2016 ANNUAL REPORT
Year at a Glance
2016 Overall Attendance: 622,287
Three Busiest Days of the Year
Sept. 4
3443
Nov. 25
3349
Dec 31
3349
2016 Highlights
Financials
Total Revenues: $25,366,186
Total Expenses: $24,691,203
Collection
Acquisitions
In 2016, Crystal Bridges acquired 33 works of art through 8 private sale purchases, 3 auction purchases, and 10 gifts. By classification 10 drawings, 7 paintings, 5 prints, 4 sculptures, 3 photographs, 3 sketchbooks, and 1 installation work were acquired.
2016 Exhibitions
Samuel F. B. Morse’s Gallery of the Louvre and the Art of Invention
January 23 through April 18, 2016
The Open Road: Photography and the American Road Trip
February 27 through May 30, 2016
Reel Women: Icons and Identity in Film
April 20 through July 18
Black Unity
May 4 through September 5
The Four Seasons
May 4 through September 12
American Made: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum
July 2 through September 19, 2016
The Art of American Dance
October 22, 2016 through January 16, 2016Library
Collection
Books Purchased 2716
Books Received 2029
Books Cataloged 4941
Decommissioned 704
(Lost, damaged or duplicated items)
Reese Teacher Fellowship
The 2016 Reese Teacher Fellowship was awarded to Josh Davis, who teaches sophomore English at Springdale High School, Springdale, Arkansas. His project focused on integrating modern art and literature into lessons on industrialization, the great Depression, WWII, and media.
Education and Engagement
The museum acquired a decommissioned Kraft Foods Plant near downtown Bentonville, with plans to transform the space into a venue for the visual and performing arts.
The museum awarded its first Don Tyson Prize, a $200,000 award for achievement in American Art, to the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The 2014 Exhibition State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now was developed into two traveling exhibitions and struck out on a two-year tour of five venues nationwide.
Crystal Bridges instituted a Distinguished Speakers program, bringing in internationally acclaimed thought leaders in art, architecture, nature, and the culinary arts, including architect Thom Mayne, food critic Ruth Reichl, artist and collector Cheech Marin, and artists Judy Chicago, and Nick Cave.
Crystal Bridges received a gift of famed pianist Van Cliburn’s grand piano, and launched an annual piano concert series.
A new department of Access and Inclusive Programs was created to collaborate with the community to develop partnership programs for diverse audiences and organizations.
Amenities
Museum Store
Total Sales: $1,723,888
Net Contribution to museum Programs: $434,616
In 2016, Crystal Bridges’ Museum Store hosted 29 events with artisans, including trunk shows, demonstrations, and book signings.
Eleven
Total Sales: $1,932,831
Net Contribution to museum programs – $52,738
37% of museum visitors enjoy a culinary experience while at Crystal Bridges
Special Events
Total Sales: $812,236
External catering revenue for 2016: $444,756
Room rental revenue: $242,029
Culinary ticket sales: $125,451
Other Special Events/Culinary revenue: $3,782
The Special Events Team coordinated a total of 98 external client events serving 7,404 guests. In support of museum initiatives and goals, the team assisted in the execution of 152 internal events.
Trails and Grounds
619,304 guests visited the trails in 2016, up 118% from 2015.
The Rock Ledge and Dogwood Trails were closed throughout 2016 for construction of the new North Forest Trail, which opens early in 2017.
Support
Communications
Top ten media mentions for 2016
New York Times, Crystal Bridges to Open New Space for Contemporary Art
Artnet, Can Crystal Bridges Turn Arkansas into a Contemporary Art Mecca?
Hyperallergic, Encountering FLW Miles from Where it Once Stood
Minnesota Public Radio, Not a fan of contemporary art? See this show (SoTA)
Wall Street Journal, America’s Fascination with the Road Trip [The Open Road]
Arkansas Times, Picasso, Magritte, and new acquisitions
Bloomberg, Here’s How Museums are Inventively Embracing Pokemon Go Swarms
Garden & Gun, A Weekend in Northwest Arkansas
ARTnews, Archives Wins 200K Tyson Prize from Crystal Bridges
CultureGrrl (ArtsJournal), Happy Holidays: Nimble Bigelow Dances through Crystal Bridges
Human Resources
2016 Year Total
289 Employees: 72 part-time employees, 217 full-time employees
33 interns: 10 high school interns and 23 college interns
Volunteers
The museum garnered 174 new volunteers in 2016, and closed the year with a total of 605 active volunteers.
458 volunteers filled 8,217 needs at the museum, and donated 20,546 hours of their time to support the mission of Crystal Bridges.
Membership
Membership Revenue: $1,396,225 (includes Guild but does not include Artinfusion add-on)
The peak number of membership households for the year was 9,798
1,762 new households became members in 2016.
$223,823 was raised from new memberships (includes Guild but does not include Artinfusion add-on)
Retention rate for 2016 was 66%
Peak number of Artinfusion members In 2016 was 317
18 Artinfusion events were held in 2016.
Development
| Sum of $ Donated in 2016 | Cash | Gift In-Kind | Grand Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporation | 621,000 | 1,391,526 | 2012526 |
| Foundation | 6,066,395 | 0 | 0 |
| Individual | 50,515,080 | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Total | 57,202,475 | 1,391,526 | 58,594,001 |
Board of Directors
Alice L. Walton
Rick Chapman
John Tyson
Doug McMillon
Steuart L. Walton
J.R. Hyde, III
John Wilmerding
Kyle Peterson
Elizabeth Glassman
