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

DES MOINES, IOWA (July 2023) – The Des Moines Art Center received a Community Betterment grant from the Polk County Board of Supervisors supporting Community Access programs. The Polk County Community Betterment Grant Program was designed to provide financial support to non-profit organizations that promote cultural, recreational, educational, and essential human services to Polk County residents.

The Community Access program encompasses multiple elements of creative engagement with our local community, involving collaboration with more than 40 partner organizations. The program’s objective is to discover creative ways of making artwork and art-making accessible to those in our community that otherwise lack this access due to cultural, economic, environmental, and social barriers. The Art Center’s teaching artists use a student-centered method, creating a safe, respectful environment where everyone’s art is valued as an outlet for self-expression.

For additional information about the Art Center’s Community Access programs, visit our website at desmoinesartcenter.org/classes/community-access-program/ or contact Director of External Affairs 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 270,000 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.

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