City: Iowa City

The Iowa City NEA Big Read is the premier program associated with the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art’s exhibition on the Black Midwest, funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Toni Morrison’s “Beloved,” together with the exhibition, brings the Iowa City community together to explore narratives of recovery, reproduction, and creation as they pertain to the Black Midwest.

Will Power marks the next stage of Riverside Theatre’s two decades of Shakespeare education and outreach in Iowa. Through partnerships with area community centers, schools, and libraries, Riverside will tour a trunk-show production of the preceding summer’s Free Shakespeare in Lower City Park, adapted to ninety minutes and coinciding with artist-led workshops for middle and high-school students.

In late spring/early summer 2024, MIPSTERZ will bring their project Alhamdu ("an evolving experiential art exhibition that explores Muslim Futurism—a cultural and artistic aesthetic that learns from frameworks of Afrofuturism...

Acclaimed poet Danez Smith headlines Mic Check Poetry Fest, a two-day celebration of spoken word and its power to bear witness, create community, and inspire change. The festival opens with...