LOCATED IN THE SMALL WALL GALLERY (Third Floor) Artist Statement Camera’s freeze moments in split seconds while life passes in days, weeks and years. Some lives are mixed with both quality and quantity of time. Those individuals celebrate memories while unaware that the final chapters of their lives are being written. Photographs help us punctuate […]
LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY Artist Statement: Jasmine Beul I see my ceramic works as sculptural vessels. They are inspired by historical vessel forms, but without the functionality. The utilitarian function is removed by making the forms asymmetrical, and exaggerating the scale and perforations. When utilitarian nature is removed what remains is an exploration of formal […]
LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY Artist Statement: Pratik Ray I am fascinated by the beauty and majesty of nature and light – not just the landscapes and seascapes, but also the light that paints them in vivid colors. It is the many moods of light that gives rise to a range of emotional response to the […]
LOCATED IN THE SMALL WALL GALLERY (3rd floor) Artist Bio Jordan Luckow of Sioux City, IA is a recent graduate from Iowa State University. While at Iowa State he received his bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts focusing on printmaking, and painting. Jordan currently is a full-time designer at Lincoln Center Hy-Vee Floral in Ames, where […]
LOCATED IN MAIN & SWEENEY GALLERIES. The Octagon Center for the Arts showcases artwork by local elementary, middle, and high school students annually. High School art instructors from schools within 20 miles of the Octagon Center for the Arts are welcome to register students in their fall and spring classes for participation. (Home-school students are […]
LOCATED IN THE SMALL WALL GALLERY Biography and Artist Statement AJ Zandt is an artist and printmaker from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Surface Wear is the result of his latest efforts to expand the relationship between the human body and surface through the lens of skin and clothing. Each work in the exhibition is comprised of varied […]
LOCATED IN THE SWEENEY GALLERY Artist Statement and Bio: Mary Jones Mary Jones makes maps of the wilderness of personal history. Images and words are layered out of time and perspective; space is described by the inhabitants, whose journeys are being told. Details get piled on in the way that life is lived– in steps, […]
LOCATED IN THE MAIN GALLERY Print Retrospective Artist Bio: April Katz April Katz received her M.F.A. degree from Arizona State University. She is Morrill Professor at Iowa State University where she has taught printmaking since 1999. For nineteen years she organized the university’s annual international postcard print exchange. From 2004 - 2006 Katz served […]
LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY Artist Statement for Measured Perceptions During a 2015 trip to Spain, Katz encountered evidence of La Convivencia (the coexistence of Muslim, Jewish and Christian populations) in Medieval Spain that provided hope for our current time of vitriolic discourse. Measured Perceptions embraces the similarities and unique contributions of the varied cultures […]
Join us for PRINTFEST, a celebration of printmaking featuring the work of April Katz! All events are free and all are welcome! For more information, click here.
About Us
The Octagon Center for the Arts is a non-profit community art center in the heart of downtown Ames, Iowa. A cornerstone of the cultural scene in Ames since 1966, the Octagon serves more than 30,000 people each year through art classes and outreach, rotating exhibits, a retail gallery shop, and the annual Octagon Art Festival.
The Octagon Center for the Arts is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization funded in part through memberships, donations, and grants, including the City of Ames Commission on the Arts (COTA) and the Iowa Arts Council.
© 2025 Octagon Center for the Arts. All rights reserved.
Octagon Center for the Arts
413 & 427 Douglas Avenue
Ames, IA 50010
Phone: 515-232-5331
Email: info@octagonarts.org
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Octagon Shop and Community Gallery
Monday-Wednesday 10:00am-5:30pm
Thursday 10:00am-7:00pm
Friday 10:00am-5:30pm
Saturday 10:00am-5:00pm
Sunday CLOSED (except during the holidays)