For Immediate Release
Contact: Amy Day
Tel: 515.271.0344 (o)
515.512.077 (m)
E-mail: aday@desmoinesartcenter.org

DES MOINES, IA (December 2024) – The Des Moines Art Center is honored to receive a General Operating Support Grant from Bravo Greater Des Moines that will be used to help support free admission for the more than 300,000 children, students, families, and individuals who visit the Art Center’s renowned museum and John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park and who participate in a wide range of no-cost events, tours, workshops, and programs each year.

Bravo Greater Des Moines’ longstanding support for general operations enables the Art Center to sustain a free admission policy, providing access to all in our community regardless of means or background. Thanks to the 2025 grant from Bravo, the Art Center remains one of the only free cultural organizations in the greater Des Moines area and one of the few free art museums in the country. As the price of daily expenses rises, the cost of entrance to the Art Center will remain free for every guest who walks through our doors. For many art museums, ticket sales for admission help cover the cost of personnel, maintenance, and energy and lighting bills, for instance, to keep the doors open. By supporting our free admissions program, Bravo Greater Des Moines is helping make the Art Center’s world-class museum, sculpture park, and community programs accessible to those who might not otherwise have been able to afford admission, which can cost as much as $30 per person at other museums.

As the largest museum in Greater Des Moines, the Art Center provides free opportunities to access quality art and art education vital in making Des Moines a vibrant community for people to live, work, and visit. Additionally, this grant increases the Art Center’s capacity to provide unique and creative public exhibitions and programs that engage diverse populations and support local community partners. In 2025, general operating support from Bravo will help to make the following exhibitions and their related programming accessible for all:

  • Time Travelers, exploring artworks that reimagine elements of the past, including important works from the Art Center’s permanent collections (February 14 – May 11, 2025)
  • The Light Within Ourselves: Haitian Art in Iowa, featuring works from the Waterloo Center for the Art, which, outside of Haiti, holds the largest collection of Haitian art in the world (April 18 – September 7, 2025)
  • A self-titled exhibition featuring Firelei Báez, one of the world’s most sought-after artists working today (June 14 – September 21, 2025)
  • The Iowa Artists Series, which in 2025 will feature Des Moines-based textile artist Ben Millett (July 26 – November 2, 2025)
  • Manuel Álvarez Bravo: Collaborations showcasing a legendary figure in the history of Mexican photography (October 25, 2025 – January 18, 2026)

“On behalf of myself, our Board of Trustees, and our entire team,” says John and Mary Pappajohn Director, Kelly Baum, “I thank the staff and board of Bravo Greater Des Moines and especially the leadership and residents of the seventeen partner cities whose support fuels this incredible granting organization. Through their vision and generosity, they help sustain a vibrant cultural ecosystem that provides educational, social, and economic benefit to the many communities of our region. What we receive from Bravo and our partnering cities, we give back many times over to the people of the Greater Des Moines region.”

Funding for this grant program comes from Bravo’s partnerships with 17 local governments that contribute a percentage of their hotel/motel tax revenue each year. The partnering governments are 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.

“This was a dynamic grant cycle and it is exciting to support the breadth of arts, culture and heritage that’s available across Greater Des Moines. Bravo’s is grateful to our local government partners who trust us to make these critical investments in our community,” Sally Dix, president of Bravo Greater Des Moines, said in a prepared statement.

For additional information, contact Senior Director of Communications and Marketing 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 300,000 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.

###