The artists who are creating the new statues of civil rights leader Daisy Bates and singer Johnny Cash that will eventually represent Arkansas in the U.S. Capitol will visit the University of Arkansas at Little Rock the week of April 25.

The public is invited to visit with nationally recognized sculptor Benjamin Victor as he works on the sculpture of Bates in the Windgate Center of Art and Design at UA Little Rock. He will be available:

• Monday, April 25, 3-7 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 26, 1-5 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 27, 1-5 p.m.
• Thursday, April 28, 1-5 p.m.
• Friday, April 29, 1-3 p.m.

Group tours with specific times can be arranged by emailing Amber Crawford at amber.crawford@sos.arkansas.gov.

Victor has been commissioned by the National Statuary Hall Steering Committee and the Arkansas Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission to create a 7-foot-6-inch bronze sculpture of Daisy Gatson Bates, a renowned civil rights activist. Victor is working on the clay model from which the bronze statue will be cast. He brought the model from his home and studio in Boise, Idaho.

Victor and Arkansas artist Kevin Kresse, a UA Little Rock alumnus who has been commissioned to create the Cash statue, will speak about their work during a reception from 5-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, at the Windgate Center of Art and Design. Tickets for the event, which is hosted by the Political Animals Club, are $25 and can be made via this website. For more information on this event, email politicalanimalsclub@gmail.com.

Arkansas currently has statues of attorney Uriah Rose and U.S. Sen. James Clarke, also a former governor, on display in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. Both statues are more than a century old. In 2019, the state legislature approved replacing them with Cash and Bates.