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.
Featured Art this Month
Kerry James Marshall
July 2018 | Long-Term Collection
Other Public Art Downtown
Tom Sachs
2007, fabricated in 2008 from an edition of 5 (5/5) | Long-Term Collection
Other Public Art Downtown
Mitchell Squire
2019 | Short-Term Collection
Bus Wrap #10: Multiple Black
Featured Artists this Month
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.
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May 23, 2020Rendered site plan of urban farm planned for 2308/2310 Lyndale Ave, Hawthorne, Minneapolis. Image:... -
April 22, 2020"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery... Variations of this proverbial expression can be...
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April 7, 2020Share stories of diversity, equality, inclusion and equity. Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation...
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April 1, 2020There is plenty of space around me as I take my daily walk, I...
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February 5, 2020Des Moines, Iowa (February 4, 2020) – The 6th Avenue Corridor Urban Neighborhood Main...
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January 21, 2020Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation proudly highlights a grant award of $40,000 from...
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October 29, 2019Internationally acclaimed artist Andy Goldsworthy’s project at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art brings to...
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October 18, 2019October 17, 2019: We mourn the passing of The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings, renowned...
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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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 resources engage a cross-section of individuals, as well as communities, in telling, discussing, and perhaps even producing the stories depicted in public art.
Learn more here -->> dsmpublicartfoundation.org/resources/
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Posted 1 week ago
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Created by artist Mitchell Squire, Multiple Black is the title of the tenth (10th) commission by the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation in collaboration with DART.
The bus travels approximately 27,000 miles per year or 2,250 miles per month into communities throughout Greater Des Moines. These routes include Ankeny, Altoona, Pleasant Hill, Des Moines, Grimes, Windsor Heights, West Des Moines, Clive, Urbandale and Johnston, Iowa.
Multiple Black was unveiled to the public one year ago today (July 25, 2019) at the site of “A Monumental Journey” along Grand Avenue near 2nd Street in downtown Des Moines.
To learn more visit: dsmpublicartfoundation.org/public-artwork/bus-wrap-10-multiple-black/ #dsmpublicart #DSMUSA #PublicArt ... See MoreSee Less
Bus Wrap #10: Multiple Black | Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation
dsmpublicartfoundation.org
Created by artist Mitchell Squire, Multiple Black is the title of the tenth (10th) commission by the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation in collaboration with the DART (Des Moines Area Regional T...Posted 1 week ago
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A new mural in downtown Des Moines is honoring an iconic civil rights leader, but you will only be able to see it from the sky.
Artist Michael Bowser is painting an image of Martin Luther King Jr. on the parking lot of 300 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.
Work on “Martin” began in June. It takes up just under 80,000 square feet. So far it’s taken at least 291 gallons of paint and the help of 35 volunteers to work on it.
Drone13 captured what the mural looks like from the sky.
via WHO 13 News.
Follow the installation progress here: www.mlkriverpark.com/martin/
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Martin
www.mlkriverpark.com
Martin is the mural of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Michael Bowser in MLK River Park, in Downtown Des Moines, Iowa.Posted 2 weeks ago
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The public art work, "RAGBRAI: River to River" honors two individuals, John Karras and Donald Kaul, who founded RAGBRAI is the oldest, largest and longest recreational bicycle touring event in the world.
John Karras (born 1930), an avid bicyclist, is a former feature writer/copy editor for the Des Moines Register. Karras suggested to Kaul that he ride his bicycle across Iowa and write columns about what he saw from that perspective. Karras made up the name, with its unwieldy acronym as something of a joke. “RAGBRAI”, that is. There from the start, in 1973, a co-host up to the present and Karras has been a participant in most of the rides.
Donald Kaul (December 25, 1934 – July 22, 2018), also an accomplished rider, is an American journalist and pundit, and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1987 and 1999. Kaul retired after three decades writing opinion columns, mainly for the Des Moines Register, where he established his liberal and satirical style. #dsmpublicart #publicart #RAGBRAI #DSMUSA #CATCHDSM #waterworkspark #bikelife @ Water Works Park ... See MoreSee Less
Posted 2 weeks ago
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The public art work, "RAGBRAI: River to River" honors two individuals, John Karras and Donald Kaul, who founded RAGBRAI is the oldest, largest and longest recreational bicycle touring event in the world.
John Karras (born 1930), an avid bicyclist, is a former feature writer/copy editor for the Des Moines Register. Karras suggested to Kaul that he ride his bicycle across Iowa and write columns about what he saw from that perspective. Karras made up the name, with its unwieldy acronym as something of a joke. “RAGBRAI”, that is. There from the start, in 1973, a co-host up to the present and Karras has been a participant in most of the rides.
Donald Kaul (December 25, 1934 – July 22, 2018), also an accomplished rider, is an American journalist and pundit, and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1987 and 1999. Kaul retired after three decades writing opinion columns, mainly for the Des Moines Register, where he established his liberal and satirical style. ... See MoreSee Less
RAGBRAI: River to River | Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation
dsmpublicartfoundation.org
This public art work, RAGBRAI: River to River (working title), honors two individuals, John Karras and Donald Kaul, who founded RAGBRAI is the oldest, largest and longest recreational bicycle touring ...Posted 2 weeks ago
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Des Moines' newest sculpture "RAGBRAI: River to River" was installed earlier this week Water Works Park and honors RAGBRAI founders Donald Kaul and John Karras.
The sculpture's title "RAGBRAI: River to River" is in recognition of the longtime tradition of ride participants dipping a bike tire in the Missouri River at the start of the event and another in the Mississippi River at its conclusion.
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'It's well-deserved recognition': See Des Moines' new RAGBRAI sculpture
www.desmoinesregister.com
The new sculpture at Des Moines' Water Works Park celebrates the two men who launched the world's largest bicycling event.Posted 3 weeks ago
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Today is the final day of our @artweekdsm scavenger hunt! To participate visit link in bio.
The top 3 contestants will win works by local Des Moines artists Jennifer Leatherby, Lesley Payne and Amenda Tate.
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Posted 1 month ago
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Have you checked out our Art Week Des Moines Scavenger Hunt!? This leaf-shaped public work is 15ft in diameter and 11ft tall. It's a water fountain, and, hint, located very close to yesterday's clue. Do you know where it is and who's the artist?
To participate visit: dsmpublicartfoundation.org/des-moines-public-art-scavenger-hunt/
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Posted 1 month ago
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