On a Sunday morning, I quietly made my way through the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art’s second-floor galleries to “Powerful: The Art of Käthe Kollwitz,” on display through Jan. 4, 2026. I entered, sat on a wooden bench, collected myself and looked around, much as I would before a mass. Julia Jessen, curator of Collections […]
Andrea Truitt
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: ‘Art is survival’ for the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated craftsmen behind this PS1 exhibition
Community members packed the February 7 opening reception of the “Art from the Inside Out” exhibition at PS1 South, giving me the feel-goods. I saw a woman I used to work with and met her mother; I saw friends and met their grandchild. Artists and their families were there, and it was the most class-diverse art show I’ve attended.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Peak Iowa: Ana Mendieta’s aching, unsettling absence
In Árbol de la Vida (1976) Ana Mendieta covered herself in mud and foliage and pressed her body against a tree, blending into it as if becoming part of it. It is simultaneously body art, sculpture and performance. I am stunned by the absolute physicality of her work, the bodily engagement with the land itself: […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
First-of-its-kind Iowa City Madrigal Dinner is raising yuletide spirits, funds for UAY this weekend
The Iowa City Madrigal Singers are set to celebrate the Yuletide season with a dinner to support United Action for Youth this coming weekend. The event consists of a-cappella and instrumental music and a four-course dinner with wassail.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
An online collection of ‘outsider art’ enters the real world for the first time in Des Moines
What does it look like when a social media feed jumps onto the walls of an art gallery? Visitors to the Fitch Building in Des Moines from Nov. 8-30 will find out during “Faces in the Crowd,” showcasing the work of 14 artists you’ve probably never heard of (but probably should). The exhibition was curated […]
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Review: Sandy Dyas’ career retrospective at Cornell makes the mundane aspects of Midwest life lovingly strange
To take in Sandy Dyas’ retrospective is to be overwhelmed at the start. To absorb the show in a meaningful way, you need to take your time. The show caps off four decades of work. It is, for the artist, a “memoir”: “Looking back at it all tells me a lot about where I have […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Six meals out in Fairfield
Fairfield is so much more than transcendental meditation (although there is a lot of that). The town has an abundance of food options, including plenty of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. For the biggest range of choices, schedule your day trip to Fairfield for late-week; Thursday through Saturday is optimal. Many restaurants only have weekday […]
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An experts’ guide to Stanley Museum must-sees (besides ‘Mural’)
Sure, Mural represents a breakthrough, American ascendency in the art world. Yeah, yeah, it has its own documentary film. And sure, the new University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art where it’s housed is gorgeous, sexing up Burlington Street like the Voxman before it. But what else should you look for in the Stanley’s collections? […]
Posted inBread & Butter Dining Guide
Restaurateurs look to local creatives to elevate their exterior
Even if you’re in it for the food and drink, a good view never hurts. At restaurants across the CRANDIC, that view is enhanced by artists. The confluence of art and food is visible in everything from grab-and-go items eaten on brightly painted picnic benches dotting Iowa City’s downtown, to an intentional sit-down meal (with […]
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Pop will eat Cedar Rapids? The Iowa Pop Art Festival returns this weekend
Everyday. Ordinary. Bright. Bold. Nondescript. Flashy. Unassuming. Pop: It’s all of those things, and that’s what makes it brilliant. Happening on Saturday May 21 at 10 a.m., the Iowa Pop Art Festival is spread around multiple locations in Cedar Rapids, including CSPS Hall, NewBo City Market and participating shops in the district. The festival consists […]
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Looking forward to the Stanley: An inside tour
After 14 years, the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art is back and almost ready for its Aug. 26 opening. As someone who has only lived in Iowa City without this museum, and as an art historian by training, I can’t wait. I actually enjoyed the traffic noise as I approached the Stanley from […]
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Wild, raw and human: Children of the Clay explore the visceral and delicate in ‘Think Pink!’
Before I entered the current show at Public Space One’s 229 Gilbert gallery, the following cultural references came to mind: my favorite childhood t-shirt, neon pink circa 1991, with fringe across the front; Aerosmith’s “Pink” followed by Janelle Monáe’s “Pynk”; Victoria’s Secret’s athleisure lingerie; and Pepto Bismol disks eaten after a bad egg on a […]
