Calendar

Join naturalist Jim Pease, Ph.D., for a walk through the exhibition In the Woods by Jeanine Coupe Ryding, as he shares stories and insights on humans’ complex relationship with trees. With over five decades of experience as a naturalist, educator, and community activist, Pease brings a wealth of knowledge to this exploration.

During the first spring in the New Perennial Movement Sample Garden in the Anderson Sculpture Garden, thousands of bulbs and plantings will be emerging to benefit pollinators, and campus visitors! Learn from the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium about how perennials affect pollinator populations in Iowa, and what you can do to encourage these species in Iowa.

How do artists represent the relationships that connect people? How can these complex relationships be conveyed in a single work of art? Join University Museums for a stroll through public art centered on communication and collaboration.

Meet at Communications Building, East Entrance

Discover techniques of holistic wellbeing inspired by landscapes on exhibition at Brunnier Art Museum! Examine Midwestern ecology and express yourself with an improvisational photography session.

Explore the beauty and meanings of flowers! Find the artistic flowers in the exhibition Journeys: Landscape as Self-Expression and join in dissecting real flowers and creating your own artful flowers with Reiman Gardens and the ISU Horticulture Department.

Dr. Julie Courtwright, Professor of History at Iowa State University, will examine how wind and fire have shaped the grassland for thousands of years. In the process, these forces of nature have also shaped the history of the people who have called the place home -- whether they've liked it or not.

Will Wilson is a Diné photographer, artist, and curator who creates art and images of indigenous people to confront issues of agency and identity. Registration optional. 

Connect with University Museums for an afternoon of poetry! Led by Vince Gotera, enjoy a guided tour of the Art on Campus Collection and Anderson Sculpture Garden. Gotera will share poems inspired by Art on Campus and read alongside the works of art that motivated them. Learn about his creative process and go home with inspiration to create ekphrastic poems of your own! 

Relax and recharge while immersing yourself in art and nature. Visit the Christian Petersen Art Museum to explore the exhibition In the Woods and create your own take-home terrarium with materials generously provided by Reiman Gardens. For added inspiration, enjoy the vibrant blooms in the Anderson Sculpture Garden just outside Morrill Hall.

Come to the Brunnier to join in a roundtable style conversation between Dr. Niigaan Sinclair, the United Native American Student Association, and Iowa State University students as they discuss contemporary Native American arts and life. Dr. Niigaan Sinclair is Anishinaabe from Peguis First Nation and a professor at the University of Manitoba, where he holds the Faculty of Arts Professorship in Indigenous Knowledge and Aesthetics in the Department of Indigenous Studies.

Dive deep into the public art of the College of Health and Human Sciences! Learn about the history and research of the education division through a tour of the public works of art at Lagomarcino Hall.

In partnership with Iowa State’s student publication, Sketch, join University Museums for a pop-up reading of student-penned poetry inspired by the Art on Campus Collection in the Anderson Sculpture Garden.

Gardening can be overwhelming, but Iowa State University Horticulture experts are here to help! You may know them from Iowa Public Radio’s Garden Variety, but here is a chance to meet Aaron Steil, Cindy Haynes and Dr. Jeff Iles in-person and tour the New Perennial Movement Sample Garden in the Anderson Sculpture Garden, planted last fall with thousands of bulbs and perennial plants.

Do you want to date like a Victorian? Join University Museums staff and interns at Farm House Museum for a festive journey into 19^th century society, featuring a costume contest, an introduction to Victorian era dance, crafts, refreshments, and more! Victorian-inspired costumes are encouraged!

Visit the University Museums’ Anderson Sculpture Garden with Fatima Najar (ISU Alum, B.S. in Forestry '22) to learn about the Iowa Arboretum & Gardens' new Perennial and Shrub Trial Program. Discover how plants are tested in Iowa's climate and evaluated for landscape quality to guide gardeners in choosing the best plants for success.  

Join David McKinney, Curator of Collections and Grounds at the Iowa Arboretum and Gardens, to explore future gardening trends, planting strategies for the future, and ways to create resilient landscapes in a changing climate. Registration required to receive zoom link. 

Discover the creative journey and the inspirations behind Jeanine Coupe Ryding’s exhibition In the Woods at the Christian Petersen Art Museum. The reception will feature a walking tour of the exhibition led by the artist, along with refreshments.

Explore the many trees, from artistic to realistic, on exhibit in the Brunnier Art Museum! Families are invited to create their own trees, learn to recognize different types of trees, and more with ISU Natural Resource and Ecology Management students.

Throughout its 50-year history, University Museums has commissioned numerous talented Iowa writers to craft poetry inspired by the Art on Campus Collection. Join University Museums for a guided walk highlighting these public artworks, accompanied by readings of the featured poems.

with Steve Wilke-Shapiro, Owner & Architect of Sequel Architecture, and Allison Sheridan, curator

The Farm House Museum recently underwent a roof replacement and exterior painting to receive a historically accurate “glow up” before celebrating 50 years of being a public museum. Join the consulting preservation architect and the curator for an insightful look at the project.

Museum Makers is a hands-on art experience inspired by the printmaking techniques in the exhibition In the Woods by Jeanine Coupe Ryding. Enjoy a guided tour of the exhibition, followed by a chance to create your own nature-inspired monoprints. All skill levels are welcome! Pre-registration required. 

Explore the newly expanded Anderson Sculpture Garden and find out more about University Museums’ only living collection–the plantings in the New Perennial Movement Sample Garden! Curator Sydney Marshall will give insight into the plantings that arrived last fall, and the new sculpture installations surrounding the garden.

Looking for a quiet place to study? Visit the Christian Petersen Art Museum on Thursday during Prep Week for extended study hours with relaxing activities in a calming, artistic atmosphere.

Discover the many ways artists use the landscape to explore their own identities with Brunnier Art Museum curator Adrienne Gennett. This will be the last chance to see some of the artwork on view in the exhibition before they return to the lending institution.

As part of University Museums’ 50th anniversary, the New Perennial Movement Sample Garden is a unique and active addition to Iowa State’s aesthetic, designed by major American garden designer and Iowa State University alum, Austin Eischeid (BS Horticulture ’11). In celebration of the larger expansion of the Anderson Sculpture Garden, participate in a pop-up scavenger hunt of the Anderson Sculpture Garden, and receive a prize for completion.

Dive deep into the public art of the Design College and the Student Innovation Center! Learn about the history and research of the art and design division through a tour of the public works of art at Design Building and SIC.

Meet at the Design Building Front Exterior (east side)

As part of the 50^th anniversary, University Museums is highlighting some of the earliest and most vital works in the Art on Campus Collection with a tour of Grant Wood’s 1930s murals at the Parks Library, as part of the Public Works of Art Project.

Meet in Parks Library, Grant Wood murals

With Greg Bailey, Head of Special Collections and University Archives

University Archives unveils some of the primary sources used as inspiration for artist Beth Lipman in the creation of Hive Mind. Get a chance to view these historical objects up close with a visit to Iowa State’s Special Collections, found in the University Library.

Begin at Anderson Sculpture Garden, end at Special Collections

Clothing and textiles have connected humanity across the expanse of history, geography, and culture. Join Caitlin Patton, the education assistant of the Christian Petersen Museum and the Art on Campus Collection, for a tour of public art featuring figures in a variety of garments and styles.

Marston Hall, East Exterior

"Art Write Now" invites writers of all levels to explore the connection between visual art and creative writing! The program includes a guided tour of the Christian Petersen Art Museum’s exhibitions with curator Alison Ranniger, followed by writing exercises led by Ana Hays McCracken to spark meaningful creative responses. 

In the newly installed public work of art Hive Mind, artist Beth Lipman drew inspiration from multiple ISU departments for examples of historical innovation to represent in glass. Join Brett Vanveller, associate professor in the department of Chemistry, to view some of the unique equipment found in the labs at Iowa State University, and how the discoveries made at ISU inspired the artist.

Begin at Anderson Sculpture Garden, then to Chemistry Building

Yost will examine how landscapes, communities, and imagination combine to form meaningful and memorable places. Place-making is a collaborative and creative process; it helps communities reimagine possibilities for their shared land(s); and it strengthens place-identity, place attachment, and shared values.

As part of the 50^th anniversary, University Museums is highlighting some of the earliest and most vital works in the Art on Campus Collection. Join University Museums for a tour of Christian Petersen’s first public art for Iowa State at the Food Science Building, with the History of Dairying murals and entry bas reliefs.

Food Science Building, west entrance

In the newly installed work of public art Hive Mind, artist Beth Lipman drew inspiration from multiple ISU departments for examples of historical innovation to represent in glass. Join the K.J. Frey Chair in Agronomy, Thomas Lübberstedt, for a tour of Agronomy Hall, focusing on areas of innovation.

Begin at Anderson Sculpture Garden, then to Agronomy Building

Larger-than-life sculptures can both catch the eye and transform a space with their presence alone. Take a walk through some of the most striking examples of large-scale metal sculpture around campus.

Meet at the Anderson Sculpture Garden

As part of the 50^th anniversary, University Museums is highlighting some of the earliest and most vital works in the Art on Campus Collection. Join University Museums for a tour of Christian Petersen’s post New Deal public art for Iowa State, starting at the iconic Fountain of Four Seasons and ending outside MacKay Hall.

Memorial Union, north entrance

Students are not only the group Iowa State was created to serve, but they have profoundly shaped the history and culture of campus. Take a walk of examples of student-centric public art.

Meet at Parks Library, Grant Wood Murals