Deeply Rooted STUDIO ART QUILT ASSOCIATION ON DISPLAY AUGUST 11 - OCTOBER 28, 2017, MAIN GALLERY Deeply Rooted, a juried exhibition organized by the Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA), explores the meaning of “roots” through the quilt medium. Thirty works are featured, all created by SAQA members from Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. SAQA, founded in […]
50th Annual Clay, Fiber, Paper, Glass, Metal, Wood January 26 - April 7, 2018 MAIN GALLERY & SWEENEY GALLERY 2018 marks the 50th annual All-Media juried exhibit at the Octagon Center for the Arts. The first Clay, Fiber, Paper, Glass, Metal, Woodopened in 1968, two years after the organization's founding in 1966. The Octagon was founded out of the […]
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. […]
Aperture: The Biennial Juried Photography Exhibit 2018 Theme: Community Sports September 14 - November 21, 2018 Main Gallery We experience the world around us in flashes of action and emotion in the world of sports. From the youngest to the oldest members of our community, competitive games bring people together and spark movement and involvement. Photographers […]
Smithsonian Institution's Museum on Main Street Exhibit Hometown Teams October 4 - November 10 MAIN GALLERY Our love of sports begins in our hometowns. We play them on ball fields and sandlots, on courts and on ice, in parks and playgrounds, even in the street. From pick-up games to organized leagues, millions of Americans of […]
LOCATED IN MAIN GALLERY AND SWEENEY GALLERY (3rd floor) Octagonal: The All-Media Exhibit 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 51 years, the […]
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 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 MAIN GALLERY Octagonal: The All-Media Exhibit 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 51 years, the exhibit morphed over the […]
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
Privacy Policy
We encourage online shopping! Contact us with questions.
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)
Notifications
