Location: Iowa

Young people in Hampton, Iowa, home to Latino immigrants and exchange students from around the world, hosted a unique event to celebrate diversity, difference, and culture.

Artist Pat Acton has been making “Matchstick Marvels” from his home in Gladbrook, Iowa, for nearly five decades. He says after one more commission from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, he hopes to keep his remaining work in Gladbrook, where the town built a museum for his sculptures to help anchor the downtown.

From growing their materials to teaching others the craft, Lee Zieke and Lindsay Lee’s artistic practices are creatively interwoven with their lives.

The prestigious program, which shaped the course of creative writing in the United States, helped make Iowa City one of UNESCO’s first designated Cities of Literature.

Artist Jill Wells’ murals transform ordinary buildings, uplifting Black culture.

Built on community, La Luz Centro Cultural provides a unique space for Latinos in rural Hampton, Iowa.
Basado en la comunidad, La Luz Centro Cultural entrega un espacio único para los latinos en Hampton rural, Iowa.

From a 138-year-old historic church to a vacant tube manufacturing building, these projects across the Midwest are staking out space for creativity to shine.

Midwestern organizations Sacred Pipe Resource Center, For the Love of the Arts, and La Luz Centro Cultural are taking part in the second round of Arts Midwest’s community-based artist-in-residency program.

20 years on, Public Space One continues to exemplify the value of artist-led, community-driven efforts in creating thriving arts and culture spaces.

What do Japanese Breakfast, a breakdancing crew, and a Des Moines-themed board game have in common? You could’ve found them all at this year’s 80/35 Music Festival.