A Culture Lover’s Guide to Northwest Arkansas, a Land of Contradictions

This travel guide explores the cultural landscape of Northwest Arkansas, focusing on the upcoming 114,000-square-foot expansion of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, set to open June 6, 2026. The author recounts a road trip from Little Rock to the Ozarks, visiting the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (with its new Studio Gang-designed building), dining at Coursey's Smoked Meats, and encountering a white supremacist billboard in Harrison, while also highlighting Thorncrown Chapel by E. Fay Jones as a transcendent architectural stop.

When the Art World Dismantles Itself

Wenn die Kunstwelt sich selbst zerlegt

James Cahill's novel "The Violet Hour" offers a satirical and precise portrait of the contemporary art world, featuring characters such as curators with revolutionary fervor, collectors with superyachts, and artists oscillating between genius and pose. Cahill, a former gallery employee, curator, and critic, draws on his insider experience to craft a milieu study that is both humorous and incisive.