Small Works on Paper: From the Permanent Collection 

Trinity Gallery for Arkansas Artists
June 13, 2025 – September 21, 2025

Small Works on Paper is a popular annual juried art exhibition sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council. Like its name suggests, Small Works on Paper features 2D artworks no larger than 18 by 24 inches. 

The exhibit travels to up to 10 different venues, introducing artwork made by Arkansans to patrons all over the state. Each year, an esteemed out-of-state juror selects up to 40 pieces of artwork for display, and also picks the works for purchase awards. 

Between 2006 and 2023, nearly 150 special pieces were added to the Arkansas Arts Council’s collection through the Small Works on Paper (SWOP) exhibits. The 40 artworks chosen for this mini retrospective represent the history of the SWOP program in quality of work, diversity of media, and range of subject matter over the years.

Small Works on Paper is on display June 13, 2025 through September 21, 2025.

Future in the Making

HAM x University of Arkansas, Fayetteville School of Art faculty

Worthen Arkansas Made Gallery and Study Gallery
November 8, 2024, through August 10, 2025

At Historic Arkansas Museum, the gallery is always a time machine, but instead of peering into the past, this exhibition invites visitors to experience a Future in the Making. In collaboration with the School of Art in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, HAM is displaying artwork and publications created by faculty members representing the Art Education, Art History, Graphic Design, and Studio Art programs.

Like everyone else, artists and historians are trying to make sense of an increasingly digital, virtual, and artificially intelligent world. Fittingly, instead of sweeping romantic landscapes or hand-carved marble busts, Future in the Making features a painting transformed into frozen sculpture, a photograph reworked as jacquard tapestry, and ceramic vessels produced by a 3D printer. Through their research, School of Art faculty explore how to reconcile the past with the present, and through their work with students, they shape the creative culture of tomorrow.

Collecting Arkansas Made

Collecting Arkansas Made is a multi-year exhibition that shares some of the exceptional Arkansas Made objects added to the museum’s collection between 2018-2023. These ‘new-to-us’ acquisitions include items that form the foundation of the museum’s historical collection—19th century furniture, miniature portraits, pottery, firearms and quilts—plus fine and decorative arts from the 20th century and objects made by artists and artisans who are pushing the boundaries of contemporary craft.

Many of the pieces on display will be switched out at regular intervals, so follow HAM’s Facebook and Instagram pages for updates and deep-dives!

Arkansas Made: Photographs by Rett Peek
2nd Floor Gallery

Over several years, Rett Peek worked as the principal photographer for the second edition of Historic Arkansas Museum’s recently-published “Arkansas Made Vol. I & II.” Collectors granted Rett access to their homes and welcomed him into small-town historical societies, university collections, and many other unique spaces to capture images of Arkansas treasures. He traversed the state, venturing into almost every county to photograph local vernacular architecture. In the end, over one thousand of his images appear in the new books.

This exhibit celebrates Rett’s impressive achievement by sharing a small selection of his artful photographs, with a focus on items in Historic Arkansas Museum’s collection. We hope you will recognize a few old favorites, discover a handful of objects rarely seen on exhibit, and walk away inspired to explore the latest edition of Arkansas Made.

Sturgis Children’s Gallery

When Historic Arkansas Museum’s Knife Gallery opened in 2001, it was the first gallery in the country dedicated to the history of the bowie knife and the forged blade in America. The recently updated gallery stays true to its roots, with plenty of information about Arkansas knifemaker James Black and the 200-year evolution of “a knife like Bowie’s.” Over 50 remarkable blades are on display, including the famous Bowie No. 1 (c. 1830). Visitors will be captivated by modern bowies and the historical knives that inspired them, plus a selection of exceptional contemporary custom knives made by master bladesmiths.