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THREADS Dance Performance
Recorded on August 24, 2025 at the Des Moines Art Center. The Des Moines Art Center celebrated 25 years of the Community Access Program with an original dance performance titled “Threads” by the Swan Project...
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The Art Center offers free educational resources for families, individuals, and educators. Explore artist talks, gallery guides, hands-on activities, and more.
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An Afrofuturist’s Guide to the Galaxy with Tiffany E. Barber
Recorded on July 16, 2025 at the Des Moines Art Center. This lecture features internationally recognized scholar, curator, and critic Tiffany E. Barber discussing the origins and aesthetics of Afrofuturism in relation to artist Firelei...
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Video
Artist Lecture: Firelei Báez in Conversation with Director Kelly Baum
Recorded on June 13, 2025 at the Des Moines Art Center. This lecture features a conversation between artist Firelei Báez and John and Mary Pappajohn Director and CEO Kelly Baum in celebration of Báez’s solo,...
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Publication
Des Moines Art Center NEWS: May to August 2025
Over the span of 36 hours at the very end of April and beginning of May, I attended two inspiring lectures, both of which deepened my belief in the power and necessity of art museums....
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Symposium: Light Within Ourselves: Haitian Art and Culture
Recorded on April 26, 2025 at the Des Moines Art Center—Symposium: Light Within Ourselves: Haitian Art and Culture “The History of Haitian Art at the Waterloo Center for the Arts” by Chawne Paige, Executive Director...
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Video
Amy N. Worthen Lecture
Recorded on June 1, 2025 at the Des Moines Art Center. This lecture was led by Amy N. Worthen, Curator of Prints and Drawings, Emerita, Des Moines Art Center. The talk was inspired by the...
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Publication
Lesson Plan: Wangechi Mutu
Inspire learning through a step-by-step exploration of art at the Des Moines Art Center. Bring the galleries into your home or classroom, igniting your students’ imaginations and creativity. All lesson plans are open ended, adaptable,...
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Des Moines Art Center NEWS: January to April 2025
I am launching myself into 2025 with a renewed sense of purpose, ever more confident in the necessity and importance of the Des Moines Art Center. We accomplished a great deal in 2024. Many of...
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Samantha Box in Conversation with Luke Williams
Recorded on December 15, 2024 at the Des Moines Art Center. Luke Williams is a scholar, artist, organizer, and critic of 20th and 21st century Black performance and visual cultures. His work, which spans embodiment,...
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Publication
Des Moines Art Center NEWS: September to December 2024
I have always found the end of summer and the beginning of fall to be a particularly bittersweet time of the year. It is a moment of transition, as the weather begins to change and...
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