Stretch Your Neck: “Ozark Giraffes” Exhibit Comes to Mount Sequoyah Center

Arkansas artist and photographer Chuck Davis is bringing a fresh look at Ozark heritage with his new exhibit, Ozark Giraffes, which runs November 7 through December 12 in the Sequoyah Gallery at the Mount Sequoyah Center, located at 150 N. Skyline Dr. in Fayetteville. An opening reception takes place in the gallery from 6-8 pm on November 7.

The show explores the unique charm of “Ozark Giraffe” homes—hand-built stone houses that dot the region’s hillsides. These vernacular structures, often made from locally sourced fieldstones, reflect the Ozarks’ mix of ingenuity, thrift, and artistic spirit. The term itself was coined in the 1980s by interior designer Steve Bengal and restoration specialist Stephen Jordan to describe these quirky, stone-stacked dwellings that first appeared in the early 1900s.

“The exhibit enables art and community dialogue to help reverse Ozark stereotypes and ‘othering’ by popular media, from cartoon strips by Al Capp to the Netflix’s series Ozarks,” Davis said.

Davis, recently named an Arkansas Individual Artist Fellow and represented by Fenix Arts, captures these homes through the lens of analog photography. His images highlight how creativity and resourcefulness have long defined Ozark life—challenging stereotypes and celebrating the region’s architectural legacy.

Ozark Giraffes at Mount Sequoyah is presented by Mount Sequoyah’s Creative Spaces program. For those who love art, history, and the handmade, it’s a perfect opportunity to see how local culture shapes the landscapes we live in.

About Chuck Davis
Working in the Ozarks, Chuck Davis (he/him/his) is an independent curator & photographer – a visual artist whose work critically observes Ozark history and the adjacent lands once described as Indian Territory. Of Indigenous and European descent, Chuck’s message traverses inter-generational tensions of both new and Native residents.

Chuck Davis (b. 1954) earned a BAFA – (History of Photography) from the University of New Mexico, and an MFA in Visual Arts from Lesley Art + Design in Cambridge Massachusetts. He studied Photojournalism at the University of Missouri, earning an B.A. Honors degree. Completing a residency at Casa Ranzini in Sao Paulo Brazil in 2019, he was also awarded an Arkansas Arts Humanity Grant in 2022, and an Art + Everywhere Grant in 2024. He received a stipend award in 2021 and his work was entered to the collection of the Regional Art Museum (RAM) in Fort Smith, Arkansas. 

This year he exhibited at MASS MOCA while on retreat, and was in residency at Gallery RAG in Gloucester MA in July 2025. His next solo exhibit is at Mount Sequoyah, Fayetteville AR, during November and December 2025, and he has just been awarded an Arkansas Individual Fellowship grant for Community Arts Engagement.

About Mount Sequoyah and Creative Spaces
Mount Sequoyah has provided visitors with a truly unique space to celebrate and connect with people, land, and spirit since 1922. Creative Spaces at Mount Sequoyah has a vision to become a living art space, where artists from all fields are constantly making work, transforming spaces, and providing community and support to one another.

Learn more at mountsequoyah.org.