Des Moines Arts Festival
Our Core ValuesFoster Appreciation of the Arts
We strive to educate, inspire and engage our audience toward a heightened
appreciation of visual and other forms of art.
Celebrate Original Art*
We produce an annual celebration of outstanding original visual art in a festival atmosphere.
Value Community
We respect and celebrate the involvement of all people and seek to enhance the sense of pride in our community.
Deliver the Highest Standards with Integrity and Accountability
We value professionalism and quality. We operate in a fair and honorable manner with transparency. We are strong financial stewards. We manage with responsibility and maximize value to our partners.
Strategically Innovate
We seek to harness new and creative ideas for the betterment of the festival and community.
Our VisionWithin the next five years, the Des Moines Arts Festival® will be known for its innovations in audience and artist engagement, and leadership in providing a model to other organizations for high quality execution.
The Des Moines Arts Festival®
traces its beginnings to 1958 when the Des Moines Art
Center hosted its inaugural Art in the
Park on the grounds of Des Moines’ fine art museum. In 1997, with the
advent of revitalized downtown urban energy, momentum grew to reinvigorate the
40-year-old event. Armed with a new name and a new location, the 1998 Des
Moines Arts Festival® splashed onto the
downtown bridges that span the Des Moines River, showcasing the nation’s
premiere artists and creating an opportunity for people of all ages to embrace
the arts.
The first Art in the Park attracted little more than a few
hundred people. Nearly five decades later, the Des Moines Arts
Festival® has established itself as the
signature arts and culture event in Iowa, with an annual attendance exceeding
200,000 people. Since moving downtown in 1998, the Festival has welcomed more
than 1.7 million visitors.
Early in the Festival’s growth, it was determined that the participating
artists would drive the focus of the show. As a juried art fair, the Des Moines
Arts Festival® developed strong relationships
with recognized organizations like the National Association of Independent
Artists and International Festivals and Events Association. These relationships
assisted in developing the artist program, which is now one of the strongest in
the nation.
The relationship with Des Moines Art Center continues today
with a portion of the proceeds from the Festival supporting the city’s art
center. Its leadership serves on the Festival’s board and their presence during
the Festival contributes to its overall legitimacy.
In 2000, the Membership and Art Gift Certificate programs were created to
strengthen the Festival’s emphasis on art. Two years later, Nurturing a
Student’s Vision (NSV) was developed to encourage children in their passion for
the arts. The program has since blossomed to include more than 90 metro schools
and over 300 kids and their artwork. NSV continues through the year with artwork
displayed at downtown Des Moines’ Central Library. Participating students are
honored by the Des Moines Art Center with a family membership and a certificate
of achievement.
Beginning in 2002, participating artists were asked to demonstrate their
craft during the Festival. Such demonstrations helped to make the art more
accessible and create a better understanding between the artists and their
artwork.
In 2003, the Des Moines Arts Festival®
reached new artists in the state of Iowa through the Emerging Iowa Artists
program. This unique program provides an opportunity for residents of Iowa who
are enrolled at any institute of higher education across the nation to display
and sell their artwork during the Festival. The artists are juried along with
the professional artists, but are not charged fees to either jury or
participate.
Answering the call from Des Moines’ growing diverse population, the Festival
featured a Global Performing Arts Stage in 2004. Along with two other stages
providing music entertainment throughout the Festival, the Global Performing
Arts Stage was dedicated to a variety of entertainment from music to dance to
gardening lectures.
The 2006 Festival brought about the most significant change since 1998. Since
access to the traditional Festival site on the downtown bridges would be under
construction, the Festival would need a new location. Eight blocks west of the
site construction was concluding on the new David Chipperfield-designed library
and the John and Mary Pappajohn Higher Education Center. Surrounding these two
marvelous buildings was Phase One of Western Gateway Park. In this all-new green
space in the downtown community, the Des Moines Arts Festival® found its new home.
In its new location, the Festival welcomed Brian Olsen’s Art in Action with
rave reviews. His exciting and creative shows thrilled audiences throughout the
three-day weekend. And in 2006, the Festival was awarded the Bronze Grand
Pinnacle Award from the International Festivals & Events Association, along
with eight Pinnacle Awards for achievements in marketing, merchandise, and
programming.
The Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2007 with a special
performance by The Joffrey Ballet and several new initiatives. Interactive art
took a front seat with the GuideOne Insurance Interactive Mural. The collective
hand of the community created two billboard-sized replicas of Vincent van Gogh’s
The Starry Night and Irises. The performing arts were also highlighted with live
street theatre roaming the Festival site throughout the weekend. We even
celebrated the Festival load-in with LIVE! Load-In Thursday at Blues on Grand!
All of this combined with new live music, visual artists, arts activities and
more, made the Festival’s 10th anniversary something to remember.
In 2008, the Festival added the Interrobang Film
Festival to its roster of art-centric activities to celebrate the
art of film. The juried art fair expanded to include 175 professional visual
artists. Two new GuideOne Insurance Interactive Murals created of The Hour
of Tea by Frederick Carl Frieseke and Autumn, New Hampshire by
Maurice Prendergast. And the 2008 Festival went green by beginning a reduce,
reuse and recycle program. The 2008 event was also named the No. 5 Top Art Fair
and Festival in the nation by AmericanStyle Magazine.
In 2009, more than 255,000 people came to the Western Gateway Park to enjoy
the Festival. Along with our line-up of professional and emerging artists, we
embraced the art of performing and brought in national singer/songwriter, Gavin
DeGraw in partnership with the Hy-Vee Triathalon. This indeed made Friday night
of the Festival even more memorable for our guests and we look forward to
keeping the performing arts and live music as a standard for the Festival. We
continued to look at ways to expand the Festival and in 2009 began to embrace
the art of being "green." The Festival put in place an expanded recycling
program in an effort to make the Des Moines Arts Festival® the greenest its been with the recycling of paper,
aluminum and plastic as well as using all serving ware made of recyclable
materials including cups made out of corn. One last addition to 2009 was the
presence of the "Blitz Build" in conjunction with Greater Des Moines Habitat for
Humanity. The 1,100 square foot home was hauled in for the Festival where people
could contribute for a day, an hour or any amount of time to display their art
of giving to others. The exterior of the house was successfully completed and
hauled offsite Sunday for an area Des Moines family to enjoy.
2010 proved to be another successful year for the Des Moines Arts
Festival® with an attendance of 235,000 despite
the extreme heat and damaging overnight storms. With over 1,300 artists applying
the jury had the difficult duty of selecting only 185 of the top professional
artists throughout the country. Alongside the artists, this was the first year
the Festival was able to incorporate the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park.
It served as the centerpiece for the grounds of the Festival and patrons were
invited to walk through and experience the park. The Des Moines Art Center went
one step further and developed many activities within Sculpture Park Central.
Docent lead tours were available for all along with kids activities including
creating their own sculptures and sketch books.
The Festival became a bit more “techy” for 2010 with the development of an
iPhone app. This on-the-go piece provided artist information, activity schedules
entertainment and more. This app will become a staple for the Festival and will
hopefully grow into a wider reach to apply to additional smart phones.
The Festival also continued its commitment of “going green” and implemented
F. A. D. with the help of local artists and official sponsor, Hy-Vee. Six local
artists were asked to create recycling kiosks out of found, applied and donated
objects. The end results were pieces of artwork that served a function of
recycling for all materials on the Festival grounds. The 2010 entertainment grew
this year throughout the three spaces: U.S. Cellular Stage, GuideOne Performing
Arts Stage and the Jazz & Wine Pavilion presented by Meredith. All three
spaces had continuous entertainment and the U. S. Cellular Stage kicked off the
weekend with American Idol contestant Katelyn Epperly Friday night. The GuideOne
Performing Arts Stage had an eclectic mix of comedy, poetry, theatre, and dance
while the Jazz & Wine Pavilion swept patrons away with smooth jazz from
various local groups, including local favorite, Max Wellman.
traces its beginnings to 1958 when the Des Moines Art
Center hosted its inaugural Art in the
Park on the grounds of Des Moines’ fine art museum. In 1997, with the
advent of revitalized downtown urban energy, momentum grew to reinvigorate the
40-year-old event. Armed with a new name and a new location, the 1998 Des
Moines Arts Festival® splashed onto the
downtown bridges that span the Des Moines River, showcasing the nation’s
premiere artists and creating an opportunity for people of all ages to embrace
the arts.
The first Art in the Park attracted little more than a few
hundred people. Nearly five decades later, the Des Moines Arts
Festival® has established itself as the
signature arts and culture event in Iowa, with an annual attendance exceeding
200,000 people. Since moving downtown in 1998, the Festival has welcomed more
than 1.7 million visitors.
Early in the Festival’s growth, it was determined that the participating
artists would drive the focus of the show. As a juried art fair, the Des Moines
Arts Festival® developed strong relationships
with recognized organizations like the National Association of Independent
Artists and International Festivals and Events Association. These relationships
assisted in developing the artist program, which is now one of the strongest in
the nation.
The relationship with Des Moines Art Center continues today
with a portion of the proceeds from the Festival supporting the city’s art
center. Its leadership serves on the Festival’s board and their presence during
the Festival contributes to its overall legitimacy.
In 2000, the Membership and Art Gift Certificate programs were created to
strengthen the Festival’s emphasis on art. Two years later, Nurturing a
Student’s Vision (NSV) was developed to encourage children in their passion for
the arts. The program has since blossomed to include more than 90 metro schools
and over 300 kids and their artwork. NSV continues through the year with artwork
displayed at downtown Des Moines’ Central Library. Participating students are
honored by the Des Moines Art Center with a family membership and a certificate
of achievement.
Beginning in 2002, participating artists were asked to demonstrate their
craft during the Festival. Such demonstrations helped to make the art more
accessible and create a better understanding between the artists and their
artwork.
In 2003, the Des Moines Arts Festival®
reached new artists in the state of Iowa through the Emerging Iowa Artists
program. This unique program provides an opportunity for residents of Iowa who
are enrolled at any institute of higher education across the nation to display
and sell their artwork during the Festival. The artists are juried along with
the professional artists, but are not charged fees to either jury or
participate.
Answering the call from Des Moines’ growing diverse population, the Festival
featured a Global Performing Arts Stage in 2004. Along with two other stages
providing music entertainment throughout the Festival, the Global Performing
Arts Stage was dedicated to a variety of entertainment from music to dance to
gardening lectures.
The 2006 Festival brought about the most significant change since 1998. Since
access to the traditional Festival site on the downtown bridges would be under
construction, the Festival would need a new location. Eight blocks west of the
site construction was concluding on the new David Chipperfield-designed library
and the John and Mary Pappajohn Higher Education Center. Surrounding these two
marvelous buildings was Phase One of Western Gateway Park. In this all-new green
space in the downtown community, the Des Moines Arts Festival® found its new home.
In its new location, the Festival welcomed Brian Olsen’s Art in Action with
rave reviews. His exciting and creative shows thrilled audiences throughout the
three-day weekend. And in 2006, the Festival was awarded the Bronze Grand
Pinnacle Award from the International Festivals & Events Association, along
with eight Pinnacle Awards for achievements in marketing, merchandise, and
programming.
The Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2007 with a special
performance by The Joffrey Ballet and several new initiatives. Interactive art
took a front seat with the GuideOne Insurance Interactive Mural. The collective
hand of the community created two billboard-sized replicas of Vincent van Gogh’s
The Starry Night and Irises. The performing arts were also highlighted with live
street theatre roaming the Festival site throughout the weekend. We even
celebrated the Festival load-in with LIVE! Load-In Thursday at Blues on Grand!
All of this combined with new live music, visual artists, arts activities and
more, made the Festival’s 10th anniversary something to remember.
In 2008, the Festival added the Interrobang Film
Festival to its roster of art-centric activities to celebrate the
art of film. The juried art fair expanded to include 175 professional visual
artists. Two new GuideOne Insurance Interactive Murals created of The Hour
of Tea by Frederick Carl Frieseke and Autumn, New Hampshire by
Maurice Prendergast. And the 2008 Festival went green by beginning a reduce,
reuse and recycle program. The 2008 event was also named the No. 5 Top Art Fair
and Festival in the nation by AmericanStyle Magazine.
In 2009, more than 255,000 people came to the Western Gateway Park to enjoy
the Festival. Along with our line-up of professional and emerging artists, we
embraced the art of performing and brought in national singer/songwriter, Gavin
DeGraw in partnership with the Hy-Vee Triathalon. This indeed made Friday night
of the Festival even more memorable for our guests and we look forward to
keeping the performing arts and live music as a standard for the Festival. We
continued to look at ways to expand the Festival and in 2009 began to embrace
the art of being "green." The Festival put in place an expanded recycling
program in an effort to make the Des Moines Arts Festival® the greenest its been with the recycling of paper,
aluminum and plastic as well as using all serving ware made of recyclable
materials including cups made out of corn. One last addition to 2009 was the
presence of the "Blitz Build" in conjunction with Greater Des Moines Habitat for
Humanity. The 1,100 square foot home was hauled in for the Festival where people
could contribute for a day, an hour or any amount of time to display their art
of giving to others. The exterior of the house was successfully completed and
hauled offsite Sunday for an area Des Moines family to enjoy.
2010 proved to be another successful year for the Des Moines Arts
Festival® with an attendance of 235,000 despite
the extreme heat and damaging overnight storms. With over 1,300 artists applying
the jury had the difficult duty of selecting only 185 of the top professional
artists throughout the country. Alongside the artists, this was the first year
the Festival was able to incorporate the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park.
It served as the centerpiece for the grounds of the Festival and patrons were
invited to walk through and experience the park. The Des Moines Art Center went
one step further and developed many activities within Sculpture Park Central.
Docent lead tours were available for all along with kids activities including
creating their own sculptures and sketch books.
The Festival became a bit more “techy” for 2010 with the development of an
iPhone app. This on-the-go piece provided artist information, activity schedules
entertainment and more. This app will become a staple for the Festival and will
hopefully grow into a wider reach to apply to additional smart phones.
The Festival also continued its commitment of “going green” and implemented
F. A. D. with the help of local artists and official sponsor, Hy-Vee. Six local
artists were asked to create recycling kiosks out of found, applied and donated
objects. The end results were pieces of artwork that served a function of
recycling for all materials on the Festival grounds. The 2010 entertainment grew
this year throughout the three spaces: U.S. Cellular Stage, GuideOne Performing
Arts Stage and the Jazz & Wine Pavilion presented by Meredith. All three
spaces had continuous entertainment and the U. S. Cellular Stage kicked off the
weekend with American Idol contestant Katelyn Epperly Friday night. The GuideOne
Performing Arts Stage had an eclectic mix of comedy, poetry, theatre, and dance
while the Jazz & Wine Pavilion swept patrons away with smooth jazz from
various local groups, including local favorite, Max Wellman.