• Bus Wrap #1: "Untitled"
  • Nomade
    Nomade
  • A Monumental Journey by Kerry James Marshall, looking north, 25 July 2018, Commissioned by Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation
    A Monumental Journey
  • Expansion
    Expansion
  • Five Dangos
  • Swirl
  • Miffy Fountain
  • Mental Banquet: Painting with Lights
  • Bus Wrap #8: Outward
  • Pumpkin (L)

Welcome to the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation

The Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation enriches lives by advancing the best of public art by placing art in public spaces in the community through public and private collaborations, adding to the cultural record through its collections and educational programs. We invite you to discover public art through-out the Greater Des Moines area.
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Featured Art this Month

A Monumental Journey
  Kerry James Marshall
 July 2018  |  Long-Term Collection
  Other Public Art Downtown
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Bus Wrap #10: Multiple Black
  Mitchell Squire
 2019  |  Short-Term Collection
  Bus Wrap #10: Multiple Black
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Miffy Fountain
  Tom Sachs
 2007, fabricated in 2008 from an edition of 5 (5/5)  |  Long-Term Collection
  Other Public Art Downtown
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Five Dangos
  Jun Kaneko
 Installed 2012  |  Long-Term Collection
  Principal Riverwalk
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Featured Artists this Month

Tom Sachs
 born 1966
 American
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OYORAM
 born Jerusalem 1951
 American, French, Israeli
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Marianne Fairbanks
 
 American
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Gail Folwell
 
 American
Learn More

News + Initiatives Blog

Our blog posts are a growing knowledge base of insights, stories and information. Get inspired by and delve into a breathtaking array of public art.

From Our Facebook Feed

Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation increasingly utilizes social media as an important method to communicate with current and prospective audiences. Facebook and other social media platforms provide diverse opportunities to share the best of public art in Greater Des Moines to people around the world.

Social media participants can witness the public art process. Followers can watch a video of installations or an interview with artists, public art professionals, and educators on particular subjects. According to the Director M. Jessica Rowe at the Public Art Foundation, people do want to see more than just having public art appear: “Rather than hoping for an audience, we want to build an audience.”

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“Greenwood Pond: Double Site”🌱 Pioneering public artist Mary Miss is internationally acclaimed for redefining the way art functions in the public realm. From her earliest work, she has been interested in bringing the specific attributes of a site into focus along with and audience engagement within public space. She is one of a small number of sculptors who, during the early 1960s, abandoned the traditional studio activities and went out into the landscape to explore, to make a mark, and to build on it. She has been particularly interested in redefining the role of the artist in the public domain. “Greenwood Pond: Double Site” is the first urban wetland project in the State of Iowa and also the first in the nation. It moves away from the notion of sculpture as ‘object’ and toward art understood and realized through its relationship with nature and outdoor space. Learn more about public art as you stroll outdoors! To make it easy, download the free DSM Public Art App. Available both through the App Store and Google. #dsmpublicart #publicart #marymiss #greenwoodpark #desmoines #desmoinesiowa #thisisIowa #Iowa #urbanwetlands #nature #naturelovers

“Greenwood Pond: Double Site”🌱

Pioneering public artist Mary Miss is internationally acclaimed for redefining the way art functions in the public realm. From her earliest work, she has been interested in bringing the specific attributes of a site into focus along with and audience engagement within public space. She is one of a small number of sculptors who, during the early 1960s, abandoned the traditional studio activities and went out into the landscape to explore, to make a mark, and to build on it. She has been particularly interested in redefining the role of the artist in the public domain.

“Greenwood Pond: Double Site” is the first urban wetland project in the State of Iowa and also the first in the nation. It moves away from the notion of sculpture as ‘object’ and toward art understood and realized through its relationship with nature and outdoor space.

Learn more about public art as you stroll outdoors! To make it easy, download the free DSM Public Art App. Available both through the App Store and Google.

#dsmpublicart #publicart #marymiss #greenwoodpark #desmoines #desmoinesiowa #thisisIowa #Iowa #urbanwetlands #nature #naturelovers ... See MoreSee Less

Posted 3 weeks ago

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Nice pic!

Public art contends with a complex urban environment full of unpredictable activities: frequent use, pollution, little security, and the power of natural elements can contribute to wear or damage. While public art may pose myriad conservation challenges, its enhancement of civic life more than justifies the effort to preserve it in public spaces. Our public spaces are critical to a civic life that honors and celebrates our humanity and history. The public art conservation program is built on three basic components: assessment, maintenance, and treatment. It needs your support to ensure that public art continues to enrich our environment, prompt us to ask questions, and feed our imaginations. No amount is too little. To support our work please visit: https://dsmpublicartfoundation.org/get-involved/ #DSMPublicArt #GivingTuesday #DSMStrong

Public art contends with a complex urban environment full of unpredictable activities: frequent use, pollution, little security, and the power of natural elements can contribute to wear or damage. While public art may pose myriad conservation challenges, its enhancement of civic life more than justifies the effort to preserve it in public spaces. Our public spaces are critical to a civic life that honors and celebrates our humanity and history. The public art conservation program is built on three basic components: assessment, maintenance, and treatment. It needs your support to ensure that public art continues to enrich our environment, prompt us to ask questions, and feed our imaginations.

No amount is too little. To support our work please visit: dsmpublicartfoundation.org/get-involved/

#dsmpublicart
#GivingTuesday
#DSMStrong#GivingTuesdayNow is a new global day of giving and unity happening today. Here are some actions you can take right now:

*Support healthcare workers by donating supplies, advocating for them, and staying home.
*Give to the organizations that you love most – no amount is too little and nonprofits need our support.
*Help out small businesses by buying gift cards or writing an online review.
*Combat loneliness by reaching out to a neighbor, relative, seniors or veterans. ... See MoreSee Less

Posted 4 weeks ago

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Public art shares stories of diversity, equality, inclusion and equity as they relate to the people and places of Iowa, especially those stories often untold. These resources are created to catalyze community conversations that can result in a shared, and fuller, appreciation of our common history — and common bonds. Our FREE online resources engage a cross-section of individuals, as well as communities, in telling, discussing, and perhaps even producing the stories depicted in public art. For more information, please visit: https://dsmpublicartfoundation.org/resources/ #DSMPublicArt

Public art shares stories of diversity, equality, inclusion and equity as they relate to the people and places of Iowa, especially those stories often untold. These resources are created to catalyze community conversations that can result in a shared, and fuller, appreciation of our common history — and common bonds.

Our FREE online resources engage a cross-section of individuals, as well as communities, in telling, discussing, and perhaps even producing the stories depicted in public art.

For more information, please visit: dsmpublicartfoundation.org/resources/

#dsmpublicart ... See MoreSee Less

Posted 1 month ago

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Comment on Facebook 144149142308971_3038372712886585