LOCATED IN COMMUNITY GALLERY Artist Statement Why is when, and now is why, and we will ALWAYS want, AND all is “What the holy crap!” Never has this been an obstacle for lucid critical or crucial thought for whom the dummbbbell tolls in the skies of material wantonness. Q: How did we even get here? The needs, creeds and greeds of all the wants are re-assembled in this body of work. Faux […]
LOCATED IN COMMUNITY GALLERY Image & Text features visual and written artworks crafted from partnerships between visual artists and creative writers. Whether the individual artworks or the overarching concepts behind the artworks are the collaboration, this gallery installation intends to show artwork generated by the interplay between (or among) visual artists and creative writers. A […]
LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY The Art of Climate Planning is produced by The EcoTheatre Lab and funded by a City of Ames Small Art Grant. The project is inspired by the City of Ames’ commitment to developing a climate action plan in the coming months. The EcoTheatre Lab commissioned seven local artists to develop […]
LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY Artist Statement: In Latin, the word Manibus means “from the hand.” I created the Manibus robotic painting device to utilize as an extension of the artist’s hand. A dancer wears a motion-sensing remote directing Manibus to render an artistic depiction of elapsed time and motion. Using this tool, I capture […]
Bridget Marcus has been bird watching for most of her life and her wonder and love for birds is only increasing as the vulnerability of our avian neighbors becomes ever clearer. Growing up in South Africa much of her free time was spent in the “bushveld” resulting in a deep knowledge of South African birds. […]
Community Gallery -- View from the Sidewalk Show Statement Do we have time to slow down? And I don't mean that Only in the sense of physically, but mentality. Though we are living in a pandemic and things are to supposed to me moving much slower, I feel that is far from the […]
Located in the Community Gallery Octagonal: The All-Media Show 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 53 years, the exhibit morphed over the […]
Located in the Reading Room (Small Wall Gallery). Show Statement Cherish (2022) is a collection of interactive soft sculptures that seek to ask “How do we view end-of-life planning?” Death is a universal experience, and yet remains in many ways a taboo conversation topic. These works are derived from questions of why we collectively struggle to […]
Located in the Community Gallery Seventeen Integrated Studio Arts seniors from ISU's department of art & visual culture will be exhibiting artwork in Apricity, their BFA exhibition, with media ranging from ceramics, painting, metalwork. wood, drawing, textiles, printmaking, photography, and digital media. Students designed the exhibition and decided on Apricity as their exhibition title, which means the […]
Located in the Community Gallery/Virtual The Octagon Center for the Arts highlights artwork by local elementary, middle, and high school students annually. 2022 Kindergarten - 8th Grade Student Show See the K - 8th Grade Show virtually! Visit our YouTube channel to see the Show: https://youtu.be/l_N0KeDsDNI 2022 High School Student Show See the High School […]
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.
© 2023 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)
