North Little Rock Tourism on Monday broke ground on the ATG Pavilion in Argenta.
Inspired by Thorncrown Chapel from renowned Arkansas architect E. Fay Jones, the pavilion is located at Argenta Plaza on Main Street in downtown North Little Rock. It will serve as home to 21 large-scale bronze sculptures of iconic Arkansas musicians, including Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Al Green, Levon Helm, Louis Jordan, Glen Campbell and Johnny Cash. The sculptures are being created by celebrated Arkansas artist Kevin Kresse. The musical genres represented span from gospel, rock and soul to country, classical and the blues.
“The ATG Pavilion represents a bold cultural investment — one that honors Arkansas’ historic influence on American music while creating a dynamic, place-based public art experience,” said Karen Trevino, president and CEO of North Little Rock Tourism. “It reflects North Little Rock’s commitment to expanding cultural infrastructure, activating public spaces and strengthening a shared sense of identity and pride.”
The pavilion marks the launch of the Arkansas Music Trail, a statewide trail of music heritage, as well as a $2 million fundraising campaign to bring each of the sculptures to life.
Based in North Little Rock, ATG is a consulting firm to the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Founder and CEO Scott Landers said the company is proud to play a role in something that will serve the city for generations.
“At ATG, supporting our community isn’t a side effort — it’s part of our DNA,” he said. “We believe when we invest locally and support projects that preserve culture, history and opportunity, everyone benefits. The ATG Pavilion is a
great example of what can happen when vision, collaboration and community commitment come together.”
Kresse said he believes the project has the potential to impact the region and state with music tourism dollars, “as well as show the world the importance and influence these Arkansas musicians have had around the globe.”
“The reality that this long-held dream is coming true is mind-boggling to me,” he said. “This pavilion is so much grander than what I had envisioned.”
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