Basketball Court Murals Spark Innovation and Community Pride

Des Moines, IA — Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation (PAF) is pleased to present “SWISH” — a public art project that commissions accomplished, qualified artists to transform basketball courts with remarkable, mural-style designs. The process emphasizes neighborhood collaborations in ethnically diverse and low-income areas. “It is an effort to revitalize public spaces, integrating public art into neighborhoods where there …

JORDAN WEBER COMMISSIONED TO CREATE COMMUNITY FARM BY WALKER ART CENTER

A new public art project by Des Moines-based artist Jordan Weber will break ground. The project was commissioned by The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN. The project entitled Prototype for poetry vs rhetoric (deep roots) was developed in partnership with youth-development organization Youth Farm over the course of a year. It will feature a rain garden, fruit trees, raised …

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery… Variations of this proverbial expression can be found in writings of Jeremy Collier (1650-1726) and André Dacier (1651-1722), Eustace Budgell (1686-1737), and Charles Caleb Colton (1777-1832), and Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). And so it goes as life imitates art! Inspired by Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles launched a …

Discover Free Education Resources Online

Share stories of diversity, equality, inclusion and equity. Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation presents online resources that will catalyze community conversations that can result in a shared, and fuller, understanding of our common history — and common bonds. Discover multidisciplinary themes to support classroom teachers and family learning. Public art resources connect to the Common Core Curriculum and Iowa …

Public Art in Changing Times

There is plenty of space around me as I take my daily walk, I realize that not everyone can do this. The out-of-doors comes in degrees. Sometimes just standing on a sidewalk and staring into the sky makes a world of difference. As we change in these changing times, and I believe that so will our definitions of public art. …

Artist Sheena Rose Announced for 6th Avenue Corridor Bus Shelter Art Project

Des Moines, Iowa (February 4, 2020) – The 6th Avenue Corridor Urban Neighborhood Main Street Program and the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation have selected contemporary artist Sheena Rose for the 6th Avenue Corridor Bus Shelter public art project. This project is being implemented in collaboration with the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) as part of a …

Installation Begins On Long-awaited Public Art Sculpture 

“A MONUMENTAL JOURNEY” INSTALLATION BEGINS   Des Moines, IA (April 4, 2018) —The Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation is pleased to announce that Neumann Brothers, Inc. has begun the installation of “A Monumental Journey” at Hansen Triangle Park bordered by Grand and 2nd Avenues, in downtown Des Moines.  The world-class public art project, designed by acclaimed artist Kerry James …

80-year-old wooden escalator forms amazing sculpture

Artist Chris Fox has created a mind warping public sculpture in Sydney, Australia’s heritage-listed underground railway station Wynard. Interloop is Fox’s answer to repurposing the old wooden stairs after being replaced by metal ones, part of a major plan directed by local redevelopers who commissioned the artist to help transform the city’s financial district. About the Project First installed in 1931, …

PUBLIC ART FOUNDATION RECEIVES $100,000 GIFT FROM POLK COUNTY, IA

Des Moines, IA (31 August 2017) — The Polk County Board of Supervisors has authorized a $100,000 Community Development Grant, Polk County, Iowa to the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation to support a public art project titled “A Monumental Journey.” “A Monumental Journey” is a large-scale sculpture, designed by acclaimed American artist Kerry James Marshall. The project honors the …