OCTAGONAL 2020: The Annual All Media Exhibit

LOCATED IN THE MAIN GALLERY

Octagonal: The All-Media Exhibit is the annual, juried all-media exhibition at the Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames, Iowa. Originally titled the Clay and Paper Show, the exhibit opened in 1968 to provide an opportunity to the central Iowa arts community. Over the past 51 years, the exhibit morphed over the decades to become the Clay, Fiber, Paper, Glass, Metal, Wood Exhibit that has featured hundreds of artists from dozens of states. The newest version of the exhibit, Octagonal: The All-Media Exhibit, launched in 2018 taking a note from the past while moving forward to continue to provide an exciting opportunity for artists across Iowa, the Midwest, and the nation. This exhibit features a regionally-recognized juror each year, attracts artists from across the United States, and provides significant cash awards.

2020 Juror: Jordan Weber

Using utilitarian materials, Jordan Weber produces sculptural social objects that speak to the ways in which racially oppressed peoples are restricted physically, geographically, and socially. The architecture of his work attempts to create inclusive environments where visitors might test or practice forms of sustainable urbanism. These public works are often modified to fit the site specificity of their environments both inside museums and cultural institutions and individual communities alike.

Weber is a Des Moines based multi-disciplinary artist/activist who works predominately with inner-city communities nationwide. His work has been exhibited at White Box, New York; Union for Contemporary Art, Omaha; Intersect Art Center, St. Louis; The Soap Factory, Minneapolis; Smack Mellon, New York; Manifest Justice, Los Angeles; Charlotte Street Foundation; Kansas City; Gallery 38, Los Angeles; Open Engagement, Chicago; Truth to Power, Philadelphia; 50/50, Kansas City. Awards and fellowships include Harvard LOEB candidate, A Blade of Grass fellowship NYC, Tanne Foundation award, Joan Mitchell nominee, USA Artist nominee, Des Moines Public Art Foundation fellowship, Iowa Arts Council Artist Fellowship (Creative Capital) and the African American Leadership Forum Fellowship. He is currently in residence at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

Thank you to HAILA Architecture Structure Planning Ltd. and the Huff Endowment for sponsoring Jordan’s juror honorarium.

2020 Selected Work

A sincere thank you to all who submitted work. Congratulations to those whose work was chosen for this year’s exhibit. Please join us for the reception on February 7, 2020, 5 – 7pm with awards presented at 6pm.