"Whitfield Lovell: Passages" Opens at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts

The Story Project Invites Museum Visitors to Share Stories Inspired by the Exhibition

In conjunction with the opening of Whitfield Lovell: Passages, a new exhibition celebrating the life’s work of renowned contemporary artist Whitfield Lovell, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA) today introduced “The Story Project.” Launched with stories shared by museum staff, community partners, and supporters, The Story Project is a new digital platform inviting the public to take inspiration from Lovell’s practice of storytelling through objects by sharing stories of their own.

Lovell is known for pairing portraits drawn on paper or salvaged wooden boards with found objects like vintage playing cards, American flags, and silk flowers. In Passages, these compositions are often incorporated into larger multi-media installations or stand-alone tableaux that encourage the viewer to examine complex themes of history, identity, and legacy.

The Story Project serves to extend this experience outside of the galleries by creating a virtually accessible album of memory-rich objects and personal stories submitted from the community. Anyone can access The Story Project website to see the object-inspired stories already shared by others and submit their own their stories for publication. To participate, all that is required is submitting a photo and a 150-word story. Stories may be submitted anonymously, if preferred.

AMFA is hosting several events for the community to inspire and assist those interested in participating in The Story Project. On November 11, 2023, between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., guests can drop in to learn about the art of creative writing and begin drafting their stories.

On November 16 and December 14, 2023, the museum will offer free curator-led tours of the Passages exhibition at 6:00 p.m. In addition, on these same evenings, AMFA will stage pop-up storytelling booths––complete with lightboxes and iPads––to make submitting stories to The Story Project easy and accessible for all. Guests are welcome to drop in, explore the exhibition, take pictures of their objects, and write their stories on-site from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

To learn more about Passages, visit the AMFA website at arkmfa.org. Admission is always free, and the exhibition is open through January 14, 2024. Installation images are accessible in AMFA’s press kit.

To experience The Story Project, visit storyproject.arkmfa.org.

Whitfield Lovell: Passages is organized by the American Federation of Arts in collaboration with Whitfield Lovell. Major support for the national tour and exhibition catalogue is provided by National Endowment for the Arts and the Terra Foundation for American Art.