Feature photo above: Set to open in October, the atg Pavilion will feature sculptures of notable Arkansas musicians and provide a covered space for smaller events.
A few years ago, noted Arkansas painter and sculptor Kevin Kresse found himself in northeast Arkansas, stopping for the night in Forrest City. It was a sleepover that would change the face of central Arkansas forever.
Known for many things, including a complicated racial past, Forrest City is also the taproot from which sprang some of the greatest musical artists of the 20th century, headlined by soul crooner Al Green.
Kresse, who is as steeped in music as he is in sculpture, struck up a conversation with locals about the Rev. Green at the hotel, only to be met with blank stares. The employees had no idea who he was referring to, let alone that he had come from Forrest City. Kresse left town stunned…