For Immediate Release
Contact: Jordan Powers
Tel: 515.271.0344 or 630.470.5136
Email: jpowers@desmoinesartcenter.org
DES MOINES, IOWA (MARCH 2020) – This afternoon, the Des Moines Art Center launched seven virtual tours of their permanent collections and special exhibitions. The tours will allow visitors to click through the extensive collections as if they were at the museum — an especially important experience as the Art Center galleries are closed to the public until April 7 in response to COVID-19.
The tours were produced in partnership with EMC Insurance Companies; the initiative was led by EMC Vice President of Innovation and Art Center Board Member Jason Gross.
“EMC is thrilled to provide this service for the Des Moines Art Center,” Gross said. “As an innovation leader, we have been exploring three-dimensional virtual tours and virtual reality to help our customers better manage risks and process claims using the Matterport system. It is an honor to make the Des Moines Art Center accessible to everyone during this time.”
Seven gallery spaces and exhibitions are available to experience via virtual tour; they are:
- Three floors of artwork from the permanent collections in the Richard Meier building
- Artwork from the permanent collections in the Blank Two and Three Galleries
- Artwork from the permanent collections in the W.T. and Edna M. Dahl Gallery and West Gallery
- Karla Black: 20 Years in the Anna K. Meredith Gallery
- Karla Black: 20 Years in the I. M. Pei Galleries
- Hedda Sterne: Imagination and Machine in the Blank I Gallery
- Researchers: Women Artists Inspired by Science in the John Brady Print Gallery
See all seven virtual tours.
“Virtual tour opportunities have long been a goal of the Art Center as we look to expand our ability to connect with audiences across the country and globe,” Art Center Director of Marketing and Public Relations Jordan Powers said. “While we are certainly saddened by our current collective situation with COVID-19, we are forever grateful for Jason and EMC Insurance Companies for creating the opportunity for our visitors near and far to enjoy a moment of pause and inspiration in our galleries — both during these difficult times and beyond.”
For additional information, interviews, or images/graphics, please contact Jordan Powers at jpowers@desmoinesartcenter.org or 630.470.5136.
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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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