A lifetime of experience prepared Prentis Grayson for his job at Crystal Bridges and the Momentary, where he has served as director of community partnerships since October 2024. In that position, he attempts to bridge the gap between the local institution and its community partners, such as schools, veterans groups, and other civic or cultural groups.

“We are a community-centered museum,” Grayson said. “We work to engage the communities that are underserved.” 

Grayson said he works with the museum’s community partners to determine how best to support their efforts and not just “drop off our mobile lab in the middle of their festivals.” 

He gained skills at each of his prior jobs that fueled his passion for connecting people to public spaces, resources and each other. 

“The path wasn’t apparent at first, but … it’s turned out how it’s supposed to turn out,” he said. “Everything I’ve done in the past feeds (what I do now).”

Starting his career in 2003 as a military journalist in the Army National Guard, Grayson’s work life also included stints as a detention supervisor at the Pulaski County Jail, a videographer for a Northwest Arkansas news station, a community advocate for Trailblazers, and an advocate for the NWA Center for Sexual Assault. 

Working in the jail gave him insight into meeting people and having transparent conversations about their needs. As a photojournalist and a military journalist, he came to understand storytelling. At the NWA Center for Sexual Assault, he helped develop a pathway of healing and connection for survivors of trauma. At Trailblazers, he learned to “navigate the ecosystem” related to equity. 

“You roll that all into a big ball of experience,” he said. “There are very few people that I can’t build a connection with.”

Because of his work in the military, Grayson said he has a unique way of connecting with veterans and veteran groups for his current job. The same is true for law enforcement because of his work at the jail.

His various communications-related roles have not only helped him understand a myriad of perspectives, but they have also helped him break down difficult technical terms and lingo so all community partners can understand. 

“Being able to understand stories helps me understand people’s perspectives and to communicate a message,” he said. 

Family experience also informs Grayson’s background. He’s been married to his wife for 17 years, and they have three sons, ages 10, 11 and 14. He enjoys attending community events with them and said it’s “so important” because it allows him to “see the work through their eyes.”

In his current role, Grayson pulls from prior experiences to take on the biggest challenges facing Crystal Bridges’ community partners, including funding limitations, institutional barriers, and capacity issues. 

“They are trying to maximize the resources they have,” he said. “My job is to help connect them and get them into the museum. It’s never about me and the museum. It’s about uplifting their message in the community.” 

It’s also important to Grayson to maintain relationships over the years. 

Sometimes, he gets to work with some of the same people he worked with in past roles, but in a new capacity. For example, he now connects with people he’s worked with from the news industry who are covering special events and other projects at Crystal Bridges and the Momentary. 

He appreciates how Crystal Bridges continues to value those connections between people and the museum’s community partners. 

“People connections may not be as visible, but they do not go away. At Crystal Bridges, we value people connections, and we have programming that speaks to that. You can see it in our programming.”