The centennial celebration of Hot Springs National Park continues with a traveling art exhibit in the Ozark Bath House that showcases the sights of the Natural State.
"Arkansas's Scenic Tourism Landscapes" opened Saturday, Aug. 7, at the park's Cultural Center and will temporarily replace the artwork in the back room of the bath house, Tom Hill, the park's museum curator, said.
"I think they are gorgeous, I think they are beautiful photos," Hill said. "It really shows what different landscapes of Arkansas look like."
The traveling exhibit was created by the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, which "wanted to help us celebrate our centennial. They asked if they could show the exhibit," Hill said.
Hill supported the idea to bring the traveling exhibit to the park because it encourages people to revisit the park, he said.
"It's nice to have traveling exhibits or other artwork. (It is) another reason for someone to come back," Hill said, noting a new exhibit will make people "want to come back even if they've been here 100 times."
The photos, he said, can also help with tourism elsewhere around the state. The photos show numerous locations around Arkansas, and seeing them could inspire trips to see where these photos were taken, he said.
"People are always impressed by the variety of landscapes that Arkansas has to offer," Stacy Hurst, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, said in a news release.
"We are happy to be able to share the work of our photographers over the years who have captured those scenes so well," Hurst said.
The release notes the exhibit was "recently recognized by AAA Southern Traveler as an 'Official Southern Travel Treasure,'" and the photos were captured in decades of photography by Arkansas Tourism.
The exhibit was curated by photographer Kirk Jordan, who said in the release, "I have two audiences in mind as I snap photos. Those people who will be encouraged to venture to the spots we cover, and those who, for various reasons, cannot make the trip."
"Tourism is a major economic driver in Arkansas's economy, and the work of our photographers both past and present plays an important role in inspiring visitation to the state," Travis Napper, director of Arkansas Tourism said in the release. "Our photographers have been featured in publications across the globe, and we're so pleased to share their images with all Arkansans through this new exhibit."
The Ozark, located at 491 Central Ave., is open from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Hill said the exhibit will be in the bath house until mid-September and those who enter the building are required to wear a mask.
The exhibit will then travel to various locations across Arkansas throughout the remainder of 2021 and into 2022, according to a news release from the department.
