Citizens Bank

A colorful painting of a totem pole in a forest with lush greenery and tall trees.

Art advisory, collection development, and commissioning. Citizens Bank, Batesville, Arkansas. 2018

Citizens Bank is a family-owned bank headquartered in Batesville, Arkansas. When they rebranded, they decided the art in the building should say where they were from. We built the collection for the headquarters, starting with the executive floor, commissioned a major installation for the boardroom, and then went on to do multiple branches with them.

They came in with a strong budget and a clearer idea than most: work by artists who fit the family’s story and the view out the windows, the rolling hills around Batesville—the farms that are the reason the bank was started. So the collection is made from the place. Charlie Buckley, Kristin Musgnug, Amber Perrodin, and more. Amber’s commission for the boardroom is massive, the kind of work that changes what a meeting feels like.

I said in 2019 that these companies were learning how art makes a business stronger by connecting with customers and making them comfortable, and that displaying art tells your customer you care about the place. Citizens was where that stopped being a theory. A corporate collection is a civic document. It says who the company thinks it is and who it thinks its customers are.

Retail and finance are where most of America meets art. If the work in those rooms is real, the idea that art is for other people starts to come apart.

Empty conference room with a large wood table, white chairs, large window, and mountain-themed artwork on the wall.
A modern living room with a white wall, a colorful abstract painting featuring a bridge, three gray chairs around a glass table, a window allowing sunlight, and a patterned rug on a wooden floor.
Living room with beige sectional sofa, black coffee table, and colorful abstract wall art.
Black and white photo of a modern building with large windows. Two people are sitting at a table indoors, near a window. Outside the window, there are trees, a parking lot with cars, and a building in the distance.
A conference room with beige chairs around a small round table, a wooden wall section with recessed lighting, a beige wall with abstract art, and a beige carpet with a geometric pattern.