Exhibit This! Places to See Art & Museums in Northwest Arkansas

By Erica Harmon

Find Inspiring Art, Architecture, Theater and Museums All Around the Region.

In Northwest Arkansas, some art exhibits can be found in traditional museum spaces while other art pieces are out in nature waiting to be explored. Some artistic discoveries happen in historic homes, while others happen in unusual art spaces.

Places to See Art & Museums in Northwest Arkansas

In Northwest Arkansas, you can experience countless stories with many art pieces waiting to be discovered.

1. Crystal Bridges Museum: A World of Art in Bentonville

Nestled on 120 acres of lush Ozark forest in Bentonville, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, a sprawling art museum, inspires with masterworks by Norman Rockwell, Georgia O’Keeffe, Andy Warhol, and many other artists. Outside on the museum’s trails, you’ll see outdoor sculptures among the flora, including glassworks by Dale Chihuly.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art’s sister venue, The Momentary, a decommissioned cheese factory, serves as a unique contemporary art space for visual and performing arts, festivals, and live music. From its six-story Tower Bar, you can get a bird’s-eye view of concerts on the Momentary Green.

2. OZ Art NWA in Downtown Bentonville

OZ Art NWA has its own incredible art collection of sculptures and murals scattered throughout downtown Bentonville, its Coler Mountain Bike Preserve and Osage Park, and Bella Vista along the Snowbird Art Trail.

3. Terra Studios in Fayetteville

Terra Studios, just outside of Fayetteville, provides a whimsical art experience, from clay-troll-making classes to a wonderland park featuring sculpture gardens, a wizard’s cave, and a village of fantastical creatures.

4. Groundwaves in Springdale

Check out Groundwaves, an open-mic, community-based program for local emcees and beatmakers who share and expand their hip-hop talents, at The Medium in Springdale. The space also hosts visual arts exhibitions and workshops, as well as theater and dance performances.

Amazing Architecture in Northwest Arkansas

From houses, to chapels, to memorials and more – if you’re an architecture lover, Northwest Arkansas has you more than covered.

1. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman-Wilson House in Bentonville

Originally built in New Jersey in 1956, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Bachman–Wilson House found a new home on the Crystal Bridges grounds in 2015. Learn how this architectural marvel intertwines design and functionality, from the house’s symmetrical lines that align the ceiling, bookshelf, floor, and patio to the furniture that fits the space like a glove.

2. Veterans Wall of Honor in Bella Vista

Just a short drive north in Bella Vista sits the Veterans Wall of Honor, an immersive, thought-provoking memorial honoring America’s veterans with military events, flags, and plaques around a meditative fountain.

3. Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel in Bella Vista

Designed by Wright’s apprentice, E. Fay Jones, the Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel, also in Bella Vista, towers 50 feet high, blending 15 Gothic arches with the surrounding forest.

4. Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs

Another stunning structure designed by Jones is the Thorncrown Chapel. Nestled in the woods near Eureka Springs, it rises 48 feet tall and contains 6,000 square feet of glass, crisscrossing steel beams, and a beautiful stone floor.

Setting the Stage with the Performing Arts in Northwest Arkansas

With no shortage of places to see art and architecture, it should come as no surprise that Northwest Arkansas also has some of the best of what the performing arts has to offer.

1. Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville

The Walton Arts Center brings Broadway, comedians, music, dance, ballet performances, symphonies, children’s theater, and art exhibitions to Fayetteville. Catch traveling productions of Back to the Future: The Musical and MJ, or sample vino at the annual Art of Wine event. As the temperature drops, cozy up in an enclosed outdoor snow globe with a cup of holiday cheer at Winter Nights.

2. TheatreSquared in Fayetteville

Just down the street, TheatreSquared has won international architecture awards, and what goes on inside is just as stunning. Arkansas’ largest professional theater presents bold new plays in an intimate setting—and the lobby café serves cocktails matched to the current productions.

3. Great Passion Play in Eureka Springs

Head to Eureka Springs for a wealth of unique theatrical experiences. The Great Passion Play tells the story of Jesus Christ’s last week on Earth with special lighting, sound effects, live animals, and a cast of more than 125 costumed actors in a grand outdoor amphitheater.

Travel Tip: After the play, visit Noah’s Ark Park petting zoo or the seven-story Christ of the Ozarks statue located on Magnetic Mountain.

4. Opera in the Ozarks in Eureka Springs

Opera in the Ozarks offers unforgettable performances featuring artists from around the nation. 2025 marks its 75th season and the inaugural season of its new state-of-the-art theater with productions of Carmen, The Merry Widow, and Into the Woods.

5. Melonlight Theater in Eureka Springs

Get ready for a fun night out at the historic Melonlight Theater, where spooky stage shows and a century-old ballroom combine to create a thrilling immersive experience. Check out Intrigue Theater in the company of nationally recognized illusionists who perform a mind-blowing magic show.

More Museums Aplenty in Northwest Arkansas

For those looking for more cultural experiences, Northwest Arkansas offers many more museums dedicated to the local arts, regional history, and culture to educate and inspire.

1. Scott Family Amazeum in Bentonville

Playtime meets learning at engaging exhibits within the interactive Scott Family Amazeum in Bentonville. Get wet while creating a plumbing contraption activated by levers and cranks, touch a tornado in the Nature & Weather exhibit, or climb your way to the top of the Canopy Climber to see the entire Amazeum from above.

2. The Walmart Museum in Bentonville

Meanwhile, on the Bentonville Square, the recently renovated Walmart Museum now features a mid-century soda fountain, a replica of Sam Walton’s 1978 red-and-tan F-150 truck, and the original Walton’s 5 & 10 store. Grab an ice cream cone at The Spark Café.

3. The Museum of Native American History in Bentonville

Just west of downtown, you’ll find the Museum of Native American History, which was founded by a member of the Cherokee Nation and houses more than 10,000 artifacts from Indigenous tribes in the western hemisphere. Especially impressive are the collections of Pre-Columbian decorative vessels and ancient tools for hunting, gathering, and processing food.

4. Bella Vista Historical Museum in Bella Vista

There’s no better way to learn about the region than by visiting one of its museums dedicated to preserving and sharing local history. Through photography, artifacts, and vintage marketing collateral, Bella Vista Historical Museum tracks the history of Bella Vista from its origin as a summer recreation destination for Texas oil barons to its current iteration as an all-season mountain bike mecca.

5. The Rogers Historical Museum in Bella Vista

The Rogers Historical Museum consists of interactive galleries that use props and artifacts to tell stories of the region during the early 20th century. Kids can play house in a fully stocked mid-century kitchen and go down a slide reminiscent of the old Rogers High School fire escape slide.

6. Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale

Farther down U.S. 71, discover the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in downtown Springdale, featuring exhibits and historic buildings that tell the stories of everyday men, women, and children who lived and shaped the area from prehistoric to modern times.

7. Clinton House Museum in Fayetteville

The Clinton House Museum, located at the address of Bill and Hillary Clinton during the time they lived in Fayetteville and taught at the University of Arkansas School of Law, tells stories of the former U.S. president and first lady/secretary of state.

Stand in the living room where they were married in 1975 and enter the “War Room” where Bill Clinton’s campaign strategies were conceived around the dining room table.