruits”), which fuses theater, dance and circus on 14-foot tall flexible poles. Spheres is a cosmic and awe inspiring performance that takes an imaginative look at the laws of physics. If you love this performance, make plans to attend their next performance of “Swoon” at Trail Mix on Sunday, June 21 at 1 pm, 2:30 pm, 4 pm in Bentonville.
Trail Mix Concert Tour – Fayetteville
What: Music along the Fayetteville trail system
Where: Frisco Trail, Fayetteville
When: 6 p.m. Saturday, June 20
Admission: Free
Details: Capturing the essence of Artosphere, Trail Mix is a time for families and community members to explore our trail systems. Creating one-of-a-kind musical and outdoor experience, audiences can visit artists and musicians set up in various locations along the one-mile stretch of the Frisco trail to enjoy music from bands across the country. Artists include Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project, Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem, Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players, and AFO ensembles.
Chapel Music Series – The Dover Quartet
What: Music (String Quartet)
Where: Berry Performing Arts Center, Siloam Springs
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, June 20
Admission: $10
Details: Considered one of the most talented string quartets to emerge at such a young age, The Dover Quartet catapulted to international stardom following a stunning sweep of the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition, becoming one of the most in-demand ensembles in the world. Recently dubbed “the young American string quartet of the moment” by The New Yorker, the quartet was formed at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in 2008 when the members were just 19 years old. Members Bryan Lee, violin; Joel Link, violin; Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola; and Camden Shaw, cello draw from the musical lineage of both the Vermeer and Garneri Quartets but bring a youthful enthusiasm to the repertoire that is truly their own. The quartet will also perform on Friday, June 26 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville.
Trail Mix Concert Tour – Bentonville
What: Music along the trails outside Crystal Bridges
Where: Crystal Bridges Trails, Bentonville
When: 12 p.m. Sunday, June 21
Admission: Free
Details: Artosphere Festival’s signature event, Trail Mix gives families the opportunity to walk on the museum trails while enjoying local and international bands playing a variety of musical genres. Artists include Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project, Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem, Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players, and AFO ensembles.
Strange Fruit – Swoon
What: Theatre/dance/circus
Where: Crystal Bridges Trails, Bentonville
When: 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday, June 21
Admission: Free
Details: Appearing as “The Fruits”, Strange Fruit is a world renowned performing arts company that fuses theater, dance and circus on 14-foot tall flexible poles.
Chapel Music Series – Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project
What: Music (Folk)
Where: Cooper Chapel, Bella Vista
When: 7 p.m. Monday, June 22
Admission: $10
Details: Winner of the Canadian Folk Music Award for Instrumental Artist of the Year and two-time Juno award winning banjoist and composer, Jayme Stone makes music inspired by sounds from around the world. His new project is focused on songs collected by folklorist and field recording pioneer Alan Lomax, and the new album brings together some of North America’s most distinctive and creative roots musicians to recycle, re-imagine and recast traditional music. The repertoire includes Bahamian sea chanties, African-American a cappella singing from the Georgia Sea Islands, ancient Appalachian ballads, fiddle tunes and work songs collected from both well-known musicians and everyday folk: sea captains, cowhands, fishermen, homemakers, prisoners and farmers. Audiences will be transported as they listen to exquisite music played in this architectural marvel.
Chapel Music Series – AFO Brass & Winds
What: Music (Orchestral)
Where: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Fayetteville
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 23
Admission: $10
Details: The Artosphere Festival Orchestra is comprised of musicians from major symphonies and distinguished music programs from around the world, who gather in the Ozarks for professional music-making experiences unique to Artosphere. In this concert, join brass and wind players from the AFO for an evening of chamber music arrangements played in a beautiful local church with captivating acoustics.
Transfigured Night
What: A concert and radio broadcast from Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Where: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 24
Admission: Tickets are $40
Details: In its fifth year, the Artosphere Festival Orchestra, comprised of more than 80 musicians from prestigious ensembles, orchestras and music programs around the world, will once again gather in the Ozarks for a professional music-making experience unique to Artosphere. Under the baton of acclaimed Music Director Corrado Rovaris, the orchestra will perform Transfigured Night, an all strings concert featuring compositions by Arnold Schoenberg and Giuseppe Verdi that will be produced and performed as a live radio broadcast from the Great Hall at Crystal Bridges. The performance will stream live for the audiences of regional National Public Radio affiliate KUAF 91.3 FM.
Artosphere Tiny Concerts – Fayetteville
What: Music (Orchestral)
Where: Dickson Street & Downtown Square, Fayetteville
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, June 25
Admission: Free
Details: Settle in or move around your favorite local restaurants, coffee shops, pubs and other gathering places around Dickson Street and downtown Fayetteville to hear Artosphere Festival Orchestra ensembles perform “tiny concerts.”
Chapel Music Series – The Dover Quartet
What: Music (String Quartet)
Where: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Fayetteville
When: 7 p.m. Friday, June 26
Admission: $10
Details: This foursome catapulted to international stardom following a stunning sweep of the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition, becoming one of the most in-demand ensembles in the world. The “New Yorker” recently dubbed them “the young American string quartet of the moment,” and The Strad raved that the Quartet is “already pulling away from their peers with their exceptional interpretive maturity, tonal refinement and taut ensemble.”
Bold Spirit – The Best of Beethoven
What: Music (Orchestral)
Where: Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center
When: 8 p.m. Friday, June 27
Admission: $10-$25
Description: In its fourth year, the Artosphere Festival Orchestra, comprised of more than 80 musicians from prestigious ensembles, orchestras and music programs around the world, will once again gather in the Ozarks for a professional music-making experience unique to Artosphere. Under the baton of acclaimed Music Director Corrado Rovaris, the orchestra will close out the Artosphere festival with their third performance, Bold Spirit – The Best of Beethoven, which will consist of works by Ludwig van Beethoven, featuring Pietro de Maria on piano. Join us at the pre-show Creative Conversation to hear about our special featured artist, Pietro de Maria. Then, help us bid adieu to the sixth annual Artosphere at the post-show party.
