Nov 21, 2025 - News

Barack Obama is coming to Bentonville

Alex Golden

photo of Barack Obama — Barack Obama. Photo: Pari Dukovic/Courtesy of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Former president Barack Obama will be the first speaker in a new lecture series on Dec. 1 at the Heartland Whole Health Institute on the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art campus, the museum announced yesterday.

Zoom in: The series, Building Bridges, will bring together thought leaders and artists with differing perspectives to model civic dialogue, according to a news release from Crystal Bridges.

Board chair Olivia Walton will host the conversation that will "center on civic leadership and the shared values that shape our democracy, offering inspiration as the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary."

Zoom out: Obama will also meet privately with 450 Arkansas students and teachers for a roundtable conversation at Crystal Bridges. The students are in sixth- through eighth-grade and will come from 24 schools across the state. Three high school seniors from Bentonville, Little Rock and Springdale will also join.

If you go: Crystal Bridges members will have first access to tickets at 10am today. Tickets are free.

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Barack Obama is coming to Bentonville

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