Iowa Arts & Culture Newsletter

Grant Awards Announced!

The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) announced awards of $1,678,389 for state fiscal year 2025 to strengthen the arts, culture and creative industries across the state and provide Iowans with access to enriching cultural experiences.? ?

The IEDA approved 173 awards to Iowa organizations and Iowans in more than 60 communities. The awards were made across seven Iowa Arts Council programs: Art Project Grants, Cultural Capacity Building Grants, Cultural Leadership Partners, Greenlight Grants, Iowa Artist Fellowship, Iowa Community Cultural Grants and Iowa Screenwriters Grants. ? ?

The matching grants leverage local and private investment and support a wide range of creative projects, including arts and cultural festivals, live theatre performances, exhibitions, film productions and community public art projects.?

Read the Media Release ?

View the full list of latest grant recipients ?

Iowa Culture Leadership Cohort and Creative Places Accelerator??

Sixteen organizations and communities were selected for two Iowa Arts Council programs designed to increase skills and build the capacity of Iowa organizations and communities.??

Communities selected for the new Creative Places Accelerator have formed cross sector community teams that will be developing arts-based projects to serve as catalysts for livability, economic development and community connectedness. Accelerator participants include:? ?

• GRINNELL AREA ARTS COUNCIL ?

• LeClaire Office of Tourism??

• Maquoketa Art Experience ??

• Paint it Back, Clinton?

• Pottawattamie Arts, Culture & Entertainment (PACE), Council Bluffs?

Organizations selected for the 2024 Iowa Culture Leadership Cohort will be participating in professional development workshops, peer to peer learning and mentorship to help build leadership skills in organization operations, sustainability and programming. Cohort members include:?

• ADVENTURES IN SOCIAL DRAMA , Johnston?

• Amana Arts Guild?

• ArtHaus, Inc, Decorah?

• CEDAR FALLS COMMUNITY THEATRE INC ?

• Central Iowa Wind Ensemble , Ankeny?

• CREATIVE ARTISTS STUDIOS OF AMES INC

• Iowa City Foreign Relations Council ?

• Le Mars Arts Council ?

• SEEDS Nonprofit Org., Des Moines?

• STATE ASSOCIATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF IOWAS CEMETERIES , Cedar Falls?

• The Williams Center for the Arts - Performance Series , Oelwein?

Iowa Artist Fellow Spotlight – Jillian Moore?

Jillian Moore is a full-time artist, writer and workshop instructor based in rural Cedar County, Iowa. Moore was also co-founder and Director of the CRANDIC-based intersectional feminist art collective known as Bluestockings for eight years.??

Moore works primarily in the field of contemporary jewelry and small sculpture and is most notable for her use of resins to build lush, colorful surfaces. This year Moore was invited to teach a workshop on her resin surface techniques at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, MN. Her work has been exhibited during Munich Jewelry Week, New York Jewelry Week, JOYA Barcelona SIERAAD Art Fair in Amsterdam and the Gilded Pear Gallery in Cedar Rapids.? ?

"Gray Rocks", new (sculptural) work from Jillian Moore , opens at Honeybee Hair Parlor in Iowa City with a reception on Friday, September 20 from 5:30 to7 p.m. The exhibit runs until November 30.? This exhibition?will open in conjunction?with "Body Freedom for Every(Body)," a traveling multi-disciplinary art event that is?partnering locally with Public Space One .?

Film?in Iowa!

Improv Some Screams?

The Des Moines 48 Hour Film Project returns in October with a focus on horror films. Filming takes place over the weekend of October 4-6, with the finished films premiering on Monday, October 14 at 7 p.m. at the Fleur Cinema in Des Moines. A Best of Horror Screening event (with costume contest) will be held on Thursday, October 31 at 7 p.m. at the Fleur Cinema. Learn more .?

Many other film festivals are also coming up this fall in Iowa. Check out our calendar and filter for film. ?

Sam Pace-Tuomi Retires from Des Moines 48 Hour Film Project at 20th Anniversary Event

The Des Moines 48 Hour Film Project celebrated its 20-year anniversary at the Fleur Cinema in Des Moines on August 22 with a record-breaking audience on hand to hear live music and from past awardees. Morning Run won the Best in City prize for their short film “SHARP” and will represent Des Moines internationally at Filmapalooza. Event organizers also announced the retirement of film festival producer, Sam Pace-Tuomi, whose impact has been felt by several generations of Iowa filmmakers.

Filmmakers and film enthusiasts interested in being the new city producer may contact Sam at [email protected]

Iowa Community Mural Conest: Call to Entry!??

Last year, Cascade won a mural for their community, now it's your turn! Beginning this year, the Iowa Arts Council and Iowa Economic Development Authority are proud to administer the Iowans Create Mural Contest! Submit a video showcasing importance of unity, community spirit and unique creative and cultural identity for your chance to receive a one-of-a-kind mural, hand-painted by an Iowa artist!

Calling all cities, municipalities or economic development organizations to submit videos showcasing their community spirit and authentic sense of place! Now accepting video submissions through October 4: https://woobox.com/we4gbt

Success Stories?in Iowa!

We love to celebrate the successes of Arts & Culture in our Iowa communities! Check out the stories below and cheer along with us. Have a success story that you want to share? Send it to our team!?

ArtSplash Celebrates 30th Anniversary with Dazzling Art Installation

The Sioux City Art Center unveiled Razzle Dazzle during the 30th annual ArtSplash arts festival, held over the Labor Day weekend. Over many months, Brooklyn-based artist Amanda Browder worked with individuals, businesses and organizations in Sioux City to collect fabric samples and stitch together stripes into gigantic sheets of fabric installed on the exterior of the art center. Razzle Dazzle is the largest, most visible project ever installed at the art center. The project was supported in part by an Inspire Iowa grant from the Iowa Arts Council and the Iowa Tourism Office.??

Accessibility Spotlight: Jill Wells

The intersection of art, disability and accessibility is an exciting space being explored and celebrated in Iowa and beyond. Recent examples of art and artists highlighting accessibility in Iowa with support from the Iowa Arts Council include:?

• This collaborative art installation by Youth Art Team in Waterloo in 2023 that challenged visitors to engage using a variety of senses.?

• The accessible mural work being pioneered by current Iowa Artist Fellow Jill Wells Art in Des Moines.?

• And upcoming work by former Iowa Artist Fellow Ange Altenhofen , who is completing an interactive public sculpture, “Night Fell,” as part of her Braille Series, to premiere in Chariton. Follow updates on the project on her website or Instagram .??

And if you’re looking for even more inspiration, check out this great article from artnet about how arts accessibility is being celebrated worldwide.?

Grant Opportunities!

• Art Project Grant Fall Round : The Iowa Arts Council has opened a second round of Art Project Grants for eligible arts activities taking place between November 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025. Organizations and individual artists who have not previously been awarded funding for fiscal year 2025 are eligible to apply. The fall Art Project grant cycle replaces the previous Creative Catalyst grant program.?

Application deadline: September 17, 2024

• Iowa Artist Career Accelerator : The Iowa Artist Career Accelerator provides peer learning and mentorship opportunities, business development resources and $3,000 in funding to artists of all disciplines to catalyze momentum in their artistic practices and increase their professional skills and capacity.? Selected artists will take part in online and in-person sessions, culminating in a retreat held at Mainframe Studios in Des Moines May 23, 2025.

Application deadline: September 30, 2024

• Inspire Iowa Cultural Tourism Grant: The Inspire Iowa Cultural Tourism Grant program will support a limited number of highly visible and high-impact arts, culture and heritage events, performances, productions or exhibitions taking place between July 1, 2024, and December 31, 2026.??

Application deadline: October 9, 2024

• Poetry Out Loud : Registration is now open for Poetry Out Loud (POL) in Iowa, a dynamic arts education program that offers high school teachers a way to introduce students to poetry and creative writing. This year marks the 20th anniversary of POL, which is managed by the National Endowment for the Arts with support from the Poetry Foundation. Participating students may advance from local contests to a virtual qualifying event and the state contest, which takes place on March 9, 2025, in Des Moines.?Participating schools may receive a $300 grant that may be used for the purchase of classroom supplies and materials.?Schools may sign up here to enroll their student participants.?

Application deadline: January 31, 2025

Other Grants!

• Iowa Tourism Grants : The ITG program promotes tourism in Iowa by funding tourism-related marketing initiatives, meetings and events that benefit both local economies and the state's economy. Applicants must be a tourism-related entity based in Iowa. Previous awardees have included many arts, culture and heritage organizations.?

Application deadline: September 30, 2024

• Destination Iowa : Through the Destination Iowa Fund Grant Program, IEDA invests in vertical infrastructure projects that will attract visitors and new residents to the state and bolster the quality of life in Iowa’s rural communities. Funds will be awarded to cities, counties, and non-profit organizations proposing to create or expand existing primary destinations that drive visitors to an area and stimulate economic development.?

Pre-applications are being accepted on a rolling basis between July 22, 2024 and May 15, 2025. Applicants invited to submit the full application must do so by January 15 or July 15, 2025.?

• CAT Grant : The Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) grant program is designed to help communities develop and create multi-purpose recreational, cultural, entertainment and educational attractions and tourism facilities that enhance the vitality of a region and the state overall.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, starting July 22, 2024, and as funds are available.?Submit the Notice of Intent to Apply .?