The Clinton Presidential Center’s Fusion: Arts and Humanities Arkansas program enriches the teaching of our heritage, culture, and human achievement by weaving the arts and humanities together to provide a unique interactive experience. To achieve these objectives, the Fusion program incorporates live performances and demonstrations mixed with factual presentations and discussions among scholars and experts into a public symposium and a multi-day educator institute accompanied by a temporary exhibit at the Clinton Center.

Due to its expansive historical and cultural significance, The Mighty Mississippi will be Fusion’s theme for two years. Fusion 2020, titled The Mighty Mississippi: HeART and Soul of the Southern Delta, will focus on the rich cultural heritage emanating from the privilege and poverty of the Lower Mississippi River Delta Region. Discussion topics during the institute include Contrast of Prestige and Poverty: Agricultural Society of Post-War Delta; The Evolution of Southern Delta Economy; a keynote on Cultural Identity of the Southern Delta, by Grammy Award winner and nationally acclaimed scholar Dr. William Ferris; and more. As in previous years, the program will include engaging breakout sessions designed to encourage creative ways to incorporate the history and culture of the Southern Delta into classroom activities.

The Fusion 2020 Educator Institute was canceled due to COVID-19. Click here for information about how the Clinton Center is responding to COVID-19.

Fusion 2020 was made possible because of the generous support of Centennial Bank, Little Rock Port Authority, Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotion Commission, Union Pacific Foundation, and the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma.

Fusion 2019 explored the impact of the Mississippi River on commerce, agriculture, environment, and culture. The public symposium included an original score, “Jazz Journey up the Mighty Mississippi,” performed by the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra Jazz Ensemble; a lecture by Dr. Tom Rankin, nationally acclaimed photographer, filmmaker, and folklorist; a performance of “Literature Inspired by the Mighty Mississippi” by the North Little Rock High School Theater Department; a performance by Grammy-award winner and 2018 Grammy nominee David Evans; and remarks by Dr. Rolando Herts, director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning and the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. Click here to watch the full video from the Fusion 2019 public program.

The educator institute included presentations from subject-matter experts, live performances, panel discussions, and a viewing of the documentary, A River Runs Through It.

The accompanying temporary exhibit included first editions of Mark Twain’s novels; original Normal Rockwell lithographs; a scale model of the Sultana side-wheel steamboat, which burned and sank on the Mississippi claiming the lives of 1,800 people; the Epiphone guitar and playing knife of Helena native and famed blues guitar player Cedell Davis, and more.

Fusion 2019 was made possible through the generous support of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma, Centennial Bank, and the Little Rock Port Authority.

Fusion: Arts + Humanities Arkansas 2018 explored the Louisiana Purchase and its impact on Arkansas. The symposium and the educator institute featured discussions with expert historians and authors on the subject, musical performances by Grammy-nominated fiddler David Greeley, and living history demonstrations by period reenactors.

The inaugural Fusion: Arts + Humanities Arkansas program, held in 2017, focused on the Quapaw Tribe – Arkansas’s namesake. The program featured symposia, professional development workshops, performances, and demonstrations to bring new perspectives and insight into Native American history and culture.