Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Art Remains ‘An Important Commodity’ In Current Crisis
We didn’t see a run on bronze sculptures like we did toilet paper, and I’m surprised,” Timm Hilty jokes. But there’s no question it’s gallows humor. As proprietor of Zarks Gallery in Eureka Springs, Hilty is staring down a spring without a May Festival of the Arts, no tourists and a lot of nationalcaliber art looking for new owners.
“All business has come to a screeching halt,” says Hilty, who is planning a virtual show in May and looking ahead to fall. “Craig Davison will be making his second appearance on Oct. 23-24 for our Eureka Springs Zombie Crawl, and JJ Adams will be attending our Fall Diversity Weekend Nov. 5-6.”
It’s not the first time that working in the arts has been a challenge. Although he hails from Eureka Springs and worked at Zarks from 1997 until 2006, Hilty
was in Park City, Utah, when a boom brought what he calls “a wave of corporate interests and business.”
“The pressure was great, and within a short period of time, I had a heart attack. My doctor said I needed to simplify my life … so I decided to close up and move home. I don’t know if Eureka Springs simplified my life any, but I’m very happy to be home in the Ozarks.”
Some of Hilty’s Park City artists sent their work with him, and local artists like silver smiths Judy Lee Carpenter and Lyla Allison, glass artist Ed Pennebaker and James Sawyer, steampunk and assemblage artist, have helped sustain Zarks almost since the beginning, he says. The challenge, he says, is always balancing “artists who fill our soul [with] those who fill our pockets and keep the gallery doors open.”
“As far as I’m concerned, art is an important commodity,” Hilty says. “I couldn’t live without it. During this time in our life, we need all the help we can get to feel something positive.”
Although Zarks is not keeping regular hours, the shop is open by appointment, and visitors will get to meet Hilty’s “supervisor,” Miller the Cat.
“For 21 of our 26 years, Zarks Gallery has been home to four feline royalty,” Hilty says. “You can follow Miller the Cat on Facebook for special events, new works of art and behind the scenes.”