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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Library Art Gallery

"No Stranger" by Shawn Wolter, mixed media.

You not only can check out books at the Urbandale Public Library; you can view art as well. Earlier this month, the library opened an in-house art gallery, a collaborative effort of the library, the Urbandale Public Art Committee and the Urbandale Community Action Network. The gallery will present changing exhibits of artwork by Iowa artists; the current exhibit, which runs through May 16, features paper sculptures and collages by Carole Osburn and mixed-media works by Shawn Wolter, both Urbandale artists. The gallery also will host presentations, art demonstrations and fine art performances. To find out more, click here.

Dennis Reynolds and TJ Moberg

Prison Project

Think "public art," and razor wire, electric fences and armed guard towers probably don't pop immediately to mind. But Iowa's two new prisons--still under construction in Mitchellville and Fort Madison--will soon welcome large public artworks designed by Dennis Reynolds and TJ Moberg and installed by inmates. Read about the $400,000 project in the new issue of dsm. Click here.

Joshua Redman

New Season

An artist's rendering of the renovated and expanded Playhouse building.

The Des Moines Community Playhouse earlier this month announced that it has raised $3.4 million in its $10 million campaign to expand and renovate the theater. The Playhouse's fast-paced growth over the last few years is spurring the overhaul, which will include a new lobby, streamlined public spaces, a revitalized mainstage theater, more parking, a new education wing, additional storage for costumes and properties, new dressing rooms, updated mechanics and green rooms that can double as classrooms. So far, the biggest donations include $500,000 from Bankers Trust Co. and the Ruan Family Foundation, $350,000 from Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino and $300,000 from Principal Financial Group Inc. Construction on the first phase is expected to begin this summer.

Poetry scrolls at Gray's Lake. Photo by Duane Tinkey.

What have you done to celebrate National Poetry Month? If your answer is "nothing," don't worry. You can still check out the poster-sized scrolls of poetry that are situated around Gray's Lake, where they'll remain until the end of April. And you can read--and write--poetry anytime, of course. To get started, check out the poems by Des Moines writers James A. Autry and Phil Brown in the current issue of dsm by clicking here.

Fun in the Des Moines Art Festival's Community Outreach area.

Nonprofit organizations can now apply to participate in the 2013 Des Moines Arts Festival, June 28-30 at Western Gateway Park. The Prairie Meadows Community Outreach Program offers a way for nonprofits to share their mission with the 200,000-plus people who attend the Arts Festival each year. In exchange for the free promotional space, each organization offers an interactive arts-related activity or provides volunteer help at the festival. Applications are due May 10; to apply, go to DesMoinesArtsFestival.org. Questions? Contact Maggie Pforts at 286-4949. 

Story Art

Maureen Korte

"In ancient times the storyteller was always thought to be the most intelligent person in the village," says Maureen Korte, a local professional storyteller. "I love that, and I love telling people that."

Korte sits near the entrance of the Des Moines Social Club's theater, where she is serving as host of "Story Mob," a quarterly storytelling event that invites the community to share stories using a selected prop. On this night in early April--the start of the new "Story Mob" season--the prop is an umbrella. Storytellers take to the stage to share a five-minute fiction or nonfiction story, then are scored by a panel of three judges. The storyteller with the highest score wins $100. Audience members, called the "mob," also get to vote, writing their choice on a sheet of paper that they then wad up and throw onto the stage. The storyteller with the greatest mob support wins $50.

Korte has loved telling stories for as long as she can remember. "My mother was approached by a neighbor, who said that the stories I was telling were beyond cute, and she felt that my mother should get a handle on it because maybe I was going into lying," Korte recalls. "But my mother, in her great Irish wisdom said, 'O glory be to God. It's not a problem; it's a gift.' "

"I actually thought it was some kind of defect I had in my personality," Korte says about her storytelling passion. But eventually the neighbors began knocking on Maureen's door for a different reason when, as a mother herself, she would tell stories to her children and whichever of their friends happened to be in her home at the time. "I don't know what you do," Korte recalls her neighbors saying, "but my kid says you do it well and I'll give you 25 bucks if you do it for my kid's birthday party."

Korte, who also serves as director of educational programs for CultureAll, believes storytelling is a conversational and casual art form that doesn't require memorization. She explores her art while she speaks, testing her stories out on different audiences before writing them down. "The beauty of telling a story is that the audience doesn't know how you intend to end the story," which, she says, gives her the freedom to interpret a story in multiple ways. Although her stories may evolve over time, one thing hasn't changed, she says: "Stories make people feel good."

The next "Story Mob" will be 7-9 p.m. June 27 at the Des Moines Social Club, with a children's book serving as the prop. Admission is $5 at the door. For more information and the complete schedule, click here.   

--Written by Chad Michael Cox 

In 1993, opera lovers Doris and John Salsbury established the Des Moines Metro Opera Foundation and spearheaded an endowment drive. Today, Des Moines Metro Opera's (DMMO) annual operating budget-to-endowment ratio is the U.S. opera industry's highest. DMMO will celebrate that impressive achievement and the 20-year-anniversary of the endowment May 3 at The Temple for Performing Arts. The gala, called "Written in the Stars," will include a patron party, dinner and a live auction. A one-week stay at the St. Regis hotel in New York and a week's stay at an apartment in Barcelona are auction highlights. An after-party, called "Club Opera" and hosted by DMMO and the Young Professionals Connection, will be at Americana Restaurant and Lounge. The cost of the gala is $150 per person; go to desmoinesmetroopera.org to purchase tickets or for more information.

Photo by William Gentsch

The idea for the exhibit stemmed from the stained glass at his church, Gentsch says. "Only during early springtime, and then for only 15 minutes, the stained glass windows projected designs on the deep lancet framework," he says. "So deep were the window frames that, from my vantage point, the windows were all but hidden. In that narrow time frame, the plaster frames and wood sills lit up one by one to form a dazzling chorus of light." He adds he took the photos for the exhibit in three different venues using unconventional camera settings and natural lighting.

Ballet and contemporary dance, instrumental and vocal music, and the spoken word will be woven together during "Interplay," which will be performed at 7 p.m. April 30 and May 1 at First Christian Church, 2500 University Ave. in Des Moines. Described as an "integration of the arts," the show will feature the Des Moines Symphony Academy Honors Ensembles, Pointe Academy Dance Ensemble and the Des Moines Men's Gay Chorus, as well as individual vocalists and instrumental musicians, including Edwin Griffith, Ben Allaway and Deaven Swainey. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for students, available at the door. More information: thepointeacademy.org or 279-0742.

"Blue Lagoon" (2013) by Robert Spellman, oil on canvas.

Des Moines artist Robert Spellman will present a show of new works, consisting of oils and acrylics on canvas, 5-9 p.m. April 26 and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. April 27 at 1723 Grand Ave. More info: robertspellmanstudio.com. 

The crowd at "Food for Thought." Photo by Cody Osen.

The DMSC also has announced an extensive lineup of new programs, events and classes. Click here to find out more.

If you're involved with an arts organization or are a visual, performing or literary artist, we'd love to hear from you. Email us at dsmeditor@bpcdm.com. The deadline for the next issue is May 10. Also, get the word out about your upcoming event by listing it on our online community calendar. Go to dsmMagazine.com and follow the instructions. You also can go to our website to find out how to submit party pictures from your organization for dsm's rsvp section.