FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Barbara Briggie-Smith or Jordan Powers
Tel: 515.745.9438 or 630.470.5136
Email: bbsmith@desmoinesartcenter.org or jpowers@desmoinesartcenter.org

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COMMUNITY-CENTRIC EXHIBITION JUSTIN FAVELA: CENTRAL AMERICAN SLATED TO OPEN IN 2021

DES MOINES, IOWA (May 2020) – Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Des Moines Art Center exhibition, Justin Favela: Central American has been moved from its opening date of June 13, 2020 to the slate of exhibitions set to open in 2021. New dates for the show will be announced soon.

“Connection with the community and audience participation are critical to Favela’s work,” Curator Laura Burkhalter said. “He has worked with almost every department of the museum for months to plan his exhibition and its related events and celebrations. We want to honor this work, and present his joyful art as intended, so have made the decision to postpone until we can invite our visitors to fully enjoy Favela’s art.”

This summer, the Art Center plans to feature selections from the permanent collections in the Anna K. Meredith Gallery. The works on view will be a mix of familiar favorites and exciting newcomers. “We know the arts can help us rise above the challenges of our time,” Director Jeff Fleming said. Final dates for this gallery opening are pending as Art Center staff continues to navigate the changing landscape of the pandemic; updates will be posted on the Art Center website, desmoinesartcenter.org, and the Art Center’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter channels.

“When we do open, we look forward to focusing on our own collections and community; it will be like seeing old friends and old favorites, like coming home,” Fleming said. “We want our visitors to come back and see their museum and to celebrate who and what we are.”

High-res images available upon request.

 

 

About the Des Moines Art Center

Recognized by international art critics as a world-class museum in the heart of the Midwest, the Des Moines Art Center, an AAM-accredited institution, has amassed an important collection with a major emphasis on contemporary art. The collection’s overriding principle is a representation of artists from the 19th century to the present, each through a seminal work. This accounts for an impressive collection that ranges from Edward Hopper’s Automat to Jasper Johns’ Tennyson, Henri Matisse’s Woman in White, Georgia O’Keeffe’s From the Lake No. 1, Francis Bacon’s Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X, Bill Viola’s Ascension, and Cecily Brown’s Half-Bind.

The Art Center’s physical complex marries with the collection for a totally integrated experience. The collection is housed in three major buildings, each designed by a world-renowned architect—Eliel Saarinen, I. M. Pei, and Richard Meier. With the exception of special events, admission to the museum is free.

In September 2009, the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park opened in Des Moines’ Western Gateway Park. Philanthropists John and Mary Pappajohn provided funding for and donated 31 sculptures by internationally acclaimed contemporary artists to the Des Moines Art Center. The collection of sculptures by such artists as Ai Weiwei, Louise Bourgeois, Deborah Butterfield, Willem de Kooning, Mark di Suvero, Olafur Eliasson, Keith Haring, Robert Indiana, Ellsworth Kelly, Yayoi Kusama, Jaume Plensa, and Richard Serra, and Joel Shapiro is the most significant donation of artwork to the Art Center in a single gift in the museum’s history. The Pappajohn Sculpture Park is a collaboration of the Pappajohns, the City of Des Moines, the Des Moines Art Center, and numerous corporate and private donors.

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