What happens when a museum has a renovation and needs to store its treasured pieces for months or even longer? What happens when an artist of import dies and leaves a surplus of beautiful works behind? Should they continue to wait for their turn on walls and pedestals, or is there an alternate life for them in the meantime?

Art Bridges, a nonprofit organization funded by Alice Walton, has the answers in its collection loan partnership, which launched its pilot phase in June 2021. It started rolling out otherwise unused artworks in late September to partners around the country, so in the past few weeks, works have been arriving at their new, temporary homes.