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

DES MOINES, IOWA (November 2025) – The Des Moines Art Center has received a $50,000 grant from The Fred Maytag Family Foundation to help revitalize the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park. This generous funding will support the conservation and protection of sculptures throughout the park, key security enhancements, and accessibility improvements, ensuring the park remains a safe, inclusive, and inspiring space for all visitors. 

“We are deeply grateful to The Fred Maytag Family Foundation for their continued support of the Art Center and commitment to preserving the Pappajohn Sculpture Park,” said Dr. Kelly Baum, John and Mary Pappajohn Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Art Center. “Thanks to the Maytag family’s vision, Iowa is home to an extraordinary collection of art that fosters education, creativity, connection, and growth. As we look to the future, we are excited to build upon the legacy they have established and expand our community presence through the Pappajohn Sculpture Park, which serves as a prominent gateway to the Art Center and a public space for inspiration, reflection, and shared experiences.” 

Since its opening in 2009, the Pappajohn Sculpture Park has transformed a once-neglected area in the Western Gateway to downtown Des Moines into one of the nation’s premier outdoor sculpture parks, attracting over 200,000 visitors annually. Today, the park is a nationally recognized community treasure and tourist destination, spanning 4.4 acres. Free and open daily, the park features iconic works by some of the world’s most celebrated artists, such as Keith Haring and Yayoi Kusama. It also serves as host to major community festivals and events like the Des Moines Arts Festival and World Food & Music Festival, which bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the area each year and contribute significantly to regional economic development. 

About the Des Moines Art Center
Founded in 1948, the Des Moines Art Center is a vibrant, AAM-accredited (American Alliance of Museums) institution located in the capital city of Iowa that welcomes nearly 350,000 visitors annually from across the country and around the globe. The Art Center is proud to offer free admission to its galleries, programs, and sculpture park for all visitors. Our 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 largest art museum in the Greater Des Moines metro and one of the few in the state, 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.  

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