Faulkner Center Hosts Dual Solo Exhibits This Weekend
If you’ve been looking for a reason to check out new local art, here it is. Melissa Milton and Joëlle Storet Holt are each opening solo exhibits at the University of Arkansas Faulkner Performing Arts Center with a shared reception where you can meet both artists.
The Deets
📅 Saturday, February 7, 2026, 5:30 PM–7:00 PM
📍 Faulkner Performing Arts Center, University of Arkansas | 453 N Garland Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72701
🎟️ Free entry
🔗 More info | Follow Melissa Milton and Joëlle Storet Holt on Instagram
What to Expect
The Faulkner Center is dedicating its North and South galleries to solo exhibitions by these accomplished NWA artists. Light refreshments will be served throughout the evening, giving you plenty of time to explore both galleries at your own pace and chat with Milton and Holt about their work.
Melissa Milton’s Journey
Milton’s work has appeared in British Vogue and on the cover of American Mensa Magazine, but she’s stayed rooted in Fayetteville where she grew up. Her signature style combines alcohol ink and acrylic with sculptural elements. Think organic shapes made from unexpected materials.
In 2023, she won a City of Fayetteville public art competition that projected her work onto a seven-story building during the holidays. Four of her sculptures are on permanent display in Bentonville’s Ledger Building. You’ll find her pieces at Terra Studios, Fenix Arts, and the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum Gift Shop.
Her mixed media sculptures pull from nature and abstraction, while her paintings use bold color and fluid movement. The North Gallery showcases this range, giving you a comprehensive look at how she works across different mediums.
Joëlle Storet Holt’s Perspective
Holt brings a worldview shaped by decades of travel across Europe before settling in Northwest Arkansas twenty years ago. Born in Belgium, she draws inspiration from René Magritte, Jan Brueghel, Fauvism, Cubism, and German Expressionism, all filtered through her experiences living and working in NWA.
Her grandfather was known as the “Poet Laureate of the Congo,” and that storytelling legacy shows up in her character-focused work. She’s spent years working with adults with mental challenges, which has deepened how she approaches faces and emotion on canvas.
The South Gallery features her acrylic paintings that capture moments of human interaction and introspection, set against backdrops that range from familiar to surreal. Each piece pulls you into a conversation about identity and connection.
Why In-Person Matters
The opening reception gives you the chance to meet both artists and experience both solo shows in one evening. Ask Milton about her sculptural process or hear Holt discuss how European influences merge with her NWA life.
The exhibits remain on display through March 13, so if you can’t make this Saturday’s reception, you can still visit the galleries anytime during the run. See you there!
