April 30, 2024
Featured speakers include Jewel, Arianna Huffington, Tonya Lewis Lee, Susan Magsamen
CONWAY, Ark. (Arkansas PBS) — As part of its Arkansas Live initiative, Arkansas PBS will livestream a series of lectures from Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art’s Wellness Festival, beginning with welcome remarks by Grammy-nominated singer and artist Jewel, Thursday, May 2, at 5:30 p.m. at myarpbs.org/arkansaslive.
Crystal Bridges and the Momentary will celebrate wellbeing with four days of programming that uplift art, nature, food and community. Set during the opening of The Portal: An Art Experience by Jewel and featuring a variety of free and ticketed talks, workshops, culinary experiences, and family-friendly engagements by community partners, the festival will showcase the profound connections between creative expression and personal health.
The Portal is a one-of-a-kind experience fully curated by Jewel – a mental health pioneer – and will feature a 200-piece aerial drone show choreographed and scored by the artist, a meditative art walk, never-before-seen artworks by Jewel, and chef-crafted dining options as part of a complete experience for the body, mind, and spirit.
Following welcome remarks by Jewel on Thursday, May 2, at 5:30 p.m. will be the Wellness Festival’s “Opening Conversation: Advocating for Women and Maternal Health with Tonya Lewis Lee and Olivia Walton.” Producer, filmmaker and advocate Tonya Lewis Lee will join Crystal Bridges Board Chair Olivia Walton for this conversation on women and maternal health in Arkansas. Most recently, Lewis Lee co-directed and co-produced “AFTERSHOCK” (Hulu) exploring the U.S. maternal mortality crisis. The film has received numerous awards including a 2024 DuPont-Columbia Award, a 2023 Peabody Award, a 2022 Sundance Special Jury Impact for Change Award, and a 2023 Emmy Award nomination. Lewis Lee is the founder of Movita Organics, an organic vitamin supplement company to provide a premium vitamin supplement to the marketplace and to continue the conversation with women about how to access and achieve one’s optimum health.
Livestreaming coverage will continue Friday, May 3, beginning with “Wellness Festival Opening Remarks with Art and Wellness Enterprises” at 9:30 a.m. Then at 10 a.m. will be “Your Brain on Art: Author Talk with Susan Magsamen.” This conversation will delve into the science of neuroaesthetics with Magsamen and a panel of experts to explore how the arts can enhance health, promote flourishing lives and strengthen communities.
At 11:15 a.m. on Friday, May 3, “Jewel’s Innerworld: A Conversation on Scaling Access to Mental Health with CEO Noah Robinson.” This experience features Innerworld founder and CEO Noah Robinson speaking about using avatar-based group support in virtual worlds to scale access to mental health intervention. The conversation will examine how Innerworld’s unique approach addresses the mental health crisis by combining evidence-based tools with the immersive experience of social virtual worlds.
The weekend will conclude with “Wellness Festival Closing Conversation with Alice Walton and Arianna Huffington” Sunday, May 5, at 4 p.m. Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global and The Huffington Post, and Alice Walton, philanthropist and founder of Crystal Bridges and the groundbreaking Heartland Whole Health Institute and Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, will discuss the intersection of art, medicine, health and well-being.
Additional information about the inaugural Wellness Festival is available at crystalbridges.org/series/wellness-festival.
The Wellness Festival is sponsored by the Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, Inc., the Coca-Cola Company, Bluesky Imagine, Avant Mining, Mercy, Proto, Stout Executive Search, Melony Lewis, Richard Poe, Dr. George Rapier, III, Kimbal Musk and Christiana Wyly Musk, Imelda & JT Rose | Spark Rose Investments LLC, Chuck Yates, Black Hills Energy, Annelise and Chad McWhinney, Cynthia and Forrest Miller, Jim Smith and Rebecca Hurst | Smith Hurst, PLC, and Randy Reiff.
Arkansas Live is an initiative from Arkansas PBS that brings compelling special events directly to Arkansans via vivid, multi-camera livestreaming. Viewers gain front row access to some of the most in-demand events across the state, including livestreams from Crystal Bridges, Arkansas Department of Heritage, Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, and more.
About Jewel
Jewel is a 4x Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, visual artist, actress, New York Times best-selling author, and mental health pioneer. Best known for her musical talents, Jewel’s passion and training in sculpture, drawing and painting began before her songwriting career. Over the years, she has continued creating, working with paint and clay. In spring 2024, Jewel will make her debut in the art world at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, with The Portal: An Art Experience by Jewel, featuring her own painting and sculpture. Throughout her art, Jewel combines her passions for storytelling, experimentation and democratizing mental health. For the past 21 years, Jewel’s Inspiring Children Foundation and Jewel Inc. have brought specially designed mental health programs to at-risk youth and to leading corporations. Jewel created SELLA, a language arts curriculum for schools integrating social and emotional learning and mental health practices, and recently co-founded Innerworld, an innovative virtual mental health platform. Jewel’s remarkable journey has taken her from a childhood with no running water on an Alaskan homestead to becoming a multi-platinum recording artist and mental health advocate. She has released 13 studio albums, including her latest release “Freewheelin’ Woman,” and will embark on a national co-headlining tour with Melissa Etheridge this summer.
About Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. Since opening in 2011, the museum has welcomed more than 12.2 million visitors across its spaces, with no cost for admission. Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 as a nonprofit charitable organization by arts patron and philanthropist Alice Walton. The collection spans five centuries of American masterworks from early American to current day and is enhanced by temporary exhibitions. The museum is nestled on 120 acres of Ozark landscape and was designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. A rare Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house was preserved and relocated to the museum grounds in 2015. Crystal Bridges offers public programs including lectures, performances, classes and teacher development opportunities. Some 418,375 school children have participated in the Willard and Pat Walker School Visit program, which provides educational experiences for school groups at no cost to the schools. Additional museum amenities include a restaurant, gift store, library, and five miles of art and walking trails. In February 2020, the museum opened the Momentary in Downtown Bentonville (507 SE E Street), conceived as a platform for the art, food and music of our time. In 2026, Crystal Bridges will complete a nearly 100,000 square foot expansion that will allow the museum to expand access for all. For more information, visit CrystalBridges.org. The museum is located at 600 Museum Way, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712.
About the Momentary
Opened in February 2020 in Downtown Bentonville, the Momentary is a platform for the music, art and food of our time. It is a catalyst for creativity and economic vitality, and a welcoming hub that gathers and celebrates local heroes and international stars. The Momentary was founded by the Walton family, based on the vision of Tom, Olivia and Steuart Walton. Its commitment to cultivating arts and cultural experiences provides more opportunities for education, engagement and enjoyment in our region. The Momentary is an extension of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, founded by Alice Walton. The Momentary welcomes all with free general admission. Additional offerings include live music, visual and performing arts, an artist-in-residence program, culinary experiences such as Onyx Coffee Lab and the sky-high Tower Bar, indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, an outdoor festival space, and a retail shop. For more information, visit theMomentary.org. The Momentary is located at 507 SE E Street, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712. The Momentary’s Founding Funders are Walton Family Foundation, Walmart, RØDE Microphones, The Coca-Cola Company, Tyson Family Foundation, and Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation.
About Arkansas PBS
Arkansas PBS, Arkansas’s only statewide public media network, empowers learners of all ages by educating, informing, entertaining and inspiring communities. Arkansas PBS serves as a daily and essential resource for Arkansans by creating, sharing, celebrating and driving conversation around Arkansas stories and classic, trusted PBS programs through multiple digital platforms, including livestreaming at myarpbs.org/live, on-demand services and YouTube TV, and the distinct channels Arkansas PBS, Arkansas PBS Create, Arkansas PBS KIDS, Arkansas PBS WORLD and Arkansas PBS AIRS on SAP. Members with Arkansas PBS Passport have extended on-demand access to a rich library of public television programming. Arkansas PBS depends on the generosity of Arkansans and the State of Arkansas to continue offering quality programming. Additional information is available at myarkansaspbs.org. Arkansas PBS is broadcast on KETS (Little Rock), KEMV (Mountain View), KETG (Arkadelphia), KAFT (Fayetteville), KTEJ (Jonesboro), KETZ (El Dorado), KETS (Russellville), KETS (Forrest City), KETS (Gaither) and KETS (Yancy).
---###---