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

DES MOINES, IOWA (August 2024) – The Des Moines Art Center is honored to have been selected to receive a Catalyst Grant award through the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative, a grantmaking program established by the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation in collaboration with Environment & Culture Partners and RMI to catalyze climate action in the visual arts.

Funds from this $15,000 grant will contribute to the installation of a new LED lighting system in the Art Center’s I. M. Pei building, one of three historic buildings that houses the Art Center’s collections and special exhibitions.

Lighting design plays an integral role in how visitors view and interact with works of art. This project will replace over 80 light fixtures, originally installed when the building opened in 1968, with modern, museum-quality LED versions that are adaptable, Bluetooth capable, and energy efficient. The new LED lighting will provide consistent light throughout the gallery spaces and highlight the building’s unique architectural details.

The lighting and fixtures will be installed in the upper floor galleries of the I. M. Pei building and the lower floor corridor leading to the auditorium, with an overall impact on over 8,500 square feet of gallery space. Sustainability impacts of the project will include an annual energy savings of 36,714.6 kilowatt hours, cost savings of $2,570.02, and emissions reduction of 28.3 tons of CO2.

Learn more about the Des Moines Art Center I. M. Pei lighting project supported by the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative Catalyst Grant award at https://www.frankenthalerclimateinitiative.org/2024-catalyst/dmac.

About the Des Moines Art Center
The Des Moines Art Center is a vibrant, AAM-accredited (American Association of Museums) 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 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. The Art Center is committed to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are incorporated into every facet of its mission and identity.

About the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation
Since its inception in 2021, the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative has distinguished itself as the foremost private national initiative in the United States dedicated to combating climate change specifically within the visual arts sector. Grantees include collecting and non-collecting museums, art schools, nonprofit arts organizations, artist-run spaces, artist residency programs, arts divisions housed within universities, and indigenous arts collectives. To date, the FCI has awarded over $14 million in grants to over two hundred visual arts institutions—part of a five-year, $15-million commitment to tangible climate change action.

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