SPRINGDALE – The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History unveiled its colorful new community space, named The Front Porch, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday morning.
Located in the museum’s front yard, the space features a performance area and benches with an art canopy designed by Elizabeth Ray of Bentonville. Blue panels making up the canopy were displayed across the yard with Ray’s designs to be included later this month.
The project was the result of community input. The Shiloh Museum held a public workshop during the summer of 2023 to collect suggestions on how to use the space. A design was created based on those suggestions, and construction began in June by Natural State Treehouses and EO Space.
“What the public told us was to do more of what we are already loved for: more color and more opportunities to engage with our grounds,” said Angie Albright, Shiloh Museum director.
The gathering included Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse, Springdale Chamber of Commerce staff and dozens of members from the community.
Earlier this summer, the museum solicited applications from artists to come up with a quilt-themed design for the canopy. Ray was chosen. Her work has been featured in magazines, festivals and exhibits, including the International Quilt Festival, National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Ky., and the U.S. Embassy in Algiers.
Featuring geometric shapes in bold colors, Ray’s three designs for The Front Porch’s canopy are abstract representations of various aspects of the Arkansas Ozarks: Our Culture features arrows signifying the passing down of traditions, Our History displays different color bars to reflect the Shiloh Museum’s six-county focus area’s agriculture and economy and Ozark Arts’ woven-pattern design symbolizes the infusion of Ozark ecology, history and culture.
The Shiloh Museum also held a naming contest for this new front space. In an unusual coincidence, variations of “The Front Porch” were submitted independently by three Springdale residents: Lois Capper, Alan Showalter and Laurie Marshall. That name was one of three – the others being “The Gathering” and “Shiloh Corner” – that were narrowed down by a juried panel before going to a public vote.
“We have lots of work still to do right here, including more planting, getting the quilt patterns installed, but we hope that our visitors and neighbors will feel the sense of welcome and engagement we offer,” Albright said. “This is what Ozark culture is so much about: come and have a seat. Let’s tell each other stories and gather for both small and large occasions.”
The Front Porch was made possible through Project for Public Spaces, which awarded an $80,000 Community Placemaking Grant in 2023, with support from the Walton Family Foundation, to continue the Shiloh Museum’s mission to make history and culture engaging for all.
