Exploring the relationship between art, conservation, and sustainability
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (June 16, 2025) — The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts has unveiled its summer centerpiece, The Long View: From Conservation to Sustainability, a wide-ranging exhibition that invites visitors to consider the evolving role of art in shaping environmental awareness.
Open now through August 31, the exhibition features over 75 works spanning two centuries, from 19th-century naturalist illustrations to contemporary installations crafted from recycled materials. The pieces are on loan from Bank of America’s Art in Our Communities® program and are displayed across the Harriet and Warren Stephens Galleries. Admission is free.
Organized into four thematic sections, the exhibit guides visitors through American cultural and environmental history:
- The Beginnings of Conservation looks at early artistic documentation of the natural world, including works by John James Audubon and photographs of newly explored western landscapes that helped spark the creation of national parks.
- Push and Pull — Industry and Environment presents imagery of the industrial era’s impacts, with pieces reflecting the Dust Bowl, deforestation, and the encroachment of cities on rural communities.
- The Emergence of Conservation Activism highlights the rise of environmental movements in the postwar years, including artwork inspired by the first Earth Day in 1970.
- Working Toward a Sustainable Vision focuses on artists using nontraditional and repurposed materials—plastic waste, acid runoff, and reclaimed metals—to explore themes of pollution and renewal.
During a recent guided tour, AMFA Associate Director of Marketing, Jessica Kordsmeier emphasized how the exhibition weaves together visual beauty and ecological urgency. A peaceful-looking sunset, for example, is revealed to be seen through layers of pollution. Another work uses lead beads to symbolize acid rain, while a colorful “rainbow” sculpture derives its hues from actual acid mine drainage.
Kordsmeier said, “Think of this exhibit as the beginning of conservation efforts in the United States. Picture the 1800s—railways were expanding, and we were pushing westward. Photographers were being sent out to capture what was out there. These were some of the first images Americans ever saw of places teeming with waterfalls, vast plateaus, and untouched forests.”
“Contemporary sculptures made from recycled materials by artists like Aurora Robson are featured prominently,” said Kordsmeier. “Visitors will notice bronze-painted dandelions in the gallery placed to look like they’re growing from cracks in the floor. Dandelions are often treated as weeds, but they’re medicinal—you can make tea, eat the leaves like spinach. They represent resilience and rethinking what we value in nature.”
Museum visitors will find a mix of old and new throughout the show, from classic Regionalist paintings to experimental installations. The common thread is the way artists across time have helped audiences see the environment not just as background, but as a subject deserving attention, protection, and advocacy.
The museum has planned several events around the exhibit, including public tours, family programs, and a July visit from Robson, who will host a talk and hands-on workshop. Special weekend programming includes “Family Fest: Into the Wild,” featuring live animals, fly-fishing demonstrations, and nature-themed art activities for all ages.
Housed in a LEED Silver–certified building that itself dates back to a WPA-era structure, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts underscores its commitment to sustainability in more ways than one. Through this exhibit, it offers visitors not only a view into the past, but a lens on the future.
For more details about The Long View exhibit Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts and upcoming programs, visit arkmfa.org.
Photos for this article are courtesy of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts.
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