BENTONVILLE, ARK.- 21c Museum Hotel announces the unveiling of a new 21c-comissioned artwork entitled Making Change. Created by artist Monica Mahoney, this Fleetwood Cadillac limousine art car draws inspiration from Walmart’s roots in Bentonville, Arkansas. Covered with thousands of nickels, dimes and pennies that have been bent, cut and reworked to form to the vehicle’s shape, the original car was built in 1962, the same year that Walmart was founded in the city. The art car will be available for guest use during stays at 21c Bentonville.

“Making Change demonstrates how artists are inspired by the communities that are home to 21c. We are proud to support the creation of art that references both local history and our rapidly changing world,” states Alice Gray Stites, VP, Museum Director for 21c Museum Hotels. “Following the introduction of Monica’s first art cars at 21c Louisville, Blind Spot and Arillated: The Pip Mobile, we decided to commission an art limousine for 21c Bentonville as her thought-provoking, interactive works delight and inspire, often sparking discussions on a wide range of topics, including contemporary culture and global economics, all of which are very much apparent in our own backyards.”

The first Walton Five and Dime, still located in Bentonville’s town square, inspired the coin motif of Making Change. The nickel and copper coins are affixed in a decorative design on the body of the car. Referencing the contemporary technology that makes today’s global commerce possible, the car’s hood features a bar code pattern representing Walmart’s most-sold item, the banana, as well as the 21c logo. Because of its influence on national retail pricing, Walmart saves an average of $952 per household annually – the same dollar amount represented by the coins on the limousine.

Monica Mahoney was born in Louisville, KY, where she currently resides. Her work has been featured in various solo exhibitions at 21c Museum Hotel Louisville (2010); Art Basel, Miami (2008); and Payne Street Studio in Louisville (1999). Mahoney also has experience with art direction in film. In 2005, she was Scenic Artist for the film Keep Your Distance, and in 1999, she was Art Director for the film Nice Guys Sleep Alone. She graduated with a BA in Art from Sweet Briar College in Virginia. Three paintings from Mahoney’s Women Walking Series are currently featured at 21c Bentonville in the exhibition Blue: Matter, Mood, and Melancholy.

On July 16, Mahoney, alongside 21c Museum Director Alice Gray Stites, will give a lecture on her multi-media art practice at 21c Bentonville from 5:30pm-7:00pm. The event is free and open to the public.