ARTS & CULTURE
Text and photos courtesy of Walton Arts Center
Grand Opening of Alexander Gallery at Porter Art Warehouse
Featuring the Our Art, Our Region, Our Time regional showcase
Walton Arts Center celebrated the grand opening of the Alexander Gallery at Porter Art Warehouse on Oct. 29.
Community members gathered for a ceremony in the Upper Ramble across the street from the Alexander Gallery at Porter Art Warehouse, followed by a ribbon cutting. Attendees were able to view the gallery’s inaugural exhibition, Our Art, Our Region, Our Time, and enjoy live music in the Underwood Garden by Ashtyn Barbaree as well as live screen printing of a commemorative design on free shirts and personal totes and tops.
The Porter Warehouse at 212 N. West Ave. in Fayetteville has been part of Walton Arts Center’s lease since 1992 but was never used as a public space due to the structural state of the building. After exterior restoration work by the city of Fayetteville and interior renovations by Walton Arts Center, the space will now be open to the public.
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Walton Arts Center’s $950,000 interior renovation honors the historic character of the warehouse while also creating the Alexander Gallery — a new public gallery space named for Bob and Becky Alexander.
The gallery has more than 2,500 square feet with movable walls to create flexible exhibition spaces. Now refurbished to code and ADA accessible, the space also includes restrooms and gallery support space. The project was led by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects with construction by Sargent Contracting.
The gallery will be programmed by Walton Arts Center and available for partner and community gallery exhibitions.
The gallery will be programmed by Walton Arts Center and available for partner and community gallery exhibitions.
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Visitors can also view the newest piece in Walton Arts Center’s permanent art collection, Resisting Collapse by Arkansas native and esteemed artist Robyn Horn. The work is part of Horn’s acclaimed Slipping Stone series and reflects her mastery of balance, tension and the relationship between materials and form. Located on the west side of Tyson Plaza, this was the first new sculpture piece installed along the Upper Ramble arts corridor in December 2024 and was made possible by Bob and Becky Alexander.
Operating hours for the Alexander Gallery at Porter Art Warehouse are Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.