Inside 21C Bentonville: Art, Hospitality, Penguins, & More

This conversation with 21C Bentonville reveals how access to contemporary art can redefine everyday life. We welcome General Manager Claire Thompson and Marketing Manager Micheala Boyd to share how a Louisville-born vision took root in Northwest Arkansas and became a living, walkable hub where galleries, great food, and community intersect.

We explore the origin of 21C Museum Hotels and why Bentonville’s downtown location—steps from Lawrence Plaza, the Slaughter Pen trailhead, and the Crystal Bridges trail—makes the property a true gateway. We talk about a full room refresh, meaningful sustainability moves, the next museum-wide exhibition, The Supernatural 2.0, featuring 90 multimedia works by 43 artists. We also preview culinary highlights at The Hive, including Chef Micah’s appearance at Jackson Food and Wine and the annual No Kid Hungry dinner on March 7. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs a creative getaway, and leave a review to help more curious listeners find the show.

A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.  

You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.  

Transcript

Meet 21C Leaders And Journeys

Beth Bobbitt 0:02

Welcome back to a new American Town. I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt, and today we get to speak with Claire Thompson, General Manager and Michaela Boyd, Marketing Manager at 21C Bittenville. Welcome. Thank you. Thank you. It's so great to be here. Glad you're both here. So, Claire, you've been with 21C almost 10 years, is that right? Wow. A decade. So, Michaela, how about you?

Michaela Boyd 0:27

I've been here since uh July of 2025, and it's been incredible.

Beth Bobbitt 0:33

Yeah. Why hospitality? Why Bentonville, if you could kind of summarize your journey.

Claire Thompson 0:38

Yeah. So for me, it was completely unintentional, honestly. I have a master's in communication and just sort of ended up not knowing exactly what that meant for my career. And so I applied to a lot of different places and um happened to get an event position at a wedding venue in Fayetteville. So that was goodness, 18 years ago. And so had never considered hospitality as a career choice, had never really been close to anyone that had worked in in hotels, kind of like we were joking about. You just don't really think about, oh, there's people that run these hotels that I stay in. And so, to quote a dear friend and colleague, like I'm just a product of the people I've worked for and the people I've worked with. And because I was able to work for and with really great people that poured into me and that made life exciting, uh, that made this career exciting. Um, I ended up at 21C in 2015, the very end of 2015. And again, same thing. I've worked for some wonderful people, worked with great people that make my job possible. And so here I am 10 years later, living through COVID, living through market changes, uh construction, and just really grateful that I'm still doing what I'm doing.

Beth Bobbitt 1:52

Yeah.

Claire Thompson 1:53

And how about you, Michaela?

Michaela Boyd 1:55

So I um I I kind of started out in my schooling. I was doing a lot of psychology, and that's what I got my bachelor's in. And on the side, I did photography and art and things like that. And so as I went along in my career, I found myself in marketing because marketing is kind of this compilation of connecting with people, talking to people, reaching people with stories, but also like compiling art and creation for whatever the vision is of where you're working. So I ended up finding this position at 21C, and it, I mean, it was perfect. I had an interview with Claire, our director of sales, and it was an immediate click. Like the vibe of 21C is incredible internally and and externally. And so, you know, I get to continue doing doing marketing here. It's so creative and fun, but also the connection with people has been really satisfying. And uh I'm I'm mid-masters program right now. And yeah, it's been it's been great, but I've had an incredible amount of support from from the team and and also just very genuine connection.

Origin Of 21C Museum Hotels

Beth Bobbitt 2:59

So talk about on the job learning while you're learning. You know, double, double the learning. Well, thank you both for being here. I want to sort of take us back to the original vision of 21c. And for listeners that may not know about the history, I mean, there are multiple locations. How did this one come about? Where are the others? Tell us all you know.

Claire Thompson 3:24

Yeah, so 21C started as a project by our founders Steve Wilson and Lorelye Brown, who lived in Louisville, Kentucky, and they had a large amount of contemporary art that they wanted to share. And not just share, but really provide free access for an up-and-coming downtown area that was focusing on art. And so uh they came up with the concept of 21C Museum Hotel. And it was singular hotel at that point. Initially, the that was the vision. It was their hometown, this is what they were doing. And then over the course of time, uh different cities, different financial partners sort of caught wind of what they were doing, and they started to partner with um, again, cities or or actual people in an area that were really focused on growing a downtown area, but also a focus on art. And so from 2006 here, we we opened in uh 2013 in Bentonville. And so we're the first and only brand new build of the 21C Hotel. So everyone else is a renovation of a historic property. I didn't know that. Yeah, so um, but we have a new build here, and so now we are entering our 13th year, about to hit our 13th anniversary. So the closest, the next closest location that you would find to 21C is St. Louis. So certainly some options within driving distance here. Yes, I've been to that one. It's lovely too.

Beth Bobbitt 4:49

And the first was Louisville. Is that right?

Claire Thompson 4:51

Yes, so Louisville is where it opened in 2006, which is where the owners um are from. And that's you know where all the art was housed. And so that's really why they wanted to start there.

Beth Bobbitt 5:00

Yeah.

Claire Thompson 5:01

Amazing story about access, but it's right into Bentonville.

Beth Bobbitt 5:04

And so the original downtown hotel concept. Tell us a little bit about that, like why the placement, why I mean, it's near Lawrence Plaza, near the Greenway.

Claire Thompson 5:15

Yeah. So I mean, we've really always had the ideal location in Bentonville. Obviously, the downtown area has changed pretty dramatically in the last 13 years, but even 13 years ago, it was the perfect place to be. Like you mentioned, location to the square. We are right off of the trailhead of Slaughter Pen. Um, Lawrence Plaza is right there, obviously, Christmas lights, amazing um access to you know anything you want to do in downtown Bentonville at Crystal Bridges Trail. And even now with the promenade opening right in front of our hotel, now it's you know, really where the focus is of Bentonville in that pedestrian-friendly, walkable. Um, you know, now we're we're front and center there too. So really excited to have been able to be a part of that landscape over the last almost 13 years. Um, we've been able to see a lot of change and growth, which is exciting, um, but we still feel like we're a pretty integral part of what downtown Bitonville does.

Why Bentonville And Downtown Placement

Beth Bobbitt 6:12

Yeah. And for listeners that may not have ever experienced a 21C, I mean, we talk about the hotel, the museum, the collection. Tell us about the entire experience. What what might one see and do while while staying there?

Claire Thompson 6:28

Yeah, I mean, I think it's important to us to note that we're not just here for a paying guest, whether that is a hotel room or um a restaurant patron. We really want the locals or even out-of-town people that aren't staying with us to feel like we can be a part of that Bentonville experience. So, like you're referencing, the museum is on the lobby level. It's open 24-7, 365. Um, if you are staying with us, you can come down from your room at 2 a.m. and walk around and be inspired by the art. Um, but we really do want to be a part of everyone's Bentonville experience because we we think that that access to contemporary art is really important and you know, have had a lot of partners come alongside with us in this area and you know, show the same.

Beth Bobbitt 7:11

And I have to mention the penguins because my daughter would not approve of this podcast if I didn't. Kids love it, adults love them. What what's the story?

Claire Thompson 7:22

Yeah, so um, the four-foot-tall green penguins are by an Italian art collective called Cracking Art. And actually, funny story, they started in Louisville. The very first art exhibit had red penguins throughout the hotel. And they were just intended to be part of the rotating exhibit, which is you know what we do at 21C, the art rotates. And when it came time for the penguins to move along, the guests and the and the teammates were so attached to them emotionally that they said, no, we want those to stay. We want those to become part of a permanent piece of what we do here at 21C. And so, again, flash forward years later to when they were opening other properties and they decided we could have the penguin be an icon of each location in a different color. So that's really where the penguins came from. We encourage people to interact with them, move them around. Um, like you said, we have adults get just as excited as the kids about them. Um, so they were a really fun piece. I think again, just sort of nodding to the access of art. We don't want it to feel too hands-off or too don't touch, uh, too pretentious. We we want it to feel like it's something that people can interact with and really enjoy, even if maybe you didn't go to art school or you don't know a lot. So it's a really great way for that part of who we are, our identity, to be accessible and fun to everybody.

Beth Bobbitt 8:50

And I love the story behind that too, because it shows yes, there's a brilliant vision, right? It's very strategic and thoughtful, but you're also listening. Yeah, you're responding. Right. Yeah, yeah. And I think that's the evolution of a successful brand, right? Yes. Okay. Let's talk about what's happening at the hotel now. I've heard there's recent updates, sustainability initiatives. What can you tell us about that?

Claire Thompson 9:15

Yes. So a lot going on, um, obviously around Bitonville, but you know, we're very attuned to what's going on within our walls. So the A Street Promenade just opened. So that opening in October was huge for us as far as access and just the beautification of that space in front of the hotel. So really excited about that change. We, as of yesterday, are done with our uh room refresh. So all 104 guest rooms got a furniture fixture upgrade. Wow. Um, so those have all gone back online. And so excited to have people experience the updated product there. And some brand new art in each room.

Michaela Boyd 9:55

Yeah. Glorious. Some really beautiful pieces.

Claire Thompson 9:58

Yeah, just again, like making sure we're staying true to our identity of who we are. Um, we have some updates slated for the hive this year. So hopefully more to come on that space as far as updates. Sustainability initiatives. That's of course, I think important to lots of people at this point. It's very important to us. We have some very tangible like market goals that we're supposed to reach each year. So a few of the exciting things that we've we've started doing or we're doing this year, one is we have zero single-use plastics front and back of house. If you've stayed at the hotel, you might have experienced our aluminum reusable water bottle. We're actually moving a step further and doing a refillable, washable glass carafe that guests will have access to. So, really a zero waste product at that point. Um, we also have a we have a solution called Orbisc that we use to measure our food waste. So every single time we dump any trash or scrape any plate, uh, it's measuring our food waste so that it can analyze what do we have too much of, what portion size is too large so that we're able to modify from a food waste perspective. So smart. Yeah. And then also on top of that, any of that food waste, we work with food loops. And so all of our food waste is composted. So um, but we're also looking to just as a whole reduce that. So those are a few of the really tangible things that we're doing to try to make an impact. Thanks for sharing. That's all very exciting.

Beth Bobbitt 11:22

We want to turn the focus to talk about art a little bit, Michaela. Um I guess backing up, you talked about the museum. What can you tell us about the exhibitions and how often do they rotate? What's what's the norm?

Upgrades And Sustainability Initiatives

Michaela Boyd 11:37

Yeah, so we have um museum-wide exhibitions and we change them out about yearly. Our current one is um dress up speak up, regalian resistance, and it's all about these beautiful like textiles and culture and and how it impacts kind of the voice of people that um are representative with these, with these clothing and textiles and things like that. Um, but a really exciting update is this February 13th. We have the opening of our newest exhibition, The Supernatural 2.0. So Friday, February 13th, from 6 to 8, we are going to be having our opening ceremony for this gorgeous uh museum-wide change out. So we're gonna have refreshments from the hive. Our chief curator, Alice Grace Stites, is gonna be there giving an opening talk, as well as our featured artist, Nancy Baker Cahill, who was just awarded the 2026 United States Artist Fellowship. Wow. Yeah, it's really exciting. A little bit more about this new exhibition. Um, so we've got 90 multimedia works by 43 artists from around the world that are gonna be in our gallery space. So it's it's truly like a really big event to see all this new work come in. And some of the notes you're gonna see in it is that these works connect past and present, drawing inspirations from like artists like Van Gogh and Monet, but also exploring how technology is increasingly woven into our experience of the world as well as nature. So there's gonna be some really cool pieces that you you don't want to miss.

Beth Bobbitt 13:08

Yeah. Can you give us a hint of some of the artists that are involved?

Michaela Boyd 13:13

Absolutely, absolutely. So one of our so our featured artist, um Nancy Baker Cahill, she has this incredible piece that's actually gonna be like one of our featured pieces there. And it's called Corpus, and it's an it's an AI body that's like moving and growing out of these very interesting, uh like natural pieces. Some of it looks like coral, some of it looks like vines growing. But we also have several other featured artists. We've got Richard Moss, Chris Doyle, Jennifer Steinkamp, Albano Afranzo, and and so many more. Yeah, you're really going to be delighted by some of these pieces that are.

Beth Bobbitt 13:48

Oh, amazing. I cannot wait. Always exciting to see what's new in the gallery. Oh, another update. You've got a romance package coming up. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Michaela Boyd 13:58

Yeah, so our romance package is we've curated some elements to really bring a little bit of spark and curiosity to couples that are looking to just have like a really intentional moment with us. So in our romance package, you're gonna have rose petals in your room, you're gonna have a bottle of bubbly in there, and housemade chocolates from the hive, a hundred dollar food and beverage credit that you can use on either room service, just bring it up to your room, don't worry about anything, or to go down and have a romantic evening at the hive. Yeah, it's it's gonna be so wonderful. And we're also gonna include an art book to just spark some curiosity and conversations for couples that just, you know, they wanna they wanna be inspired and have that connective moment together.

Beth Bobbitt 14:39

Love it. And we can find this on your website.

Michaela Boyd 14:41

Yes, you can find it on our website. Um, and yeah, it's bookable now. Perfect.

Claire Thompson 14:46

Okay, Claire, let's go back and talk a little bit about the restaurant. Yes, let's do that. Just wanted to note a couple of the exciting things that Chef Micah has coming down the line, him and his team. So he is participating in Jackson Food and Wine in March. So really excited he was extended that invitation. So he's excited to go down there and be able to showcase the hive in Bentonville. We also have our annual No Kid Hungry dinner, which we are very excited to announce will be March 7th. Tickets should be on sale very soon. So save the date. Um, this is an opportunity for Chef Micah to raise money for his chef's cycle that he does with No Kid Hungry every year. So this is when he goes out west and bikes. Gosh, I think it's a hundred kilometers.

Beth Bobbitt 15:30

Oh my gosh.

Exhibitions And The Supernatural 2.0

Claire Thompson 15:31

Um, and it's all to raise awareness for children that are in need. And so No Kid Hungry is really the biggest push that we do where the community can come alongside us and have a great meal, have time together as a community, but also support a really great cause. Arkansas is actually, you know, even below the standard rate of hunger of one in four. We're more like one in five, one in six. And so just sort of giving that moment of intentionality to helping this cause. So that'll be March 7th. Um, he has a really exciting visiting and local chef lineup for that. So um more to come on our website and socials as soon as those tickets are live. Amazing. You all are so busy.

Beth Bobbitt 16:11

Um, I'd love to hear as we're wrapping up when you're not working, when you're not focused on 21C, what are you doing in Bentonville? How are you exploring the city? What do you love about it?

Claire Thompson 16:22

Personally, when I think about my time off work in Bentonville, I kind of think about like where do I find that peaceful or restful feeling? Because, you know, of course, a job in hospitality is busy and you're with people all the time and you're going. And so I think one of the things I enjoy about Bentonville so much is just sort of that opportunity to have that big peaceful moment. And so for me, that's the art trail to and from Crystal Bridges. I think partially because it's so close to where I work, so it's very easy to just walk over there. Obviously, walking through the galleries of Crystal Bridges just never gets old. I don't do it enough, but when I do, I'm always just renewed and like very excited that I live in a place that has that type of offering. And then um, my other favorite thing is the library, which if you know me, you know uh that that is something that I'm just like drawn to. So I I love being in there. I love the store, the coffee shop, I love taking my kiddo in there. So a big reader. And so the Bitonville Library with all of its updates also is again kind of that like peaceful, homey place to me.

Beth Bobbitt 17:26

Shout out to the makerspace that yes, that has saved us this winter. We're just always there. It's amazing. And for those who may not know, the walk from 21C down to Crystal Bridges, what, about three-fourths of a mile?

Claire Thompson 17:40

Yeah, we we say it's about 0.75. Um, yeah, I don't that's not exact, but it's really easy on the way down because it's downhill. It's a little bit harder on the way up. But I will say, so many people, guests that take that walk, they always come back just amazed with everything that you encounter on the way there, even if you don't go in the museum, which you absolutely should, but even if you don't go in, it is still just a wonderful experience to and from on that trail. Yes, I agree. What about you, Michaela?

Michaela Boyd 18:12

Oh, my my answers are not too dissimilar from Clara's, but um it's the Crystal Bridges Trail, I think the the light shows they do. I remember it was it was like the COVID days, and everyone was just so bogged down by being indoors all the time. They had the North Forest lights, and it was the first time I'd seen it. And since we've done time, we've been all of these exciting things, but it was just this experience of being delighted again by art and nature, and it felt like it was like a true feeding of the soul. I mean, that's kind of what Crystal Bridges does. But aside from that, I would have to say Osage Park, the natural wetlands restoration of it, I can't stay away. Whatever season, whatever it be, there's always some kind of natural development happening there with how the fish are or the little beavers and the cranes. It's a really, really special place.

Beth Bobbitt 19:02

Good answers. Yes. Let's all go do all of that. So, how do we stay updated? 21cmuseumhotels.com slash Bittenville is one way.

Claire Thompson 19:12

Yeah, so we have a newsletter you can sign up for on our website. And then, of course, we have socials for both 21c Bittenville and the Hive Bentonville. So those are those are the best ways to know. Michaela is regularly updating whether it's events or just fun, interesting things that you know you can just pop by and see. So that's how we would recommend you staying in touch with all we've got going on.

Beth Bobbitt 19:35

Great. Lots to look forward to. Michaela, Claire, thank you both for coming on and sharing. Thanks for watching. Yes, thank you. It's been wonderful. It was fun. Thanks. Ready to explore Bentonville? Check out visitbentonville.com for dining guides, event calendars, and trip planning tools. Follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter. Links are in the show notes. Thanks for listening to a new event. American town