BRANDED CONTENT
Above photo: Left – b. Robert Moore. Photo by Andrew Sans. Center – Nikole Hannah-Jones. Photo by Jason Hill. Right – Jordan Weber. Photo courtesy of the artist.
The Des Moines Art Center brings the world to Iowa and Iowa to the world. By presenting art and artists from a range of time periods, an array of places, and diverse experiences, the Art Center welcomes every corner of the globe to Des Moines. “We share Iowa’s rich history and culture by producing exhibitions that travel to other cities and by loaning our artwork to museums around the world. We also welcome 300,000 local, national and international visitors annually to the Pappajohn Sculpture Park and the museum’s three buildings designed by Eliel Saarinen, I. M. Pei, and Richard Meier,” said Amy Day, senior director of communications and marketing for Des Moines Art Center.
The gallery walls feature the likes of Basquiat, O’Keefe, and Warhol, but the Art Center is more than a museum teeming with modern and contemporary art. “The Art Center is a museum, a sculpture park, and an art school with classes for all ages and abilities,” said marketing manager Shae Rossetti. “And we partner with more than 30 nonprofit organizations each year to deliver classes and programs throughout the metro.” In addition, the Art Center offers itself as a “third space” for the community — a place outside of home, work and school where anyone can belong and relax with no obligation. “This effort to ensure access to art for everyone has been a core tenet of the museum since its founding,” the Art Center’s mission statement emphasizes. “Admission is always free.”
“Admission is always free. You can come in any time to view art, or just relax and chill out in quiet spaces surrounded by beautiful architecture.” — Shae Rossetti, marketing manager for Des Moines Art Center
Now until late October 2024, the Art Center invites visitors to experience the multimedia offerings of artist b. Robert Moore. The artist, who lives and works in Des Moines, has a loyal worldwide following, and his work resides in the collections of celebrity movers and shakers such as D-Nice, Taye Diggs, Gayle King, Taraji Henson and many more.
Moore “feels that art should be felt and not just seen,” and is “heavily influenced by sociopolitical events, cultural criticism and collective identity related to the African American experience.” He began drawing as a child, and as an adult, his studio practice has facilitated healing and rehabilitation. “Art helped me overcome addiction and develop a tight-knit artistic community, as well as a global platform,” he said. “And I’m only just getting started.”
The Art Center is inviting the community to hear more from the renowned artist at an upcoming event on Sunday, July 28. Moore will sit down with fellow native Iowans Nikole Hannah-Jones, a distinguished Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and creator of The 1619 Project, and Jordan Weber, the Art Center’s 2016 Iowa Artist, who is also an activist and regenerative land sculptor. The panel will discuss growing up in a state with low rates of racial diversity and how their experience has propelled them to use their work to present stories of American history from new and nuanced perspectives. The event is already at capacity, however, a recording will be made available for subscribers of the Des Moines Art Center’s email newsletter. Sign up online.
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4700 Grand Ave. | Des Moines, IA | www.desmoinesartcenter.org
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