The Three Feathers is the First Public Sculpture in Bentonvilles Arts District

If you’ve been near the Arts District in Bentonville lately, you’ve likely seen a giant, neon-lighted arrow that appears to be impaling the earth beside The Hub development at 410 S.W. A St., which houses Downtown Bentonville Inc., Bike Rack Brewery and Pedaler’s Pub.

It is an image created by the first permanent, public sculpture in the Arts District, a work from noted local artist Dayton Castleman, titled “The Three Feathers.”

The project started with an old, non-functional, six-story utility pole, to which Castleman attached three large steel and aluminum “feathers,” outlined in neon rope lights. 

“By the relatively simple gesture of adding feathers, the pole assumes the form of a massive arrow, and an arrow implies the center of something by its very nature,” Castleman said. “I think it’s a good metaphor for the burgeoning Bentonville Arts District.”

The piece was commissioned by Tom Walton, principal at RopeSwing, a hospitality company, and grandson of Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Castleman, who is the museum manager at 21c Museum Hotel, said the project is beneficial to local businesses, the city and area residents.

“It creates a unique identity for the businesses and nonprofit organizations located in the development — large sculpture has been utilized for urban branding since the unveiling of the Chicago Picasso in the 1950s — and it makes a conspicuous and whimsical inaugural landmark for this district being cultivated as an art hub,” he said.

Castleman would also like to install similar projects across the region. “My goal is to create an arrow in Rogers, Springdale, Fayetteville and Fort Smith. All of those cities have been sites of my art activities since moving to Northwest Arkansas three years ago,” he said.

The exact cost of the public art project is undisclosed, but Castleman said his team devised an efficient approach that kept the budget for “The Three Feathers” modest for a work of its size.

“You don’t have to spend six or seven figures to get a great work of art. You just have to find the right artist,” he said.