Sioux City Art Center facts for kids

The Sioux City Art Center is a fantastic place in Sioux City, Iowa, where you can see amazing art! It first opened its doors way back in 1937. A group called the Art Center Association, along with the Sioux City Junior League and other community helpers, received a special grant. This money helped them create the very first art center. It was part of a big government program called the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

When that program ended in 1940, the Sioux City City Council decided to keep the Art Center going. They set up a special board in 1941 to help manage it. This made sure the Art Center could continue to share art with everyone.

A Look Back: How the Art Center Started

The idea for the Art Center began even earlier with a group called the Sioux City Society of Fine Arts. This group was started by people like John C. Kelly and Cora E. Henderson. They wanted to show art and teach people about it. Their goal was to help art grow in Sioux City.

On March 10, 1938, the Society of Fine Arts changed its name. It became the Art Center Association of Sioux City. They moved into a new, permanent space in the August Williges building. This new home was made possible by working with the Junior League, local businesses, and volunteers. It was also helped by the WPA program. This teamwork created the first real exhibition space for art in Sioux City.

What Art Can You See?

The Art Center started collecting art in 1938, thanks to the WPA grant. Most of the art they have is by artists from Iowa and the Midwest. They also have some art by national and international artists. These pieces often show landscapes and scenes from the region.

The collection includes works by many famous artists, such as:

• Thomas Hart Benton
• Dale Chihuly
• John Steuart Curry
• Salvador Dalí
• Jun Kaneko
• Käthe Kollwitz
• Robert Motherwell
• Claes Oldenburg
• Grant Wood

Special Art Shows and Exhibits

Besides showing art from local artists, the Art Center also has big "Blockbuster Series" exhibits. These started in 2003. For example, they have shown "Becoming a Nation, Art and Americana from the US Department of State." They also displayed the famous Mural by Jackson Pollock.

Grant Wood's Corn Room Mural

The Sioux City Art Center is home to one of Grant Wood's amazing Corn Room murals. Grant Wood was a very famous American artist. This mural was painted in 1927 for a hotel dining room in Sioux City. It was one of four murals made for hotels in different cities.

In the early 1950s, the mural was covered up with wallpaper and forgotten. But in 1979, a person named Leah Hartman rediscovered it! She was interviewing Carl Eybers, who had helped Grant Wood paint the mural. This led to the mural being carefully removed from the hotel. The Sioux City Art Center then worked to save and restore it. Now, you can see this special mural on permanent display in its own room at the Art Center.

Fun Art Classes and Programs

The Sioux City Art Center offers about 100 classes each year. These classes are for all ages, from young children to adults. They usually last five to ten weeks. You can learn painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, ceramics, sculpture, and even glass-works!

• Saturday Art Lesson: Every Saturday, kids aged five to twelve can enjoy two-hour art lessons.
• Family Fun Day: On Sundays, families can come together to create art projects. Both of these classes are "drop-in," meaning you can just show up and pay for that day.

The Art Center also has many yearly programs:

• Youth Art Exhibition: This show highlights amazing artwork from students in local schools.
• Artist in Residence Program: This program is designed for high school students.
• Summer ArtCamp: About 100 children aged five to twelve enjoy this camp.
• Holiday Gift Making Workshops: In December, there are free workshops to make holiday gifts.
• Sometimes, there are special Family Days that go along with the big art exhibits.

The Education Gallery on the second floor shows art made by students who take classes at the Art Center. The T. S. Martin Atrium is also decorated by the Education Department for different events. The Art Center even offers "Artful Birthday Parties" for children!

Art for the Community

The Art Center's education program does more than just offer classes. They also have a Docent Program. Docents are volunteers who give tours of the art exhibits. About 15 volunteers give over 100 tours each year.

One special program is ARTWORKS for fifth-grade students. All fifth-graders in the region can take part. They get free bus rides to the Art Center. They receive a guided tour of the current exhibits. Then, they get to create their own piece of art inspired by what they saw! The Art Center also offers internships for college students. This lets students earn college credit while helping out at the Art Center.

The Art Center Building

The current Sioux City Art Center building is quite large!

• Total Size: About 45,500 square feet (4,227 square meters).
• Exhibition Galleries: About 10,000 square feet (929 square meters) for showing art.
• Classrooms: About 5,000 square feet (465 square meters) for art classes.

In 1985, Margaret Ann Everist started a special fund to build a new Art Center. Many people, including William T. Dible, helped raise money. The new building would be more than three times bigger than the old one. It cost 9.2 million dollars! The City provided $1 million, and the Art Center Association raised the rest. Without Margaret Ann Everist's vision, the new building might not have happened.

Planning for the building started in 1991. The groundbreaking ceremony was on August 24, 1994. Joseph Gonzalez designed the museum. W.A. Klinger, Inc. built it, and Hubert H. Everist oversaw the whole project.

The new museum opened on March 1, 1997. It has 10,000 square feet of exhibition space. There's also a lecture hall with 131 seats. You can find the Atrium Gift Gallery and the Junior League Hands On! Gallery. There are also modern classrooms, a darkroom for photography, and a ceramics studio. A special vault keeps the Art Center's permanent collection safe.

In its first year, 80,000 people visited the new museum. This was three times more visitors than ever before! In 2001, the Art Center won an award for Tourism and the Arts. In 1997, it was named "Cultural Attraction of the Year" by the Iowa Division of Tourism. In 1998, it was named "Arts Building Communities/Arts Organization of the Year." The Omaha World Herald even said its opening was one of the ten most important art events of the decade in the Midwest!