Edmundson Art Foundation Inc

2024 CONTAINED A ROSTER OF EXHIBITIONS HIGHLIGHTING ARTISTS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE AND ACROSS TIME, REVEALING HOW INTERCONNECTED WE ARE THROUGH FAMILY TIES, SHARED SPACES, AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES THAT IMPACT THE ENTIRE WORLD. ALONGSIDE OUR STAFF CURATORS, WE WELCOMED EXHIBITIONS ORGANIZED BY FITSUM SHEBESHE FOR INDEPENDENT CURATORS INTERNATIONAL (STATES OF BECOMING), FEATURED A PRINT GALLERY EXHIBITION (COEXIST) ORGANIZED BY CURATORIAL INTERN NAJLA EVANS, AND IOWA ARTISTS 2025 AND MINOR KEY WERE CO-CURATED BY ARTISTS B. ROBERT MOORE AND SAMANTHA BOX RESPECTIVELY. KICKING OFF 2024, STATES OF BECOMING EXAMINED THE DYNAMIC FORCES THAT SHAPE ARTISTIC PRACTICES FOR A GROUP OF AFRICAN ARTISTS WORKING IN THE U.S. CURATED BY FITSUM SHEBESHE, THE EXHIBITION CONNECTS CONDITIONS OF RELOCATION, RESETTLING, AND ASSIMILATION WHICH INFORM DISCUSSIONS AROUND IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION IN THE CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN DIASPORA. FOR SHEBESHE, THE EXHIBITION GREW OUT OF LIVED EXPERIENCE AND FIRSTHAND KNOWLEDGE OF THE WEIGHT OF CULTURAL ASSIMILATION, SINCE HE MOVED FROM ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA TO BALTIMORE IN 2016. CONFRONTED WITH A DIFFERENT SOCIETY, THE CURATOR DEVELOPED A WIDE RANGE OF EXISTENTIAL QUESTIONS THAT SHAPED HIS RELATIONSHIP TO INSTITUTION AND CULTURE, FROM THE REALIZATION THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME HE WAS VIEWED AS BELONGING TO A MINORITY BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN, TO A NEWLY GAINED AWARENESS OF THE PROFOUND IMPACT OF HIS TRADITIONAL AND CONSERVATIVE NATIVE CULTURE ON HIS SENSE OF INDIVIDUALITY. HAVING FOUND KINSHIP AMONG CULTURAL PRACTITIONERS FROM THE DIASPORA WHO SHARED HIS EXPERIENCE, SHEBESHE HAS UNITED 17 ARTISTS FOR STATES OF BECOMING, WHO LIVE AND WORK IN CITIES ACROSS THE U.S. IN NEW YORK, WASHINGTON, D.C., NEW HAVEN, DETROIT, AND LOS ANGELES AMONG OTHERS. FROM 12 COUNTRIES IN AFRICA AND ONE IN THE CARIBBEAN-ETHIOPIA, GHANA, IVORY COAST, KENYA, LIBERIA, MAURITANIA, NIGERIA, SENEGAL, SIERRA LEONE, SUDAN, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, TUNISIA, AND ZIMBABWE-THEY EITHER RELOCATED TO THE U.S. OR ARE FIRST GENERATION BORN OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS. LIKE SHEBESHE, EACH ARTIST IN THE EXHIBITION HAS HAD A UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP TO THE U.S. CONTEXT, WHICH IS REFLECTED IN EACH OF THEIR WORK WHETHER IT EXPLORES THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OR EXPRESSES A TRANSFORMATION IN THEIR ARTISTIC PRACTICE BECAUSE OF RELOCATION. SEVERAL ARTISTS AND THE CURATOR TRAVELED TO DES MOINES FOR PROGRAMMING. HURRICANE SEASON, THE YEAR'S SECOND EXHIBITION IN THE MEREDITH GALLERY, WAS ORGANIZED BY FORMER ASSOCIATE CURATOR MIA LAUFER. IT IS AN EXHIBITION ABOUT A HOME UNDER THREAT, CYCLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLENCE, REPAIR EVEN WHEN YOU KNOW MORE IS COMING AND INEVITABLE. IT IS ABOUT A HOME WORTH REBUILDING, EVEN UNDER THESE CONDITIONS. THE EXHIBITION FEATURED CONTEMPORARY ART IN A RANGE OF MEDIA BY ARTISTS FROM ACROSS THE CARIBBEAN ARCHIPELAGO AND THE DIASPORA. EVERY YEAR FROM JUNE 1 THROUGH NOVEMBER 30, PEOPLE ACROSS THE CARIBBEAN HOLD THEIR BREATH THROUGH HURRICANE SEASON. HURRICANES AND THE DEVASTATION THEY BRING HAVE LONG BEEN A PART OF LIFE IN THE CARIBBEAN, BUT WITH CLIMATE CHANGE THESE STORMS ARE GETTING MORE FREQUENT AND MORE VIOLENT. THEY PICK UP STEAM FASTER THAN EVER BEFORE, LEAVING LITTLE TIME TO PREPARE. RISING SEA LEVELS ARE EATING AWAY AT SHORELINES. THE AFTERMATHS OF STORMS ARE UNBEARABLE AND SHED LIGHT ON THE LIVING LEGACY OF COLONIALISM AND ONGOING CORRUPTION. YET EVEN AS THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE WREAK HAVOC ON THE REGION, LIFE ACROSS THE ARCHIPELAGO CONTINUES; PEOPLE ADAPT TO AN IMPOSSIBLE NEW NORMAL. IN THE FACE OF A THREAT AT A SCALE THAT IS DIFFICULT TO FULLY COMPREHEND, ARTISTS CAN SHOW US HOW THESE CLIMATE CHANGES RELATE TO A LIVED, EVERYDAY REALITY, HOW THEY INTERSECT WITH OUR EXPERIENCE OF FAMILY, COMMUNITY, AND HOME. THEY TRANSLATE A GLOBAL CRISIS TO A HUMAN SCALE. THE FINAL MAJOR EXHIBITION OF 2024 WAS SAMANTHA BOX: CARIBBEAN DREAMS. BOX IS A JAMAICAN-BORN, NEW YORK-BASED PHOTOGRAPHER. OF BLACK JAMAICAN AND SOUTH ASIAN TRINIDADIAN HERITAGE, SHE CREATES COMPLEX IMAGES THAT EXPLORE QUESTIONS AROUND DIASPORIC IDENTITY - HOW ARE CULTURES, KNOWLEDGE AND IDENTITIES TRANSFORMED ACROSS BORDERS? HOW CAN ONE DEFINE SPACE-FOR-SELF WITHIN MULTIPLE DIASPORAS? RANGING ACROSS GENRES OF SELF-PORTRAITURE, LANDSCAPE, AND STILL-LIFE, HER LAYERED AND EXPERIMENTAL WORK IS AT ONCE ALLURING AND CHALLENGING; IN RECENT YEARS, BOX HAS EXPANDED HER PHOTOGRAPHIC PRACTICE INTO MULTI-MEDIA SCULPTURES, CULMINATING IN HER SERIES, PORTABLE HOMELANDS. FEATURING RECENT AND NEW WORK, SAMANTHA BOX: CARIBBEAN DREAMS WAS THE ARTIST'S FIRST MUSEUM SOLO-SHOW, INCLUDING APPROXIMATELY 40 PHOTOGRAPHS AND 5 SCULPTURES. IN MULTIPLE GALLERIES OF THE ART CENTER'S RICHARD MEIER BUILDING, THE MUSEUM LAUNCHED THE MOST AMBITIOUS VERSION TO DATE OF ITS LONG-RUNNING IOWA ARTISTS SERIES WITH IOWA ARTISTS 2024: B. ROBERT MOORE. DES MOINES - BASED ARTIST B. ROBERT MOORE CREATES DIRECT, STRIKING WORKS OF ART THAT CONFRONT ISSUES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND BLACK IDENTITY. VISUALLY AND EMOTIONALLY POWERFUL, MOORE LOOKS TO AUTOBIOGRAPHY FOR INSPIRATION, PULLING IMAGERY FROM FAMILY PHOTOS AND DRAWING ON MEMORIES AND PERSONAL STORIES OF HIS OWN AND THOSE CLOSEST TO HIM. REFERENCES TO ART HISTORY AND MATERIAL CULTURE ALSO ABOUND IN HIS WORK, WHICH INCLUDES GRAVESTONES, FLAGS, NEON, COFFEE, AND HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS - THINGS THAT, LIKE PHOTOS, CARRY MEMORY AND HISTORY. THE ART HERE IS PERSONAL, ILLUSTRATING HOW THOSE CONCEPTS ARE INTIMATELY INTWINED. THE FACES OF ELDERS AND THE LIVES THEY LIVED ARE REVEALED WITH CONTEMPORARY ART. THIS WAS B. ROBERT MOORE'S FIRST SOLO MUSEUM EXHIBITION, CONTAINING PAINTINGS, TWO LARGE-SCALE INSTALLATIONS, AND A VIDEO. KIN TO WAR, A PAINTING BY MOORE RECENTLY PURCHASED BY THE ART CENTER, WAS ALSO SHOWN FOR THE FIRST TIME. THE EXHIBITION WAS CO-CURATED BY SENIOR CURATOR LAURA BURKHALTER AND ARTIST B. ROBERT MOORE. THE JOHN BRADY PRINT GALLERY, THE CURATORIAL TEAM CHOSE TO HIGHLIGHT NEW PERSPECTIVES AND IDEAS ABOUT THE WORKS ON PAPER AND PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION. THE FIRST EXHIBITION BEFORE MODERN ART, CURATED BY FORMER ASSOCIATE CURATOR MIA LAUFER, FOCUSED ON SOME OF THE OLDEST WORKS IN THE MUSEUM'S HOLDINGS, MANY OF WHICH HAVE BEEN RARELY SEEN AND MAY BE A SURPRISE TO VISITORS OF OUR CONTEMPORARY FOCUSED MUSEUM. THE SUMMER EXHIBITION, COEXIST, WAS ORGANIZED BY FORMER CURATORIAL ASSISTANT NAJLA EVANS AS A COMPANION SHOW TO HURRICANE SEASON. EVANS CHOSE WORKS THAT ILLUSTRATE THE VARIOUS WAYS HUMANS CONNECT TO AND IMPACT THE NATURAL WORLD.

WITH A FOCUS ON BELONGING, THE DES MOINES ART CENTER ENGAGED IN A VARIETY OF DYNAMIC AND MEANINGFUL EVENTS, PROGRAMS, AND OPPORTUNITIES THROUGHOUT 2024. OUR EFFORTS CENTERED ON BEING A VIBRANT SPACE FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO GATHER, SHARING OUR UNIQUE CREATIVE SELVES, AND COLLECTIVELY CREATING WORK THAT RESONATES BEYOND OUR WALLS AND INTO THE FUTURE. THE MUSEUM AND PAPPAJOHN SCULPTURE PARK WELCOMED 346,568 VISITORS THROUGHOUT 2024. OUR KEYSTONE FAMILY EVENTS, DAY OF THE DEAD (IN ITS 24TH YEAR) AND OUR BIANNUAL ENTIRELY KIDS DAYS, EXPLORED THE THEMES OF "AFRICA "STORIES TOLD." THESE EVENTS COLLECTIVELY BROUGHT IN OVER 3,800 VISITORS WHO EXPERIENCED OUR CAMPUS THROUGH HANDS-ON, ARTIST-FACILITATED, FAMILY-FRIENDLY PROGRAMMING. THIS CONTRIBUTED TO A COMMUNITY-CREATED SENSE OF WELCOME AND CREATIVE PARTICIPATION FOR ALL AGES. A FEW OF THE FLAGSHIP MUSEUM LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS ARE THE MY VOICE PROGRAM, HIGH SCHOOL DAYS, AND CREATIVITY DAYS. MY VOICE SERVED 12 STUDENTS AND IS AN ART CENTER MENTOR-BASED PROGRAM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BY DEGREES FOUNDATION THAT EMPOWERS YOUNG ARTISTS TO EXPLORE THEIR CREATIVE POTENTIAL AND FIND THEIR UNIQUE ARTISTIC VOICE. THE PROGRAM, SUPPORTED BY THE PRINCIPAL FOUNDATION, PROVIDES STUDENTS WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH THE ART CENTER'S COLLECTION, LEARN ABOUT ART, AND CREATE THEIR OWN ORIGINAL ARTWORK INSPIRED BY THEIR DISCOVERIES, CULMINATING IN AN EXHIBITION AND CELEBRATORY RECEPTION OF THEIR WORK IN THE LOBBY OF THE MUSEUM ATTENDED BY FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS. HIGH SCHOOL DAYS SERVED 81 DES MOINES PUBLIC SCHOOL TEENAGERS WITH CURRICULUM INSPIRED BY THE "STATES OF BECOMING" EXHIBITION, IDENTITY-EXPLORING GALLERY CONVERSATIONS REFLECTING ON PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE, AND ZINE ART MAKING IN THE STUDIO. CREATIVITY DAYS DREW 343 ELEMENTARY STUDENTS FROM RURAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS INCLUDING BAXTER, ADEL DESOTO MINBURN, COLFAX-MINGO, COLO-NESCO, AND NEWTON. EACH YEAR THE WORKSHOP INVOLVES A MULTI-MODAL APPROACH INVOLVING AN INTERACTIVE MUSEUM VISIT, ART MAKING, AND CREATIVE MOVEMENT. THE 2024 ITERATION WAS GUIDED BY THE THEME OF "LOOKING FOR LAYERS" IN RELATION TO SAMANTHA BOX'S PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION "CARIBBEAN DREAMS.". THE DES MOINES ART CENTER KNOWS THAT AN ARTS EXPERIENCE IS MADE IMMENSELY MORE IMPACTFUL WHEN FACILITATED BY A WELL-TRAINED GUIDE. IN 2024, OUR TEAM OF 56 VOLUNTEER DOCENTS LED 12,245 INDIVIDUALS THROUGH PARTICIPATORY TOURS OF THE MUSEUM AND PAPPAJOHN SCULPTURE PARK, MANY OF WHOM WERE AREA FOURTH-GRADE STUDENTS ON THEIR VERY FIRST VISIT TO AN ART MUSEUM. ADDITIONALLY, OUR DOCENTS BROUGHT ART OUT OF THE GALLERIES AND DIRECTLY TO 223 COMMUNITY MEMBERS LIVING IN SENIOR LIVING CENTERS THROUGH OUR ART CALLS PROGRAM, WHICH IS ALMOST ENTIRELY MANAGED AND SUPPORTED BY THIS DEDICATED TEAM OF VOLUNTEER EDUCATORS. IN 2024, THE DES MOINES ART CENTER'S COMMUNITY ACCESS PROGRAM (CAP) OFFERED 514 FREE ART-MAKING SESSIONS THROUGH FOUR PROGRAMS: EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT, COMMUNITY RESILIENCY, AND ADAPTIVE ARTS. OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO DISCOVER CREATIVE WAYS OF MAKING ARTWORKS AND ART MAKING ACCESSIBLE TO THOSE IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT OTHERWISE LACK THIS ACCESS DUE TO CULTURAL, ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCIAL BARRIERS. OUR COHORT OF TEACHING ARTISTS USE A STUDENT-CENTERED METHOD, CREATING A SAFE, RESPECTFUL ENVIRONMENT WHERE EVERYONE'S ART IS VALUED AS AN OUTLET FOR SELF-EXPRESSION. IN THE COMMUNITY RESILIENCY AREA, A KEY PARTNER WAS THE VETERAN'S AFFAIRS OFFICE. THE ART CENTER OFFERED YEAR-ROUND SESSIONS BOTH IN THE MUSEUM'S STUDIOS IN THE FORM OF DROP-IN "ART CLUBS" AS WELL AS OFFSITE LOCATIONS. A PARTICULARLY IMPACTFUL EVENT IN THE IDENTITY AFFIRMING AREA OF PROGRAMMING WAS THE THIRD ANNUAL FINE ARTS DAY WITH ALL OF THE DES MOINES PUBLIC SCHOOLS' CHAPTERS OF THE CLUBS BROTHER 2 BROTHER AND SISTERS 4 SUCCESS. THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER WAS THE 2024 IOWA ARTIST B. ROBERT MOORE. IN ADDITION TO MOORE'S ROUSING SPEECH ABOUT HIS PATH TO BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL ARTIST, THE STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN A GROUP POETRY WRITING EXERCISE IN THE MUSEUM INSPIRED BY A WORK ON VIEW. ART SPECTRUMS, A MONTHLY MUSEUM AND ART MAKING WORKSHOP FOR NEURODIVERGENT YOUTH AND THEIR CAREGIVERS, CONTINUED WITH GREAT SUCCESS IN 2024, ADDING AN ARTIST WITH AUTISM AS A CLASS TEACHER. "CREATING WITH CLAY LEGO BRICK PRINTING ON CANVAS TOTE BAGS WERE BIG HITS AMONG THE STUDENTS. ALONG WITH WEEKLY PROGRAMMING, CAP HOSTED THREE VISITING ARTIST WORKSHOPS: ELSHAFIE DAFALLA (STATES OF BECOMING) CROSSED LANGUAGE BARRIERS WITH ELDER REFUGEES WITH LUTHERAN SERVICES AS HE GUIDED PARTICIPANTS TO MAKE CREATIVE AND GESTURAL DRAWINGS RESPONDING TO THE RHYTHMS OF MUSIC AND COLLECTIVE MOVEMENT AROUND A LARGE CANVAS; TAMIKA GALANIS (HURRICANE SEASON) LED MULTIGENERATIONAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN A FIVE-DAY FILMMAKING SEMINAR; SAMANTHA BOX (CARIBBEAN DREAMS) INTRODUCED STILL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY TO YOUTH PARTICIPANTS INVOLVED WITH OAKRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES.