Tales from a Ghost Town JOANNE ALBERDA August 17 - September 29, 2018 COMMUNITY GALLERY Virginia City is a ghost town—the skeleton of a booming Montana gold mining camp in the late 19th century. As a museum it is the record of one of hundreds of get-rich-quick dramas related to the search for gold in […]
LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY (Street level) Artist Statement: Pacia Sallomi I began this series in 2010. In the beginning, I was focused on roundabouts or in French, rond-point, which came about because of an experience of being lost on back roads and small villages in the French countryside. I had begun to think about […]
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 MAIN GALLERY Let’s do a little math! A = πr2 There are 70,686 square miles in a circle with 150 square mile radius. Thus the name for this exhibit… 70K is a juried exhibition of artists located 150 miles from Ames or nearer. This focus on local and regional artists is an important part of the mission […]
LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY (FIRST FLOOR) Artist Biography Emily Lambertsen Minnie is an artist who specializes in charcoal drawing and oil painting. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Tennessee. Emily taught art for three years […]
LOCATED IN SWEENEY GALLERY (THIRD FLOOR) Artist Statement Limen may pertain to the sill of a doorway, the threshold itself, or the point at which a stimulus produces a physiological or psychological response. It marks a boundary of perception. The thresholds presented here explore feelings of liminality, and loss. Things emerge and divide, crystalize in time, […]
LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY Papercutters Times Three Paper Cutting is a traditional art form practiced in a variety of guises in countries around the world. The three of us found our ways from different directions. Beth was introduced to the Polish style at a Wycinanki workshop in New Mexico. Linda visited a museum devoted […]
LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY Please join us for a closing reception on Thursday, May 20th, 5 - 7pm with artist, Jennifer Drinkwater! The reception will be at the Octagon Community Gallery. What is What’s Good, you ask. Culturally, it seems that we are addicted to negativity. What happens when we deliberately acknowledge and discuss […]
LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY More information coming soon.
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 […]
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
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