For Immediate Release
Contact: Amy Day
Tel: 515.271.0344 (o)
515.612.0775 (m)
aday@desmoinesartcenter.org
DES MOINES, IA (December 2023) – The Des Moines Art Center is honored to receive a 2024 Cultural Leadership Grant from Bravo Greater Des Moines that will support free admission and programming throughout the year.
Bravo’s grant programs enable the Art Center to provide quality art and art education opportunities, vital in making Des Moines a vibrant community for people to live, work, and visit. Bravo’s longstanding support has allowed the Art Center to grow and sustain our free admission program—placing us in the rare one-third of art museums in the country able to do so. Additionally, it has increased our capacity to serve Greater Des Moines by providing essential arts and culture experiences and allowed us to continue offering robust educational programs that serve diverse populations and engage new community partners. For example, the Art Center is expanding Adaptative Arts programs to create equitable art experiences for the Des Moines Deaf and hard of hearing Community, the Des Moines Blind and Low Vision Community, and the Autism Community. Funding also allows the Art Center to offer exciting new exhibitions, including the upcoming traveling exhibition “States of Becoming.”
John and Mary Pappajohn Director Kelly Baum expressed her appreciation for the continued support Bravo has shown to the Art Center. “On behalf of our staff and trustees, I offer my sincere thanks to Bravo for awarding the Art Center a Cultural Leadership Grant. Our collective gratitude extends to Bravo’s staff and board, to the panelists who provided informative feedback on our application, and especially to the seventeen local governments whose participation ensures the ongoing vitality of arts and culture in Greater Des Moines. We accept the Cultural Leadership Grant in the spirit of reciprocity: just as the citizens of the Greater Des Moines region support the Art Center, so too does the Art Center support them through our art school, the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park, and a robust variety of free programs and exhibitions.”
Grant funding from Bravo Greater Des Moines is made possible by the contributions of the following local government partners: Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Des Moines, Grimes, Indianola, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Polk County, Urbandale, Waukee, West Des Moines, and Windsor Heights.
For additional information, contact Director of External Affairs Amy Day at 515.271.0344 or aday@desmoinesartcenter.org.
About the Des Moines Art Center
The Des Moines Art Center is a vibrant, AAM-accredited institution located in the capital city of Iowa that welcomes over 270,000 visitors annually from across the country and around the globe. Its historic campus consists of three buildings designed by major architects of the 20th century—Eliel Saarinen, I. M. Pei, and Richard Meier—incorporated into the natural landscape of Greenwood Park. The Art Center is home to one of the strongest collections of 20th and 21st century art in the region, and it hosts a series of ground-breaking exhibitions and lectures each year featuring artists known regionally, nationally, and internationally. The experimental spirit of the art for which the Art Center cares for is reflected in its creative offerings, including a celebrated education program that prioritizes access and collaboration, an art school with studio classes for all ages, and the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park, situated on 4.4 acres in downtown Des Moines. The Art Center is committed to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are incorporated into every facet of its mission and identity.
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