#  Crafting Art History in the Ozarks 

 



*Crafting Art History in the Ozarks* was a two-day symposium, co-organized with Dr. Mary McNeil and artist Cory D. Perry, that took place at the Unviersity of Arkansas during January 2024.

Participants: Shawna Cain, Raven Cook, Simone Cottrell, Abby Hollis, Caite Mae Ramos, Alan "Toxic" Rodriguez, Rachel Reynolds, Clio Rom, Haley Smith, Olivia Trimble, Aaron Turner, Alice Wilder, Lauren Willette, and Täs Zinck.

   ![Poster for Crafting Art History in the Ozarks, a two-day symposium at the University of Arkansas.](/sites/g/files/omnuum1301/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/juliasilverman/files/crafting_art_history_in_the_ozarks_240111-caho11x17_print.png?itok=AFDuy3DK) 

 

*In the last decade, Northwest Arkansas has emerged as an increasingly important hub for art and culture. New art institutions and non-profits have been critical in bringing artists and artworks to the area, creating dynamic cross-regional exchanges between Northwest Arkansas and other US cities. However, these major institutions have also controlled narratives about art in the region, often prioritizing artists from elsewhere and overlooking the rich regional history of craft that exists--and has always existed--in the Ozarks.*

*This symposium brings together artists working in and around the Ozarks today to explore histories and futures of arts and craft production in the region. What questions and themes drive their work? How do artists from diasporic and displaced communities adapt their practices to these changing conditions? How do artists create histories of place, and how has the changing landscape of Northwest Arkansas affected their practice?*

   ![CAHO Basket Workshop](/sites/g/files/omnuum1301/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/juliasilverman/files/img_0933.jpeg?itok=Lr5sgt0w) 

 

***PROGRAM OVERVIEW***

Day One, Friday, January 26, 2024

Roundtable 1: Agriculture, Ecology, and Craft (with Täs Zinck, Caite Mae Ramos, and Abby Hollis)

Makers' Workshop: Cherokee River Cane Basketmaking with Shawna Cain and Alice Wilder

Roundtable 2: Diaspora, Dispossession, and Cultural Responses (with Alan "Toxic" Rodrigues, Shawna Cain, and Aaron Turner)

   ![Five speakers sitting at a table, framed by audience](/sites/g/files/omnuum1301/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2024-11/Screenshot%202024-11-20%20at%2012.44.47%20PM-3.png?itok=ubKU7xx8) 

 

Day Two, Saturday, January 27, 2024

Roundtable 3: Artists as Teachers and Historians (with Rachel Reynolds, Raven Cook, and Olivia Trimble)

Workshop: Oral History with Lauren Willette (Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts Program)

Roundtable 4: Art Spaces, the University, and Gentrification (with Simone Cottrell, Clio Rom, and Haley Smith)

Closing Exercise: Community Mapping and Next Steps