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!
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Events Search and Views Navigation
March 2022
Cherish LIZ MOYER
Located in the Reading Room (Small Wall Gallery). Show Statement Cherish (2022) is a collection of interactive soft sculptures that seek to ask “How do we view end-of-life planning?” Death is a universal experience, and yet remains in many ways a taboo conversation topic. These works are derived from questions of why we collectively struggle to talk openly about death and dying, and how that impacts the quality of our death. By shifting the lens of how we have these conversations,…
Find out more »April 2022
Apricity ISU BFA ISA STUDENTS
Located in the Community Gallery Seventeen Integrated Studio Arts seniors from ISU's department of art & visual culture will be exhibiting artwork in Apricity, their BFA exhibition, with media ranging from ceramics, painting, metalwork. wood, drawing, textiles, printmaking, photography, and digital media. Students designed the exhibition and decided on Apricity as their exhibition title, which means the warmth of the sun on a cold day. The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Integrated Studio Arts focuses on in-depth studio work with…
Find out more »2022 Elementary/Middle/High School Annual Student Show
Located in the Community Gallery/Virtual The Octagon Center for the Arts highlights artwork by local elementary, middle, and high school students annually. 2022 Kindergarten - 8th Grade Student Show See the K - 8th Grade Show virtually! Visit our YouTube channel to see the Show: https://youtu.be/l_N0KeDsDNI 2022 High School Student Show See the High School Show in the Community Gallery April 30 - May 14, 2022. The reception for High School Show was held on Thursday, May 5, 2022, 6:00…
Find out more »May 2022
Place and Memory CINDY LESPERANCE, CAROLYN ALBRACHT, & JEANINE COUPE RYDING
Located in the Community Gallery Exhibit Reception: Join us at our exhibit reception on June 9, 6-8pm at the Octagon! Come meet some of the artists, see the show, listen to our crowdsourced exhibit playlist, and if weather permits, hang out on the patio and enjoy some light refreshments! Masks are required for events. Artist Panel: Register here to join a virtual panel event featuring the artists of Place and Memory! Carolyn Albracht, Jeanine Coupe Ryding, and Cindy Lesperance will discuss…
Find out more »July 2022
Second Annual Member Show
Located in the Community Gallery 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. The Octagon’s Member Show 2022: Participating Artists Carolyn Abbott carolyntabbott.smugmug.com Penny Adam Robert Anders Instagram: @bobsretirementhut Deb Anders-Bond Tiffany Antone Instagram: @My_Lil_Weirdlings Carol Barrick Layna Bentley Terry Brigman Ruthellen Cunnally Instagram: @CutandPasteMosaics Susan Cunningham Instagram: @susanacunninghamart Linda Emmerson Google Sites:…
Find out more »August 2022
Work-In-Progress: Jordan Brooks, Susan Norris, & Lindsay Wede
Exhibit Title: Work-In-Progress Exhibit Location and Dates: Octagon Community Gallery, August 20 - October 1, 2022 Exhibit Description: The Octagon’s Work-In-Progress exhibit will display the behind-the-scenes work of an artist. Artists Jordan Brooks, Susan Norris, and Lindsay Wede will use the Octagon's Community Gallery as their studio space for the duration of the show. The three artists represent varied media, local artists, and art educators. Through making visible the process of creation, in a public and collaborative space that considers…
Find out more »September 2022
OUT Exhibit
On View September 1-30, 2022 Exhibition Locations: Ames History Museum: “Selfportrait: Flickering” by Sasha Phillips 416 Douglas Avenue; Hours: Tuesday-Friday 1-4, Saturday 10-4 Ames Public Library: “Queer Family” by Charlie Esker 515 Douglas Avenue; Hours: Sunday 1-5, Monday-Thursday 9-9, Friday-Saturday 9-6 Back Alley House Plants: “The Box” by Ashley Vance 111 Main Street; Hours: Wednesday-Sunday 11-5 Dog-Eared Books: “Social Medium” by Lane Maxson 203 Main Street; Hours: Monday-Thursday 9-7, Friday-Saturday 9-8, Sunday 10-6 Heroic Ink: “Mushroom Abduction” and “Portal” by…
Find out more »October 2022
LAYERS OF REALITY: ANDREW CLARRIDGE AND MATTHEW TERRY
Artist Statements Andrew Clarridge “My work is an endeavored process culminating out of experiences many or all of us have had in our lives. I like to focus on an array of issues such as technology and its psychological effects, enslavement, love, loss, death, renewal, enlightenment and empowerment. These are broad topics that have deep historic layers from which to sift through. The “layers” of inspiration are ambiguously related to the layers I build up in each piece. The digital…
Find out more »November 2022
WHAT’S THE BUZZ? [explorations in handmade paper]: Dawn Wohlford
Artist Statement: I could be the Poster Child for the slogan “Reuse, Reduce, Recycle.” Handmade paper is the basis for the majority of my artwork, but I often incorporate, weave or build using other found materials. I use old clothes, dead plants, shredded money, and items such as old doormats (made of natural fibers) to make paper pulp. I cast or incorporate pieces of rusty metal, vintage glass, bicycle inner tubes, leather and anything else that catches my eye. Pieces…
Find out more »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 »