These planned upcoming exhibitions and dates may include working titles. All exhibitions and dates are subject to change.
Click a museum name to jump to the upcoming exhibitions for that museum.
Brunnier Art Museum
Christian Petersen Art Museum
Farm House Museum
Anderson Sculpture Garden
Brunnier Art Museum
Scheman Building, second floor
Tell Me a Story
Co-curated by Dr. Michèle Schaal, ISU Professor of French and Women’s and Gender Studies
January 20 – July 24, 2026
Although all major artforms may be found in cultures across the globe, storytelling remains one of the oldest and most universal artistic expressions. Whether through reciting, creating, listening to, or reading tales, stories, old and new, impact everyone’s lives. From childhood on in, humans are told or make up their own stories. Some of these tales are transmitted from generation to generation and even date back to early human times. Many have also endured, albeit always transformed and adapted to their context.
The purpose of the exhibition “Tell Me a Story” is to explore the enduring impact of folk, fairy, mythological, spiritual, and other tales, whether old or new, on humans across the globe, as well as these enduring global stories’ specificities and commonalities. This exhibition will feature objects from the University Museums Collections, highlighting both national and global tales and stories. The exhibition will demonstrate that despite cultural specificities and differences, storytelling shapes who we are and help humans understand themselves and the world around them. In short, tales are a pathway to human and global understanding.
Mapping Infrastructure / Mapping Agriculture
Norwood Viviano
January 20 – July 24, 2026
Norwood Viviano works at the intersection of technology, data collection, and art to visually depict change in many forms. From shifts in population and industry to sea level changes, he is able to synthesize complex data into impactful works of art. Through blown glass paired with vinyl images and cast glass, Viviano engages deep research to recontextualize historic environmental and industrial change, bringing light to the effect these have on communities. Through the use of GIS, Lidar and historical population data he is able to distill and visualize information in an exceptionally impactful manner. Employing 3D modeling with cast and blown glass, his art speaks directly to the communities whose information he presents, but with great artistry and skill that makes the information accessible and completely unique.
Wood for Function & Expression
August – December 2026
As a material, wood has been used for centuries for both function and expression. From the most basic tools or shelters to the extreme detailed carvings adorning expensive homes, and as a medium for abstract sculptures that evoke a range of emotions. The great variety of wood throughout the world has made it not only accessible as a material but alluring to artists due to the many unique characteristics each varietal exhibit. The sturdiness of oak, the gorgeous color of exotic mahogany, the extreme patterning of burls found within trees—these and many more have long been sourced to make beautiful and functional objects throughout the world. Explore the many uses of wood through the University Museums permanent collection, from furniture to turned vessels to carved sculpture, take an opportunity to look closer at the importance of wood.
Beautiful Black
August – December 2026
Christian Petersen Art Museum
Morrill Hall, first and ground floors
Albert Paley: Origins
March – July 2026
Lyle & Nancy Campbell Gallery, First Floor
Albert Paley, a pioneering American metal sculptor, is celebrated for merging traditional forging with contemporary design to create expressive, monumental works. The exhibition Albert Paley: Origins traces the foundations of his artistic vision that shaped his later public art commissions across the United States. University Museums worked with Paley to commission the monumental sculpture Transformation (2007), which holds a prominent place at the Christian Petersen Art Museum and serves as a symbolic gateway and metaphor for Morrill Hall’s evolution from a historic campus structure into a contemporary museum and educational space.
Terra Cotta Conservation in the Art on Campus Collection
January 12, 2026 – December 18, 2026
Neva M. Petersen Gallery, Ground Floor Hallway
Highlighting the innovative techniques for caring for public art installations in terra cotta, incorporating the original artist intent with state of the art scanning and replication technology that can be found right here on Iowa State’s campus.
Luis Jiménez: The Mythic Southwest
August – December 2026
Lyle & Nancy Campbell Gallery, First Floor
Luis Jiménez: The Mythic Southwest celebrates the life and legacy of the groundbreaking Chicano sculptor whose vibrant, monumental sculptures unite bold form with incisive social commentary. The exhibition invites viewers into the mythic world of the Southwest, where cultural identity and the American experience converge through Jiménez’s dynamic lithographs and sculpture. Tracing the evolution from concept to form, these works of art reveal his creative process and affirm his lasting significance as a powerful voice of the American Southwest.
Farm House Museum
America 250: Prairie, Plows, and the People's College
February 2 – October 2026
On July 4, 2026, the United States will commemorate the 250th anniversary of its founding. The Farm House Museum, built in 1860, has been central to the development of campus, Iowa State heritage, education, innovation, and national policy.
“The journey toward this historic milestone is an opportunity to pause and reflect on our nation’s past, honor the contributions of all Americans, and look ahead toward the future we want to create for the next generation and beyond.” - U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission
America 250: Prairie, Plows, and the People’s College will honor the key people, moments and experiences that have been centered within the Farm House Museum, campus’ first building. This exhibition will explore America’s 250th through 250 primary source objects from honoring the land of the original indigenous people to the plowing of the prairie, campus development and the fostering of generations of democratic and innovative citizens.
Yuletide + America 250: History for the Holidays
November – December 2026
To celebrate the culmination of the 250th founding year of the United States, the Farm House Museum presents History for the Holidays. This exhibition explores the holiday traditions that were brought to the United States by immigrants, decorations that are uniquely “American”, and festivities that have brought Iowa State campus together in merriment year after year since the 1860s. The Farm House Museum has a certain twinkle this time of year, making it the perfect place to honor the history of the holiday season with friends old and new.
Anderson Sculpture Garden
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