Fifty Over 50: Rod Bigelow, Building Through Art

Growth is how Rod Bigelow would characterize his 14 years at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. As the executive director and chief diversity and inclusion officer, he has been afforded a front-row seat to the growth the campus has seen and the impact the museum has made on its community and patrons.

Bigelow set out in his career to be a biologist but ultimately switched paths to a business degree, which he received from Pacific Lutheran University in Washington. He later returned to earn his Master of Business Administration from the same institution.

His time at museums includes working in various capacities at the Art Institute of Seattle, the Tacoma Art Museum in Washington and the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio, where he spearheaded a building project.

“The opportunity to help build a new building for that institution really got me excited about the work in building institutions and physical spaces and communities around the arts,” he said.

From Toledo, he was recruited to Crystal Bridges in 2010 and has worked there since.

Outside of Crystal Bridges, Bigelow is a member of various organizations and boards, including the Art Bridges Foundation Board, Triple Aught Foundation and America250.

Bigelow said having come from a different state has allowed him to really take in the generosity of Arkansas and the feeling Crystal Bridges brings to the community. During his time there, he said he has been most proud of seeing the pride Arkansans take in the growth of Crystal Bridges and the state as a whole.

Since its opening, around 13 million guests have visited, and no one has paid to get in, thanks to an endowment from Walmart. That access, Bigelow said, sets the museum apart and has taught him his biggest lesson in his time there.

“The transformative power of art is incredible, but unless you are doing that with a community and community members see value in it and have easy access to it, you’re missing everything,” he said.

Along with that are the 60,000 students the museum welcomed last year through its school tour program. Though the institution has grown quickly, the help of staff, volunteers, donors and partnerships has allowed it to grow sustainably.

“The combination of people and resources has really helped us grow,” he said.

The campus has continued to expand with the inclusion of the Momentary in Bentonville in 2020 and the addition of the Frank Lloyd Wright Bachman-Wilson House on campus. Later this year, the Heartland Whole Health Institute and Alice L. Walton School of Medicine will open their doors, sharing space on the 130 acres-plus of land around the art museum.

“The medical school is another space to really engage with students and faculty with that integration of art,” Bigelow said. “It embraces the idea of that interface between health and wellness and art and the architecture [that] is also amazing, as well, so it continues that dialogue.”

The faculty and staff at the medical school will collaborate with the museum so that art is integrated into the curriculum. The students will also participate in building museum programming and work as guides, Bigelow said.

He said he hopes the new additions will bring visitors to explore the trail system that connects the buildings, all while experiencing the integration of art and nature offered there.

The museum itself is also going through an expansion that will broaden its footprint by
50 percent. Bigelow said the new gallery space being added will focus on building indigenous artists’ presence in the collection and telling more American stories.

A learning and engagement space as large as five tennis courts will occupy another level.

In the engagement space, there will be workshops, a ceramics studio, a digital lab, additional classroom space and more.
Another bridge being built will create more outdoor space to serve as a gathering area for the community and will even feature a splash pad.

“Museums usually don’t do those kinds of things, but we think of ourselves as being a community center as much as a museum, and so we hope that kids and families will come and play in that space much of the year,” he said.

As he continues his work, Bigelow said he hopes the impact of the museum grows even more. He wants people from all corners of the world to experience everything the campus offers.

“I think we will see people coming because this is a place where people want to come and learn about American art, American history and ourselves,” he said. “Most people come to the museum because they want to find spaces to connect with each other, and that’s what we want to do through and through.”