A Negro From the South CAMERON GRAY February 19 - March 6, 2018 COMMUNITY GALLERY The United States of America is the country where I was born and where I have lived for most of my life. In this country, I am a second-class citizen. As a child, I was raised to maneuver through systems […]
Metamorphosis DAN JOHNSON March 12 - 31, 2018 COMMUNITY GALLERY Closing reception: Friday, March 30 5-7 PM Metamorphosis relates to my broader theme of the possibilities of change and transformation as expressed through the human figure, focusing on explorations of transformative or fugitive ideas about the human figure. Using line, I want to discover the energy […]
Nice Life DAVID PARKER April 6 - May 19, 2018 COMMUNITY GALLERY Using a limited palette of pine, maple, vinyl, griptape, and spray enamel I’m looking at the material language of subculture. The work is an abstract look at the outsiders: skaters, rockers, hippies, artists, stoners, goths, shoegazers… and how they project their identity to outsiders […]
Elem/Mid/High 2018 An Annual Exhibition of Local Elementary, Middle, and High School Senior Students April 19 - May 5, 2018 MAIN GALLERY & SWEENEY GALLERY 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 […]
Field Notes DANIELLE CLOUSE GAST May 11 - July 28, 2018 MAIN GALLERY Growing up and living in Northwest Iowa, routes to and from different towns have been memorized and have only seemed to slightly change over the years. The landscape has become the welcome constant in my daily life when driving place to place. […]
Based on a True Story ALEX BRAIDWOOD May 18 - August 11, 2018 SWEENEY GALLERY Sound is an important aspect of the world around us. It tells a great deal about our surroundings when we take the time to listen. Listening requires time to experience because sound requires time to exist. In today’s fast-paced culture, […]
Empty Dresses PAULA STREETER May 25 - June 30, 2018 COMMUNITY GALLERY Empty Dresses as a concept was conceived half a lifetime ago while attending the estate auction of an early Swedish immigrant to the Midwest. Among the many hand crafted items from the latter half of the nineteenth century were two intricately and nearly […]
Grilling Ice LEE RAINBOTH July 6 - August 11, 2018 COMMUNITY GALLERY This exhibit examines the ways that matters of mortality and masculinity manifest themselves in a contemporary Haitian context. Too often for young men in Haiti the way that they express their masculinity becomes a matter of survival itself. In an environment where simply […]
Join us this summer at the Ames Main Street Farmers' Market! Second Saturdays (June -- Saturday)* June 9 July 14 August 11 September 8 Visit us in Tom Evans Park (Main Street) for FREE craft activities for the kids. You can also pick up information about classes, workshops, exhibits, and more. See you there! *May be cancelled […]
Join us for a FREE reception with artist Joanne Alberta in the Community Gallery! Artist Talk by Joanne Alberta at 6:30pm Tales from a Ghost Town by JOANNE ALBERDA is on display August 17 - September 29, 2018 Virginia City is a ghost town—the skeleton of a booming Montana gold mining camp in the late 19th […]
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)
