Des Moines Art Center

“Topographies: Mapping Being and Belonging” Exhibition Tour
2026-09-19 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago) | Des Moines Art Center, 4700 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50312, United States
Join us for a free guided tour of the exhibition “Topographies: Mapping Being and Belonging” on view in the Anna K. Meredith Gallery through September 20, 2026. Topography (drawn from the Ancient Greek words topos, meaning place, and graphia, meaning writing) is the creation of a visual map that describes the natural or human-made features of a place.
Free; no registration required.
Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, born 1984)
“Mnemonics of Shape and Reason,” 2021 (still)
HD video, stereo, color, 4.2 min
Des Moines Art Center Permanent Collections; Purchased with funds from the Pamela Bass-Bookey and Harry Bookey Moving-Image and Time-Based Art Fund, 2025.1
© Sky Hopinka. Image appears courtesy of the Artist and The Green Gallery, Milwaukee

2026 Art Center Gala
2026-09-19 18:00 - 23:00 | Val Air Ballroom, 301 Ashworth Rd, West Des Moines, IA, 50265, United States
You’re invited to experience a night of art, music, and celebration at the 2026 Des Moines Art Center Gala, an extraordinary event to support the Art Center in style! Join us at the legendary Val Air Ballroom, where jazz syncopation meets punk disruption, elegance meets edge, and rhythm sparks connection. This is a night where art doesn’t simply hang on the walls—it moves, grooves, and gathers us together.
Cocktail Hour | 6 pm
Dinner and Dessert | 7:30 pm
Dancing and Music | 9 – 11 pm
Black tie optional. Creative attire encouraged. Break a fashion rule.
Your support of this dynamic event ensures the Des Moines Art Center remains free and accessible to everyone, every day. With your help, we will continue to offer engaging exhibitions and exciting educational programs, building an inclusive space that stimulates creative, critical, and empathetic thinking.
2026 Gala Sponsorships are available now. Guarantee tickets to the event and maximize your brand by becoming a sponsor today.
Presenting Sponsor | $20,000
Signature Sponsor | $10,000
Table Sponsor | $7,500
Supporting Sponsor | $4,000
To pledge your support, please email Caleb Hegna at chegna@desmoinesartcenter.org or 515.271.0338.
purchase tickets
Patron Pair | $2,700 | Seating for two and patron recognition
Individual Patron | $1,350 | Seating for one and patron recognition
Individual Gala Ticket | $300 | Seating for one
Artist Ticket | $300 | Sponsor seating for one artist
Young Professional Ticket | $200 | Seating for one
For more information, purchasing tickets, or questions about the gala, please contact Gala and Development Events Coordinator Jess Lane at jlane@desmoinesartcenter.org or 515.271.0336.

Artist Lecture: Valentin Noujaïm – “What Caïn saw, and other variations on the desire to destroy"
2026-09-22 18:00 | Levitt Auditorium, 4700 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50312, United States
The Des Moines Art Center invites you to join us for a free artist lecture with Valentin Noujaïm – “What Caïn saw, and other variations on the desire to destroy.” This lecture is presented alongside the Art Center’s exhibition, “Valentin Noujaïm: La Défense,” on view in the Pamela Bass-Bookey and Harry Bookey Gallery September 10 – December 6, 2026.
Noujaïm is a French-Lebanese artist and filmmaker based between Paris, France and Athens, Greece. His work explores how individuals and territories navigate forms of collapse, treating contemporary architecture as spaces charged with narratives, tensions, and latent imaginaries. Through film and video, he examines how power, memory, and collective imaginaries are inscribed in built environments and what survives when they unravel. Moving between documentary and fiction, he weaves together personal histories, political landscapes, and the silent weight of spaces to construct layered works.
REGISTER
Free; registration required.
Image: Valentin Noujaïm; photo by Boris Camaca

Art for Every Body
2026-09-24 17:30 - 19:00, 2026-10-22 17:30 - 19:00 | Des Moines Art Center, 4700 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50312, United States
Art for Every Body is a welcoming creative program designed for adults (ages 18+) of all abilities who are seeking connection, reflection, and community through art. This experience begins with a visit to the Des Moines Art Center’s galleries, where participants will explore artworks and participate in a guided conversation about a selected work. After the museum visit, participants will transition to an art making workshop that invites personal expression inspired by the gallery experience.
This program fosters curiosity, connection, and creativity, offering a space where every body can engage with art in ways that are meaningful and empowering. Whether you’re curious about art, seeking creative expression, or hoping to connect with others in a supportive environment, all are welcome. Participants are encouraged to bring support people or companions, and accommodations are available upon request at registration to ensure everyone can fully engage.
Free; registration required.
REGISTER
Contact the Community Access Program Manager at kburr@desmoinesartcenter.org in advance with specific needs so we can prepare appropriate accessibility supports.

“Artists Around a Table: Artmaking and Merrymaking, 1927-1952” Exhibition Tour
2026-09-26 13:00 - 14:00 | Des Moines Art Center, 4700 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50312, United States
Join us for a free guided tour of the exhibition in the John Brady Print Gallery, “Artists Around a Table: Artmaking and Merrymaking, 1927-1952.” This exhibition presents works on paper made by a vibrant social network of artist-printmakers who moved between New York City, Woodstock, Paris, and beyond in the first decades of the 20th century.
“Artists Around a Table” explores a group of artists, friends, and lovers who constructed figurative works of art inflected with humor and merrymaking. They depicted scenes from their own lives as well as those illustrating the various locales in which they lived and worked.
Public guided tours are offered every Saturday from 1 – 2 pm. Free; no registration required.
John Carroll (American, 1892 – 1959)
“Artists Around a Table” (detail), 1928
Lithograph on paper
Des Moines Art Center Permanent Collections; Gift of Carl Weeks, 1954.109

“Artists on Fire” Exhibition Tour
2026-10-03 13:00 - 14:00 | Des Moines Art Center, 4700 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50312, United States
Join us for a free guided tour of the exhibition “Artists on Fire,” on view in the John Brady Print Gallery September 5, 2026 – January 10, 2027. This selection of prints, drawings, and photographs from the permanent collection explores the element of fire, both literal and conceptual. Images of flames, smoke, and steam sit alongside depictions of Greek gods and visions of hell.
Free; no registration required.
Todd Hido (American, born 1968)
#11176-7589, 2014
Archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle Photorag Baryta paper
Des Moines Art Center Permanent Collections; Gift of the Pilara Family Foundation, 2025.17

2026 Fingerman Lecture: Alison Saar
2026-10-04 13:30 - 15:00 | Levitt Auditorium, 4700 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50312, United States
We invite you to join the Des Moines Art Center in welcoming artist Alison Saar as the featured speaker of our annual Fingerman Lecture series. Saar’s work examines the place of the female body in the realms of politics and spirituality. She explores Black female identity, and the powerful, multifaceted roles women play — from everyday life to timeless, legendary figures.
Saar has exhibited artworks at many galleries and museums throughout the United States. Her art is represented in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Baltimore Art Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her 1997 piece, “Sweeping Beauty” was added to the Des Moines Art Center’s permanent collection in 2003.
REGISTER
The Fingerman Lecture series is made possible through generous gifts by Lois and the late Dr. Louis Fingerman. Alison Saar is the 36th installment in the series.
Free; registration required.
Photo: Alison Saar

Museum Highlights Tour
2026-10-17 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-10-31 13:00 - 14:00 | Des Moines Art Center, 4700 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50312, United States
Discover the vast variety of the Des Moines Art Center’s permanent collection during our Museum Highlights Tour. This tour offers a unique journey through our galleries, featuring a selection of timeless paintings, sculptures, and more. Join our knowledgeable guides to uncover the stories, techniques, and inspirations behind the art on view, and experience the highlights of the Art Center in a fresh and engaging way. This guided tour is perfect for art enthusiasts of all ages!
Public guided tours are offered every Saturday from 1 – 2 pm. Free; no registration required.

“Elle Pérez: La Despedida” Exhibition Tour
2026-10-24 13:00 - 14:00 | Des Moines Art Center, 4700 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50312, United States
Visitors are invited to learn more about the exhibition “Elle Pérez: La Despedida” during this free guided tour. The show, on view in the A. H. Blank Gallery, highlights Bronx-based photographer Elle Pérez’s practice as they construct lush and tactile photographs born from careful attention to the objects, settings, and individuals in their everyday life. The 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.
Public guided tours are offered every Saturday from 1 – 2 pm. Free; no registration required.
Elle Pérez (born 1989)
“untitled (light window)” (detail), 2025
Archival pigment print
Image courtesy of the artist and 47 Canal, New York
Photo: Joerg Lohse
