2026 Annual Members' Show
2025-05-21 10:00 - 2025-06-27 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Octagon Center for the Arts, 427 Douglas Avenue, Ames, IA, 50010, United States
2026 Annual Members’ Show
Group Exhibition by members of the Octagon Center for the Arts
TBD in the Octagon Community Gallery
About this group exhibition:
This non-juried show celebrates the skills, creativity, and lived experiences of the Octagon community! Let’s fill the gallery and surround ourselves with our own amazing work — established artists next to emerging artists, all media.
Submission information to come!

Exhibition Dates:
May 21, 2026 – Exhibition Opening Day
TBD – Exhibition Reception
June 27, 2026 – Exhibition Closes
Artist List:
TBD

2025 Annual Members' Show
2025-05-27 10:00 - 2025-06-21 17:00
2025 Annual Members’ Show
Group Exhibition by members of the Octagon Center for the Arts
May 27th – June 21st, 2025 in the Octagon Community Gallery
About this group exhibition:
This non-juried show celebrates the skills, creativity, and lived experiences of the Octagon community! Let’s fill the gallery and surround ourselves with our own amazing work — established artists next to emerging artists, all media.

Exhibition Dates:
May 27th, 2025 – Exhibition Opening Day
June 21st, 2025 – Exhibition Closes
Artist List:
Carolyn Abbott, Sushila Anderson, Abigail Badger, Janice Bell, Tina Campbell, Vivian M. Cook, Pamela Douglas, Lisa Fontaine, Jennifer Gauerke, Joe Geha, Raina Genaw, Erik Gustafson, Rex Heer, Gary Hoard, Denise Hoffman, Laurie Hoifeldt, Diane Holland Rickerl, Evan Hoyt, Summer Hoyt, Sean Johnson, Letitia Kenemer, Nancy Lindsay, Charissa Menefee, Susan Norris, Dori Patrick, Clint Petersen, Timothy F. Pross, Kristin M. Roach, Kimberlee Rocca, Delayne Segar, Robert Sunderman, Kathy Svec, Troy Thomas, Barb Thompson, Sean Thornton, Karen Van Wert, Rob Wallace, Kelsey Wilson, Jennifer Withers, J Yang, Thomas Zimmerman

Third Thursdays: Paint & Plant on the Patio!
2025-06-19 17:30 - 19:30
Paint & Plant on the Patio!
June 19 from 5:30 – 7:30pm
Choose a free flower pot and decorate it in any way you can dream up! All are welcome – grab a friend, bring your family, or have an evening on your own!
Back Alley Plants will have a variety of plants available if your pot is in need of a resident. Free cuttings and $5 plants will be offered!

Solo Art Exhibition: Raluca Iancu "Over + Under"
2025-06-30 10:00 - 2025-07-12 17:00
Over + Under
Solo Exhibition by Raluca Iancu

Exhibition Dates:
June 30th, 2025 – Exhibition Opening Day
July 10th, 2025 – Exhibition Reception from 6pm – 7:30pm in the Community Gallery
Raluca will be giving an Artist Talk at 6:30pm on July 10th!
July 12th, 2025 – Exhibition Closes

Artist Statement:
My work explores disaster, memory and vulnerability through different media, ranging from printmaking to performance, to edible art and printed objects. I question the way we look at tragedy as well as the way we deal with the aftermath. We depend on our technology (planes, trains, automobiles) and easily forget that it is just as fallible as our bodies. In our contemporary media driven culture, catastrophes, of all kinds, are trivialized by their frequent appearances across the spectrum of information media, especially as access to data is more widespread than ever before. We, as a society, have become desensitized to these events through constant exposure, unable to understand the serious consequences of our actions. Separated from the outside world by our screens and windshields, we create a culture of indifference as we learn to consume tragedy, on all scales, as entertainment. The automobile drastically changed the way that we experience the world, physically, as well as intellectually. We find ourselves with endless facets for the consideration of our impermanence, as morbid curiosity pushes us to hyperextend our necks, to the point of material transformation (skin, bone, and muscle, into rubber). The work in this exhibition is centered on the role of automobiles in our lives and their impact on our environment.

Artist Biography:
Raluca Iancu is currently an Assistant Professor in Art & Visual Culture, Printmaking, at Iowa State University (ISU). She earned her MFA in Studio Art, Printmaking, from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), and her BFA in Printmaking from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Her work investigates disaster, memory, and vulnerability through different media, ranging from printmaking to performance, to edible art and printed objects. She is interested in how our relationship with technology simultaneously enhances our lives, while also leaving us vulnerable.
She has exhibited internationally, at venues including the Art Museum of Cluj-Napoca (Romania), and the CICA Museum (Korea); and nationally at the International Print Center of New York (NY), the Bradbury Art Museum, (AR), the Art Institute of Boston (MA), and the Hunterdon Museum (NJ), among others. She has been an artist in residence in the United States, at the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts & Sciences (GA) and the Vermont Studio Center (VT), among others; and internationally Art Print Residence (Spain), the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts (Poland), St Michael’s Printshop (Canada), Mi-LAB and Studio Kura (Japan), and, most recently, BetterPress Lab (Italy).

Third Thursdays: Musical Guests on the Patio Featuring The Bone People!
2025-07-17 17:00 - 20:00
Musical Guests on the Patio Featuring The Bone People!
Thursday, July 17 5pm – 8pm
The Bone People are back! This longtime Iowa-based band is back in the studio and ready to spend an evening singing for you. Join us on the patio, on the west side of the Octagon, from 5-8 PM on Thursday, July 17 for an evening of great music. This is a free event for all ages! Drinks will be available for a donation.

Group Art Exhibition: Iowa Artist/Mother Group “Elusive Balance”
2025-07-21 10:00 - 2025-08-09 17:00
Elusive Balance
Group Exhibition by Iowa Artist/Mother Group

Exhibition Dates:
July 21st, 2025 – Exhibition Opening Day
August 9th, 2025 – Exhibition Reception 2:00PM – 5:00PM in the Community Gallery
August 9th, 2025 – Exhibition Closes

Artist Statement:
Works in this exhibition will include fiber art, painting, printmaking, mixed media, performance, sculpture, photography, and video with a variety of processes and methods. With our intention to showcase the voices of Iowa artist mothers who represent a range of diverse backgrounds, ages, motherhood stages, and mediums, the exhibition will convey a collection of experiences and perspectives that the work of one singular artist’s body of work would prove challenging to convey. The Iowa Artist/Mother group presents an exhibition entitled “Elusive Balance.” The theme of this exhibition explores the challenges of finding balance within artist and mother/caregiver identities. Since there is no one way to embody motherhood, this theme is open to broad interpretation, encompassing ideas of rest and productivity, contentment and overwhelm, stability and transition, responsibility and absurdity/play, and societal expectations vs. personal intuition. We are interested in how one finds personal balance or simply lets go of this elusive state, embracing or celebrating imbalance within life and art. This exhibition showcases the voices of Iowa artist mothers who represent a range of diverse backgrounds, ages, motherhood stages, and mediums. Each artist has one piece on exhibit. Many of the artists are affiliated with the Iowa Artist/Mother group, an egalitarian group started in 2021 that meets regularly to build community, share resources, and support artists who are also caregivers.

Artist Biography:
The Iowa Artist/Mother group presents an exhibition entitled “Elusive Balance.” The theme of this exhibition explores the challenges of finding balance within artist and mother/caregiver identities. Since there is no one way to embody motherhood, this theme is open to broad interpretation, encompassing ideas of rest and productivity, contentment and overwhelm, stability and transition, responsibility and absurdity/play, and societal expectations vs. personal intuition. We are interested in how one finds personal balance or simply lets go of this elusive state, embracing or celebrating imbalance within life and art.
This exhibition showcases the voices of Iowa artist mothers who represent a range of diverse backgrounds, ages, motherhood stages, and mediums. Each artist has one piece on exhibit.
Many of the artists are affiliated with the Iowa Artist/Mother group, an egalitarian group started in 2021 that meets regularly to build community, share resources, and support artists who are also caregivers.
You can learn more about this travelling exhibition HERE
Participating Artists:
Alicia Wilkinson, Akwi Nji, Alexandra Ackerman, Allison Rowe, Amenda Tate, Astrid Hilger Bennett, Catherine Reinhart, Bailey Fry-Schnormeier, Emily Newman, Emily Jalinsky, Genevra Daley, Hope Spragg, Jamie Elizabeth Hudrlik, Jill Wells, Julia Franklin, Kelly Devitt, Kay Ireland, Kristin M. Roach, Larassa Kabel, Lauren A. Ross, Mirzam Perez, Ramona Muse Lambert, Sheena Daugherty, Stephanie Brunia
Note: These artists have extend invitations to a selection of other female-identifying Iowa artists/caregivers for inclusion in the exhibition.

Art Supply Drive!
2025-08-01 09:00 - 2025-08-31 17:30
Calling for all spare art supplies!
We are partnering with area art stores and community members to provide a free art supply day for artists of all ages in September!
Prairie Rose Needleworks, The Knittery Nook, and The Octagon Center for the Arts are committed to making creativity inclusive so we’ve teamed up to for a special art & craft supply drive. Bring your new and/or gently used art & craft supplies to one of our locations during the month of August. The Octagon will then host a special free art supply day for the community in September.
Donation Rules:

We accept items that can be used for art/craft activities for any age, from fingerpaints and fat paintbrushes to oil paint and embroidery thread.
Any liquids (paint, glue, etc.) should be at least half full and able to flow through the lid.
Yarn, thread and other fibers should be wound or neatly presented. Please do not send a nest that needs to be untangled.
Fiber (yarn, roving, etc.) donations should be packaged in a Ziploc bag or airtight container
Items should be in clean containers. A little paint on the bottle is fine but please don’t send dusty or musty items.
Items should not be overly faded or smell bad.
All items should be unbroken and able to be used without requiring repair.
Storage space is limited so please bring in a reasonable amount of donations.
Only drop off donations during open hours and bring them inside the location. Do not leave items in front of locations during closed hours.

“Elusive Balance” Reception
2025-08-09 14:00 - 17:00

Group Art Exhibition: Alexandra and Jeremy Ackerman "Just Duet”
2025-08-18 10:00 - 2025-09-05 17:00
Just Duet
Group Exhibition by Alexandra Ackerman and Jeremy Ackerman

Exhibition Dates:
August 18th, 2025 – Exhibition Opening Day
September 5th, 2025 – Exhibition Reception 5:30PM – 7:30PM in the Community Gallery
September 5th, 2025 – Exhibition Closes

Artists’ Statements:

Alexandra Ackerman:
For as long as I can remember I have found comfort and joy in making things with my hands. Art has helped me process and respond to the beauty and complexity of the world through every phase of life. Now, as an adult, I can see that all my work is in honor of childhood and in dedication to my childhood self, the girl who found pure freedom in creating her own worlds. My paintings are “internal landscapes”, unique environments that reflect a deep love of color, pattern, nature, and play. My visual language draws from my years of experience farming and gardening across the country. I have found infinite pleasure in the simple act of watching plants grow; my hands in the soil, bearing witness to the life cycle from seed to fruit, contemplating the mysteries of clouds, bugs, and steaming piles of compost. The transformative experience of pregnancy and motherhood have also shaped me as an artist, giving new meaning to the concept of “creation”.
For the past twenty years I have constantly sought to balance my roles of mother and artist, finding joy and tears in the process. During the pandemic I shifted my focus from watercolor to acrylic and mixed media. I began gluing fabric scraps onto wood panels, and painting around and over them. Cutting and gluing was grounding and healing in a time of extreme uncertainty. My current work – a series of acrylic and fabric paintings on wood – explores a combination of contrasting themes: wild vs. cultivated landscape, domestic vs. natural environment, order vs. chaos. Each painting seeks harmony and balance in color and composition, texture and pattern. I am especially inspired by folk art, botanical art, aboriginal art, and patchwork quilts. I hope my paintings will stimulate curiosity and encourage the viewer to look at the world with fresh eyes.
Jeremy Ackerman:
The irreverent artist Ray Johnson produced a series of seemingly improvised performances during his career that he referred to as “Throw Away Gestures.” Usually consisting of a few unremarkable objects, Johnson would break down social norms by interacting with these objects in playful yet unsettling ways. These performances were not slick but rather a series of untethered gestures that were meant to surprise those
bearing witness. Simple, uncomplicated, yet full of possibilities. In my most recent series of mixed media cut paper collages, I’ve adapted Johnson’s concept of the “Throw Away Gesture” for two dimensional work. Scribbles became loose forms that were drawn up very quickly; sometimes without even looking at the paper. As the number of my throw away gestures accumulated I would look for interesting relationships between them. The drawn gestures then went through a comically tedious process of being cut out with an x-acto blade. Ultimately, I was left with a collection of forms that were chopped up, reduced, expanded, connected, colored, layered and sometimes actually thrown away.
My lifelong fascination with music played a major role in the aesthetic of these works. Rhythm and color push against each other as the cut out gestures dive, slam, twerk, bounce and pogo; avatars for all the things floating around in my head. In these artworks the viewer might see glimmers of my lived experience of punk rock, doo-wop, death obsession, new age philosophy, hamburgers, boom boxes, spirits in the material world, guilt, divine comedies, garbage collection, aboriginal dreamtime conduits, cosmic jazz and other such additions to a life time laundry list. In the end, these sets of throw away gestures and random rules ushered in a new era of psychedelic storytelling that was in hot pursuit of self actualization.

Artists’ Biographies:

Alexandra Ackerman:
Alexandra Ackerman is a mixed media artist who uses color, pattern, and form (both organic and geometric) to create playful and dynamic abstract landscapes. Her artwork has been influenced by her years of experience working on farms and in gardens across the U.S. She is also inspired by folk art, patchwork quilts, abstract expressionism, and the Midwest landscape. Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ackerman grew up a keen observer of the natural world, knowing from a young age that she would be an artist. She earned her BFA at Massachusetts College of Art, where she explored a variety of media, often incorporating fabric, collage, and found objects into her work. Ackerman has continued her exploration for three decades, maintaining a childlike freedom in her painting while balancing her roles as artist and mother. She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions nationally and her work has found a home in many public and private collections. Recent exhibitions include the Iowa State Capitol, Memorial Union Gallery at ISU, and the Dubuque Museum of Art biennial. Her work can be found at Liz Lidgett Gallery and Prairie Lights Bookstore. Alexandra shares a studio with her husband, Jeremy, in downtown Iowa City.
Jeremy Ackerman:
In the 1990’s, visual artist Jeremy Ackerman attended Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. There he studied unconventional painting and installation with Afro Cuban artist Magadlena Compos-Pons. Heavily influenced by Compos-Pons’ polymathic approach to art making, Jeremy began to explore a multitude of media including drawing, sculpture, film and performance. After moving back to his hometown of Minneapolis at the end of the century, Jeremy continued to create art work while also founding the critically acclaimed eclectic pop group, Walker Kong. During this creative era of music making, Jeremy also began to experiment with cut paper collage. As his cut paper practice developed, so did his vision for what could be expressed with the medium. Jeremy has spent the last two decades creating a body of cut paper work that distills hyperactive movement into eye popping psychedelic dreamscapes.
During the pandemic Jeremy created his most ambitious work to date “Run Run Run (We Could Have Died)!” The first public viewing will be at Octagon Center for the Arts. In addition to growing his visual art, Jeremy recently started a recording studio/ DIY music label, Mouse Traxx Sounds. He is a current member of the music group, Oranj Ruffs, whose debut album was released in June 2024. He lives in Iowa City with his partner Alexandra, and their two children.

Third Thursdays: Poetry SLAM!
2025-08-21 17:30 - 20:00
Poetry SLAM!
Thursday, August 21st, 5:30pm – 8pm
The Octagon is holding its first ever poetry slam! Come hear original work from local poets of all ages and styles. The event will begin at 5:30 and poets will take the stage at 6:00. This is a free event, for attendees and poets alike. We prefer that poets sign up in advance at this link: Poet Registration. However, we will allow same-day sign up at the event. We hope you’ll join us and support the poets who are participating!

"Just Duet” Reception
2025-09-05 17:30 - 19:30

Art Supply Treasure Hunt!
2025-09-06 10:00 - 14:00
Find your art supply treasures and bag them up for free!
From 10am – 2pm
In the Octagon 2nd Floor Dance Studio
Prairie Rose Needleworks, Knittery Nook and the Octagon have been gathering art and craft supplies from the community throughout August. And now we want to make them available to you – for free! Join us on the 2nd floor of the Octagon on September 6 and hunt for the art supplies you need. Or the art supplies that you wanted but didn’t know if you would use. Now is the time to find out! (We know there’s a big game that day – come before it starts or sneak away at halftime. There’s time!)
Free and open to all ages; 12 & under must be accompanied by an adult

Solo Art Exhibition: Christopher Hynes “Visions of Hildegard”
2025-09-12 10:00 - 2025-09-28 17:00
Visions of Hildegard
Solo Exhibition by Christopher Hynes

Exhibition Dates:
September 12th, 2025 – Exhibition Opening Day
September 12th, 2025 – Exhibition Reception 5:30PM – 7PM in the Community Gallery with choir performance by the group “Good Company” at 6pm
September 28th, 2025 – Exhibition Closes

Artist Statement:
“There is a little bit of something in everything and that is what I like to explore.”
My work is all about storytelling–my Assemblages, Sculptures, Collages, and Pigmented Plasters all bear a narrative element. Through observing, reinterpreting, repurposing, and reimagining objects, materials and artifacts, I create visual poems that are sometimes political and serious, sometimes whimsical and humorous, but always with purpose and intent. When I’m in my studio everything I need is there and the universe is perfect.
Hildegard of Bingen saw the world as a whole – nearly nine centuries before spaceflight allowed us to see the Earth as a vulnerable orb against the darkness of space. I have long had a personal connection with this exceptional mystic. Having raised ten children- I was the tenth- my mother returned to her vocation as a Benedictine nun after my father passed away. She told me about Hildegard, her work and her visions in the early eighties before she became known and celebrated in bibliotherapy research. So when Alex [collaborative composer] shared his ideas of working with Hildegard of Bingen’s concepts and music for our second collaboration, I was immediately drawn in. The number 3 occurs with regularity in Hildegard’s writings, and Alex made this central in his new composition. I then decided to base my palette on the three primary colors and their opposites. The nine paintings divided in three subsets of three sizes – 24 x 24, 48 x 48, and 24 x 48 inches determined the size of the paintings. I worked exclusively in pigmented plaster, which dates back to the Babylonians. It is a material that Hildegard would have been familiar with and that I discovered while working the trades in the early 2000s. I apply the plaster with a variety of knives ranging from large mud knives to very small palette knives typically used for oil Paint on a surface of wood Panels or from plywood found on job sites. Each tool allows me to create different textures and details, working with this ancient medium in a modern context. I chose the orbs to reflect Hildegard’s visionary depictions and the larger expansive world she perceived. The paintings represent the vibrant energy she found within her contemplative state in monastic life. I must say creating them takes me into a deep meditative state. The first three paintings I created, measuring 24″ x 24″, have the primary colors red, blue, and yellow, on a field of their complementary opposites, green, orange, and purple.
At the heart of each piece is an orb within a square, symbolically enclosed by a gilt cross. These simple yet powerful forms are inspired by Hildegard’s Benedictine tradition, evoking spiritual balance, the intersection of the earthly and the divine, and the cyclical nature of spiritual growth. The gold reflects spiritual awareness. Hildegard explained that her visions were not observed by the senses but within her soul, opened to experience. She called it “the reflection of the living light” and said it was “not spatial, but far, far brighter than a cloud which carries the sun. The three larger square paintings, 48″ x 48”, have an orb in a secondary color on a field of blended primary and secondary colors. These paintings symbolize Hildegard’s visions of the great unknown cosmos and her mystical experiences of astral travel. The orbs serve as metaphors for Hildegard’s visions and meditations on the divine order of the cosmos, which she documented in her manuscripts. These orbs also evoke the mystical nature of her “Music of the Spheres,” an ancient and medieval philosophical idea where the movements of celestial bodies are not random but instead follow a harmonious and ordered system, stirring with life. As she writes in her final text, The Book of Divine Works: “the waters flow as if alive, and the sun lives within its own light, and when the moon has waned it is rekindled by the light of the sun and thereby lives anew, and the stars shine forth in their own light as though alive.”‘ The final three paintings are horizontal works, measuring 24×48, inspired by the trio of musicians’ free improvisations that run throughout the jazz composition. The three primary colors in these pieces mirror the fluid and spontaneous nature of improvisation, where distinct yet interconnected elements come together to create a cohesive whole. The paintings have a visual reference to Physica, Hildegard’s treatises on medicinal plants, recording one of the first compendiums of European plants that offered insight into their herbal properties and their use as remedies.
Artist Biography:
Christopher Hynes is the youngest of 10 children and grew up in Washington, D.C. around artists, writers, and politicos. As a young man he was a studio assistant for several Washington artists. He also worked in an archival frame shop but, mostly, he played in rock and roll bands. In 1988 he turned to the visual arts full time. He is mostly self-taught and has had numerous group and one-man shows in Texas, New York, D.C., and other cities. His work is in many private collections across the United States. He’s lived in Austin since 1984.

“Visions of Hildegard” Reception
2025-09-12 17:30 - 19:00
Visions of Hildegard
Solo Exhibition by Christopher Hynes

Exhibition Dates:
September 12th, 2025 – Exhibition Opening Day
September 12th, 2025 – Exhibition Reception 5:30PM – 7PM in the Community Gallery with choir performance by the group “Good Company” at 6pm
September 28th, 2025 – Exhibition Closes

Artist Statement:
“There is a little bit of something in everything and that is what I like to explore.”
My work is all about storytelling–my Assemblages, Sculptures, Collages, and Pigmented Plasters all bear a narrative element. Through observing, reinterpreting, repurposing, and reimagining objects, materials and artifacts, I create visual poems that are sometimes political and serious, sometimes whimsical and humorous, but always with purpose and intent. When I’m in my studio everything I need is there and the universe is perfect.
Hildegard of Bingen saw the world as a whole – nearly nine centuries before spaceflight allowed us to see the Earth as a vulnerable orb against the darkness of space. I have long had a personal connection with this exceptional mystic. Having raised ten children- I was the tenth- my mother returned to her vocation as a Benedictine nun after my father passed away. She told me about Hildegard, her work and her visions in the early eighties before she became known and celebrated in bibliotherapy research. So when Alex [collaborative composer] shared his ideas of working with Hildegard of Bingen’s concepts and music for our second collaboration, I was immediately drawn in. The number 3 occurs with regularity in Hildegard’s writings, and Alex made this central in his new composition. I then decided to base my palette on the three primary colors and their opposites. The nine paintings divided in three subsets of three sizes – 24 x 24, 48 x 48, and 24 x 48 inches determined the size of the paintings. I worked exclusively in pigmented plaster, which dates back to the Babylonians. It is a material that Hildegard would have been familiar with and that I discovered while working the trades in the early 2000s. I apply the plaster with a variety of knives ranging from large mud knives to very small palette knives typically used for oil Paint on a surface of wood Panels or from plywood found on job sites. Each tool allows me to create different textures and details, working with this ancient medium in a modern context. I chose the orbs to reflect Hildegard’s visionary depictions and the larger expansive world she perceived. The paintings represent the vibrant energy she found within her contemplative state in monastic life. I must say creating them takes me into a deep meditative state. The first three paintings I created, measuring 24″ x 24″, have the primary colors red, blue, and yellow, on a field of their complementary opposites, green, orange, and purple.
At the heart of each piece is an orb within a square, symbolically enclosed by a gilt cross. These simple yet powerful forms are inspired by Hildegard’s Benedictine tradition, evoking spiritual balance, the intersection of the earthly and the divine, and the cyclical nature of spiritual growth. The gold reflects spiritual awareness. Hildegard explained that her visions were not observed by the senses but within her soul, opened to experience. She called it “the reflection of the living light” and said it was “not spatial, but far, far brighter than a cloud which carries the sun. The three larger square paintings, 48″ x 48”, have an orb in a secondary color on a field of blended primary and secondary colors. These paintings symbolize Hildegard’s visions of the great unknown cosmos and her mystical experiences of astral travel. The orbs serve as metaphors for Hildegard’s visions and meditations on the divine order of the cosmos, which she documented in her manuscripts. These orbs also evoke the mystical nature of her “Music of the Spheres,” an ancient and medieval philosophical idea where the movements of celestial bodies are not random but instead follow a harmonious and ordered system, stirring with life. As she writes in her final text, The Book of Divine Works: “the waters flow as if alive, and the sun lives within its own light, and when the moon has waned it is rekindled by the light of the sun and thereby lives anew, and the stars shine forth in their own light as though alive.”‘ The final three paintings are horizontal works, measuring 24×48, inspired by the trio of musicians’ free improvisations that run throughout the jazz composition. The three primary colors in these pieces mirror the fluid and spontaneous nature of improvisation, where distinct yet interconnected elements come together to create a cohesive whole. The paintings have a visual reference to Physica, Hildegard’s treatises on medicinal plants, recording one of the first compendiums of European plants that offered insight into their herbal properties and their use as remedies.
Artist Biography:
Christopher Hynes is the youngest of 10 children and grew up in Washington, D.C. around artists, writers, and politicos. As a young man he was a studio assistant for several Washington artists. He also worked in an archival frame shop but, mostly, he played in rock and roll bands. In 1988 he turned to the visual arts full time. He is mostly self-taught and has had numerous group and one-man shows in Texas, New York, D.C., and other cities. His work is in many private collections across the United States. He’s lived in Austin since 1984.

Performers:
Good Company is a premier women’s ensemble, bringing together women of all ages and walks of life to share the beauty of choral music in Ames. A small group of Good Company members will be performing two works by Hildegard of Bingen, under the direction of Steve Hoifeldt.
Website: goodcompanysings.com

Third Thursdays: Downtown Ames Music Walk!
2025-09-18 17:00 - 20:00
Downtown Ames Music Walk!
Thursday, September 18th, 5:00pm – 8:00pm
Participate in Music Walk, from 5:00-8:00pm, throughout downtown and stop by to see our featured band, Foxpin!
Join us on the Octagon Patio in the alley on the west side of the building for good music and good company!
Our Performer:
Foxpin is a band from Ames, Iowa that performs earnest rock music with bluesy keys and a tasteful rhythm section. Foxpin members are Ben Erbes (keys), Chase Abner (bass/vocals), Dan McClanahan (drums), and Lane Jahn (guitar/vocals).
Check our their music and socials:
Music LinkTree
Facebook
Instagram

54th Annual Octagon Art Festival
2025-09-28 10:00 - 16:00
The Octagon Art Festival takes place the fourth Sunday of September along Main Street in downtown Ames, IA. The festival is held outdoors on pavement, RAIN OR SHINE. Visual arts, children’s art area, food vendors and performing arts form the foundation of the Octagon Art Festival. Approximately 10,000 people attend the festival.

Group Art Exhibition: Cedar River Artisans “Voices”
2025-10-09 08:00 - 2025-11-13 17:00
Voices
Group Exhibition by Cedar River Artisans

Exhibition Dates:
October 9th, 2025 – Exhibition Opening Day
November 13th, 2025 – Exhibition Public Reception from 6:00 – 7:30PM in the Community Gallery
November 13th, 2025 – Exhibition Closes

Artist Statement:
VOICES will center around what makes our thoughts similar not what makes us different. We look beyond ideologies, divisive words, materials and techniques. We live in a time when it is more critical than ever to come together as a country, community, and region and find commonalities. How does the ephemeral nature of paper speak to a paused sunset? How can abstraction bring us together in an age of dialogue and representation? Our focus returns full circle to look at our core values to share our interior person experiences and the kinship of the Cedar River Artisans with the greater Iowa community.
Exhibiting Artists:
Robert Fox, Ellen Kleckner, M.L Kline, Julia Kottal, Nancy Lindsay, Marty Mitchell, Elizabeth Rhoads Read, and John Schwartzkopf.

Artists’ Biographies:
Cedar River Artisans (CRA) is a consortium of professional artists seeking public and private art commissions for collaborative or individual artwork. We are based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Our artists live in Cedar Rapids and the surrounding regions. Individually, the members have a history of success in juried art shows throughout the area and are represented in several leading galleries and museums. As a collective we are interconnected. The Cedar River Artisans work in a broad swatch of materials: printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, pastel, oil painting, fiber arts and photography. Our working method is collaborative, and our objective is to produce a unified visual statement through our art and to bring the power of art into your public or commercial spaces.

The collective consists of eight members:
Robert Fox, Ellen Kleckner, M.L Kline, Julia Kottal, Nancy Lindsay, Marty Mitchell, Elizabeth Rhoads Read, and John Schwartzkopf.

**Work in Event Image (from top left to bottom right)
John Schwartzkopf – Swing
Marty Mitchell – Phlox at the Quarry
Bob Fox – Spotted Bee Balm
M.L. Kline – Captured Moments
Nancy Lindsay – Untold Stories
Ellen Klenecker – Loop
Julia Kottal – Colorfield Lilac, Green & Orange
Elizabeth Rhoads Read – Super Imposition

Witches Walk!
2025-10-09 18:00 - 20:00
Come out for a scary good time on Thursday, October 9!
Downtown businesses will be open late and hosting snacks and sips between 6:00 – 8:00pm.
Visit us at the Octagon Shop and gift yourself with a great pair of earrings, then come back in November for a gift for someone else! 10% off all earrings in the Octagon Shop!
This Downtown event is generally geared towards adults, but all are welcome and costumes are encouraged. If you are looking for a trick or treating opportunity for kids, join us for Downtown Trick or Treat on October 30!
Visit the Downtown Ames event to get more info for deals and activities at other Ames businesses

Third Thursdays: Halloween Maker’s Table!
2025-10-16 17:30 - 19:30
Halloween Maker’s Table!
Thursday, October 16th, 5:30pm – 7:30pm
We provide an array of Halloween and fall art supplies and you create to your heart’s content! Open to all ages, from 5:30-7:30pm, for a $5 fee.

Featured Artist Talk: Carol Patrick
2025-10-23 18:00 - 19:00
Featured Artist Talk
Creating With Carol
October 23, 2025 from 6:00 – 7:00pm in the Octagon Shop
Free! Ages 16+
Join Ames artist Carol Patrick and learn how she creates new from old, how to combine colors and patterns, and a few of her tips that make sewing fun and easy. Carol creates unique reversible aprons from vintage tablecloths; learn how she does it and a bit about the history of 40’s and 50’s tablecloths.
Carol sells her aprons in the Octagon Shop, but will have additional aprons for sale that haven’t been available in the Shop!

“Voices” Reception
2025-11-13 18:00 - 19:30

Third Thursdays: Mandalas and Music!
2025-11-20 18:00 - 20:00
Mandalas and Music!
Thursday, November 20th, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Learn to create a paint mandala as you listen to meditative music. The perfect way to relax before the rush of the holiday season. Open to anyone 18+ from 6:00-8:00pm. Refreshments available for a donation.

3rd Annual Winter Market
2025-11-24 10:00 - 2025-12-24 17:00
3rd Annual Winter Market
Event by Octagon Shop

Event Dates:
November 24th, 2025 – Event Opening Day
December 24th, 2025 – Event Closes

About This Event:
The Octagon will hold the 3rd annual Winter Market, featuring great finds on holiday-themed artworks from local artists and week-by-week special deals.
11/24 – 11/30 : Cards & Ornaments
12/1 – 12/7 : Fiber
12/8 – 12/14 : Jewelry & Glass
12/15 – 12/21 : Pottery

Winter Sidewalk Sales
2026-01-08 10:00 - 2026-01-10 17:30
Holiday Ornaments 20% Off & Select Artist’s Works 20-50% Off
Get ready… Set… Shop local!
Winter Sidewalk Sales in Downtown Ames are a semi-annual sale held by businesses in the Downtown district. Not only will you find great deals, you’ll be supporting the local community by shopping local! You’ll find discounts, promotions, sales and many other good deals! Take a stroll in Downtown Ames and check out what our local businesses have to offer.
Don’t forget – Parking is FREE in the Downtown district on Saturday, January 10!

Third Thursdays: Snack, Sip, and Sparkle! Jewelry Night
2026-01-15 18:00 - 20:00
Snack, Sip, and Sparkle! Jewelry Night
Thursday, January 15th, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Join us for a metal jewelry demonstration by Terrie Hoefer and an opportunity to make your own jewelry. For $5, adults have an opportunity to create a metal piece with Terrie – pre-registration required. Click Tickets to register.
We will also have a free jewelry option for anyone who attends. Open to all ages with a variety of snacks and drinks.

Octagonal: The All Media Show
2026-01-19 10:00 - 2026-03-14 17:00
Octagonal: The All Media Show
Group Exhibition by Various Artists

Exhibition Dates:
January 19, 2026 – Exhibition Opening DayJanuary 22, 2026– Exhibition ReceptionMarch 14, 2026 – Exhibition Closes

Exhibiting Artist List:

Joanne Alberda – Lunar LandscapeShelly Bales – WonderlustJasmine Beul – Rose Window BottleAmanda Brown – SpaceBetsy Busby – Behold the OnionMaureen Burke – AweTroy Cannon – Osprey’s CrySara Carlson – Too Close To The SunTroy Chebuhar – Waste GeocentricismNatalie Deam – Swim SwarmPamela Douglas – Red Lily PadsLinda Emmerson – LondonJoani Feiner – Enticing RufflesElaina Fredrickson – Chaotic ExposureJill Guffy– Abstract Duet: Coming and Going

Kaitlin Harvey – Forget Me Nots & MarigoldsJoanna Haug – It’s Over Why Scream?Jim Heemstra – Decay of the MightyHeather Hicks – Neck CrackWill Hildebrandt – FloraDiane Holland Rickerl – Mary JaneEvan Hoyt – Ascent from SlumberMarcia Joffe-Bouska – THE UNRAVELINGPeggy Johnston – Party at Nick’sAnnie Laursen – Gray VLinda Lewis – Comfortable in her own skinIngrid Lilligren – TumblingSarah Loch-Test – Mining NecklaceDiane Michaud Lowry – UnityGenevieve Moritz – Cats in Bloom

Lydia Nong – Oranges Smell GoodDeb O’Brien – BirdsongGeoff Paulline – Playin’ PossumSarah Perkins – Barnacle ContainerIsaac Prior – Aeons WaltzSara Rieger – Sinking by the Bow at MidnightLiona Rocca – Image BearerKarl Schecht – Cosmic Marble #9Hongci Shih – Ephemeral BlessingAudrey Stirling – Glowing in the ShadowsSydney Thompson – PenumbraMattea Whetstone – DoneAlicia Wilkinson – The TreasureGraham Young – Renting on Pluto, Dreaming of Saturn

Octagonal Artists' Reception
2026-01-22 17:30 - 19:00
Octagonal: The All Media Show
Group Exhibition by Various Artists

Exhibition Dates:
January 19, 2026 – Exhibition Opening DayJanuary 22, 2026 – Exhibition Reception Awards announced at 6:15pmMarch 14, 2026 – Exhibition Closes

Exhibiting Artist List:

Joanne Alberda – Lunar LandscapeShelly Bales – WonderlustJasmine Beul – Rose Window BottleAmanda Brown – SpaceBetsy Busby – Behold the OnionMaureen Burke – AweTroy Cannon – Osprey’s CrySara Carlson – Too Close To The SunTroy Chebuhar – Waste GeocentricismNatalie Deam – Swim SwarmPamela Douglas – Red Lily PadsLinda Emmerson – LondonJoani Feiner – Enticing RufflesElaina Fredrickson – Chaotic ExposureJill Guffy– Abstract Duet: Coming and Going

Kaitlin Harvey – Forget Me Nots & MarigoldsJoanna Haug – It’s Over Why Scream?Jim Heemstra – Decay of the MightyHeather Hicks – Neck CrackWill Hildebrandt – FloraDiane Holland Rickerl – Mary JaneEvan Hoyt – Ascent from SlumberMarcia Joffe-Bouska – THE UNRAVELINGPeggy Johnston – Party at Nick’sAnnie Laursen – Gray VLinda Lewis – Comfortable in her own skinIngrid Lilligren – TumblingSarah Loch-Test – Mining NecklaceDiane Michaud Lowry – UnityGenevieve Moritz – Cats in Bloom

Lydia Nong – Oranges Smell GoodDeb O’Brien – BirdsongGeoff Paulline – Playin’ PossumSarah Perkins – Barnacle ContainerIsaac Prior – Aeons WaltzSara Rieger – Sinking by the Bow at MidnightLiona Rocca – Image BearerKarl Schecht – Cosmic Marble #9Hongci Shih – Ephemeral BlessingAudrey Stirling – Glowing in the ShadowsSydney Thompson – PenumbraMattea Whetstone – DoneAlicia Wilkinson – The TreasureGraham Young – Renting on Pluto, Dreaming of Saturn

HeART of Ames
2026-02-01 10:00 - 2026-02-16 17:30
Love is in the Air in the Heart of Ames!
Indulge in all that Downtown Ames has to offer as our Downtown Businesses present a curated celebration of love and connection February 1-16!
Our mission? To showcase Downtown Ames as the ultimate date night destination to celebrate those you love! Our Downtown Businesses have curated a list of ideas for experiences, gifts, gal-entines, food and kids to help guide your way through the Heart of Ames celebrating those you love and care for.
Join us to feel the heartbeat of Downtown Ames as you create unforgettable moments together in the heart of the Ames.
Event Specials:
More information to come

Join the Resistance! Create your protest hat
2026-02-07 14:00 - 16:00
We will gather at the Octagon Center, 427 Douglas, to create Norwegian protest hats, called a nisselue. You bring your supplies, we will provide the pattern and the space. Why the nisselue? In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. This is a chance to engage in one of the oldest forms of resistance, knitting, with like-minded friends. To knit you will need:
Red yarn (200 yards, DK or Worsted); knitting needles (4,6 or 8); your beverage of choice; attitude.
To crochet you will need:
Red yarn (200 yards, Worsted); Crochet hook (4.5 or 5.0 mm); your beverage of choice; attitude.

Third Thursday Mandalas and Music
2026-02-19 18:00 - 20:00
Spend a few hours relaxing while creating beautiful mandalas and enjoying meditative music. This free event is open to ages 16+ and refreshments will be available for a donation.
