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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Des Moines Art Center
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260912T110000
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DTSTAMP:20260828T030703
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LAST-MODIFIED:20260824T220222Z
UID:14634-1789210800-1789221600@desmoinesartcenter.org
SUMMARY:Social Saturday: Great Outdoors
DESCRIPTION:Join the Des Moines Art Center’s September Social Saturday event: Great Outdoors! Enjoy crafts in the Art School studios\, a scavenger hunt\, a guided tour\, storytime\, treats in the Art Center Café\, and so much more. \nSchedule of Events:\n11 am\, 12 pm\, and 1 pm | CEO Gallery Talk\nJoin at the top of the hour for a chat and Q&A about the Art Center’s newest acquisition to the collection\, “nashoba holba / wayaha / coyote / they are witty and transform themselves in order to guide us\,” (2025) by artist Jeffery Gibson\, led by John and Mary Pappajohn Director and CEO Kelly Baum.\nLower Richard Meier Gallery\, Kyle and Sharon Krause Atrium\n11:15 – 11:30 am | Storytime\nLevitt Auditorium\n1:30 pm | Conversation with Artist Elle Pérez and Associate Curator Ashton Cooper\nJoin artist Elle Pérez in conversation with Ashton Cooper; the two will discuss and dive into the body of photographs presented in the exhibition “Elle Pérez: La Despedida.” Registration required.\nLevitt Auditorium \nDrop-in Activities (11 am – 2 pm):\nMuseum Galleries \n\nFind the Social Saturday interactive Art Cart in the galleries.\nComplete a scavenger hunt in the galleries and return your findings to the front desk for a small prize.\n\n\nMacomber Lobby \n\nEnjoy the Art Center’s Paint-n-Play station.\n\n\nArt School Studios \n\nExplore creativity and your inner artist! Free drawing available in the studio space\, as well as a unique Social Saturday: Great Outdoors activity\, both a printing making activity in the studios and sun-bleached prints outside (weather dependent).\n\n\nArt Center Café\n \n\nStop by for a sit-down lunch\, a delicious pastry\, and a full coffee and tea menu. Art Center members receive a  10% discount in the café. Package up a picnic to-go and enjoy your meal on the grounds of the Art Center or in Greenwood Park.\n\nMuseum Shop \n\nBrowse the Museum Shop to find gifts and souvenirs. Art Center members receive a  10% discount in the Museum Shop. Visit the $10 and under section for kids toys!\n\nSee our special exhibitions! \n\n“Topographies: Mapping Being and Belonging” (Anna K. Meredith Gallery)\n“Elle Pérez: La Despedida” (A. H. Blank Gallery)\n“Artists on Fire” (Pamela Bass-Bookey and Harry Bookey Gallery)\n“Valentin Noujaïm: La Défense” (John Brady Print Gallery)\n\nSocial Saturdays occur at the Des Moines Art Center on the second Saturday of the month. This event is free to attend\, and no registration is required. Social Saturdays will be documented with photography. \nFor programs in Levitt Auditorium:\nWe strive to provide live captioning for all events offered in Levitt Auditorium. Due to interpreter shortages throughout Iowa\, American Sign Language interpretation is only available upon request. ASL and other accommodation requests can be made by emailing jfeatherstone@desmoinesartcenter.org. \nGenerous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program. \n \nSupport is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Iowa Arts Council\, which exists within the Iowa Economic Development Authority. \n   
URL:https://desmoinesartcenter.org/event/social-saturday-great-outdoors/
LOCATION:Des Moines Art Center\, 4700 Grand Ave\, Des Moines\, IA\, 50312\, United States
CATEGORIES:Events and Programs
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260912T133000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260912T133000
DTSTAMP:20260828T030703
CREATED:20260722T160104Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260723T192435Z
UID:14579-1789219800-1789219800@desmoinesartcenter.org
SUMMARY:Conversation with Artist Elle Pérez and Associate Curator Ashton Cooper
DESCRIPTION:The Des Moines Art Center invites visitors to join artist Elle Pérez in conversation with Associate Curator Ashton Cooper. The two will discuss and dive into the body of photographs presented in the exhibition “Elle Pérez: La Despedida\,” on view in the A. H. Blank Gallery through November 29\, 2026. \nElle Pérez is an artist working across photography\, collage\, and moving image. Their work depicts intimate moments\, emotional exchanges\, and visceral details within the love and violence of everyday life. Pérez’s photographs balance casual observation with conceptual and formalist considerations: intentionally sequenced installations\, collages that act as mind maps\, and structuralist films that highlight the tension between image and text\, description and embodiment. Their work celebrates the ambiguity inherent to photography and queerness — a photograph is not an illustration\, it can both resist discursive limitations and hold meaning beyond language. Pérez made their first photographs as a teenager while attending punk shows in the Bronx. They have continued making artwork made for the audience it grows out of\, rather than simply being about them. \nThe artist’s 2025 series “La Despedida (the world is always ending\, the world is always again beginning)” encompasses photographs taken in the gardens of two very different sites: Pérez’s grandfather’s backyard in Puerto Real\, Puerto Rico\, and Impressionist painter Claude Monet’s home in Giverny\, France. In the eleven photographs on view\, Pérez deploys close cropping\, zooming in on expanses of blooming flowers\, lace curtains\, and breaking waves. \nREGISTER \nFree; registration required.\nImage: Artist Elle Pérez. Photo: KL Mays.
URL:https://desmoinesartcenter.org/event/conversation-with-artist-elle-perez/
LOCATION:Levitt Auditorium\, 4700 Grand Ave\, Des Moines\, IA\, 50312\, United States
CATEGORIES:Events and Programs,Exhibitions
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