Exhibits
The Community Gallery is FREE and open to the public. You are warmly invited to visit.
You will find the Community Gallery on the street level (first floor) adjacent to the Octagon Shop. The Gallery observes the same hours as the Shop.
You are welcome to join in gallery events, such as artist talks. Sign up for the newsletter or follow us on Facebook for announcements. Please note that the gallery is closed during exhibit changes.
Scroll down to see our upcoming events!
The Feinberg & Drexler Mask Collection
Masks are FOR SALE!
Click the button below to view the digital gallery!
Events Search and Views Navigation
January 2023
[unTITled]: how a breast cancer survivor learned to say goodbye to her boobs
Co-curated with Tiffany Antone, who recently went through breast cancer and a double mastectomy, this exhibit will offer space for community, connection, and healing through conversations around breast cancer and breast removal. Tiffany, and a community of artists with shared experiences of breast cancer, will showcase visual, literary, and performance artwork, and the Octagon will invite community members to participate in interactive art-making opportunities. This exhibit will interrogate our cultural obsession with breasts, bring light to the sometimes fraught (and oft-times under-realized) connection we have to them, and give voice to the myriad complicated feelings that comes with letting them go.
Find out more »Snáithín Bainneanach/Feminine Fiber
Exhibition by Cynthia O'Hern, January 30th - February 25th 2023
Find out more »March 2023
Octagonal 2023: The All Media Show
Octagonal: The All-Media Show is the annual, juried all-media exhibition at the Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames, Iowa.
Find out more »April 2023
2023 Elementary/Middle/High School Annual Student Show
The Octagon Center for the Arts highlights artwork by local elementary, middle, and high school students annually. GRADES K – 8 (Virtual): SHOW DETAILS: Google Form Submission Due: 5 pm, Saturday, April 1, 2023 Virtual Exhibit Opening: Monday, April 17, 2023 Art from Grades K – 8 will be displayed virtually. Each elementary and middle school student may submit one piece to exhibit. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: All submitted artwork must be entered into the Google Form by April 1st at 5:00 pm to be included in…
Find out more »May 2023
June 2023
The Octagon Annual All-Member Show
This unjuried 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.
Find out more »July 2023
“Misplaced and Lost” Exhibition by Lisa Lockman
"Misplaced and Lost" Exhibition by Lisa Lockman July 31st - August 26th, 2023 An Exhibition by Lisa Lockman Exhibiting in the Community Gallery Lisa Lockman is an artist and a Professor of Art at Nebraska Wesleyan University where she teaches ceramics and metalsmithing. Her current work – ceramic murals and vessels - is influenced by maternal ancestry and the exploration of new technologies utilized with clay. "My interests in ancestry, specifically the women of my paternal side, and new…
Find out more »September 2023
“Crossroads” Exhibition by Central Iowa Textile Artists
Crossroads Group Exhibition by Central Iowa Textile Artists September 5th - September 30th, 2023 At The Octagon Community Gallery About this group exhibition: “Crossroads” - A place where two roads meet and cross each other. An intersection where a choice must be made, to go straight, or change course and take a new direction. We come to many crossroads in our lives, places where we decide to stay on the straight path, to take the path least taken, or to…
Find out more »October 2023
“Intersection of Parallel” Group Exhibition by Jen Hem and Julie Russell-Steuart
Intersection of Parallel Group Exhibition by Jen Hem and Julie Russell-Steuart October 9th - November 4th, 2023 Opening Reception: Thursday, October 12th, 6-8pm The Octagon Community Gallery About this group exhibition: Even as they act individually and independently, the work of these artists cross paths and intersect in powerful ways. Printmaker Julie Russell-Steuart and mixed media artist Jen Hem face off on the parallel gallery walls to tell a story together. Viewers will move through the space they inhabit, pick…
Find out more »November 2023
Octagon Winter Market
Octagon Winter Market! November 9th – December 9th, 2023 At The Octagon Community Gallery About this group exhibition: The Octagon Shop is excited to announce a temporary expansion in our Community Gallery! From November 9th to December 9th, we will have new work by Shop artists, fun discounts and other surprises! Stay Tuned! Exhibition Dates: November 9th – Exhibition Opening Day December 9th – Exhibition Closes
Find out more »