For Immediate Release
Contact: Amy Day
Tel: 515.271.0344 (o)
515.612.0775 (c)
aday@desmoinesartcenter.org

DES MOINES, IOWA (September 28, 2026) – The Des Moines Art Center has been honored with a 2026 Frankenthaler Climate Initiative Grant Award, joining an elite group of just 83 arts organizations nationwide—including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art—and is the only institution in Iowa to receive this recognition. The initiative, established by the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation in collaboration with Environment & Culture Partners, awarded the Art Center a $100,000 Implementation Grant to advance climate-action efforts in the visual arts.

Funds will be used to replace the original, 40-year-old air-handling system in the Art Center’s 1985 building. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier, it houses a significant portion of the institution’s distinguished collection of art. The air-handling system is an essential component of the facility’s HVAC infrastructure and one of its primary drivers of energy consumption. The new system will incorporate advanced technologies and modern control capabilities that will significantly improve energy efficiency—reducing overall energy use by an estimated 30-60%—and provide more precise regulation of environmental conditions in the building’s art galleries.

“We are deeply grateful to the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative team for this transformative award. The Art Center is firmly committed to the responsible stewardship of our resources and has completed a rigorous two-year study of our building envelopes and mechanical systems, which individually and collectively drive the Art Center’s overall energy performance. The replacement of the original air-handling system in our Meier Building will greatly improve our energy efficiency and significantly reduce the Art Center’s overall environmental footprint,” said Dr. Kelly Baum, John and Mary Pappajohn Director and CEO of the Art Center. “This work is also essential to protecting the works of art we display, ensuring they remain accessible to the community for generations to come.”

Stephanie Shapiro, managing director of Environment & Culture Partners, noted the long-term impact of projects such as the one being undertaken by the Art Center. “What stands out this year is the shift toward proactive, holistic thinking. Organizations are no longer just reducing energy use; they are future-proofing their buildings, strengthening resilience, and making their facilities a foundation for long-term mission. This is a sector that has stopped reacting and started acting.”

“FCI’s staged-support model enables institutions to grow their commitment to sustainability over time and advance their projects to have multifold effects. Nearly half of this year’s cohort are returning grantees, many of whom are using infrastructure as anchors for community resilience, connecting environmental action to justice and belonging in ways that are deeply mission-driven,” commented Elizabeth Smith, Executive Director of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation.

This award marks the second time the Art Center has been recognized by the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative for its energy-saving efforts. In 2024, the institution received a Catalyst Grant to install a new LED lighting system across more than 8,500 square feet of gallery space in its I.M. Pei Building—constructed in 1968 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places—generating meaningful annual energy savings. This year’s grant to replace the air-handling unit in the Meier Building continues the progress achieved through the Pei lighting project as part of a campus-wide effort to reduce energy consumption. Together, these improvements advance the Art Center’s long-term, multi-year initiative to modernize and revitalize its iconic architecture and strengthen its future as a beacon of art, culture, and community—unlocking new potential for its collection, programs, and visitor experience for generations of Iowans.

About the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative
The Frankenthaler Climate Initiative is the first nationwide program to support energy efficiency and clean energy use for the visual arts and the largest national grantmaking program to address climate action through cultural institutions. The ongoing initiative provides crucial support to visual arts organizations in the United States seeking to assess their impact on the environment and to lower ongoing energy costs. The Foundation has conferred more than $21.8 million since its launch in 2021, with 401 unique grants given for energy efficiency and clean energy projects at 295 institutions across 42 states and Puerto Rico.

Building on the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation’s commitment to social impact philanthropy and to catalyzing positive change on critical issues in the arts, the Foundation leads FCI in association with Environment & Culture Partners, a nonprofit that creates relationships and leads collaborations that engage the cultural sector in broader climate action; and Green Design Collaborative (GDC), an environmental design consultancy that optimizes building projects through expert collaboration to create a cost-effective, low-carbon future.

About the Des Moines Art Center
The Des Moines Art Center is a vibrant, AAM-accredited (American Alliance of Museums) institution located in the capital city of Iowa that welcomes around 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 art for which the Art Center cares 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. In 2025, as part of its strategic plan, the Art Center adopted the values of equity, respect, integrity, continuous reflection, and collaboration.

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