In 1951, Joan Liffring-Zug Bourret was fired from her job as a photojournalist at the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The reason: she was pregnant. She responded by photographing the birth to her son — an audacious proposition at the time. The photos — mostly shots of the doctors, nurses and newborn Artie from her POV on […]
John Busbee
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Book Review: ‘The People are Kind: A Religious History of Iowa’ by Bill R. Douglas
As a student of history, political activist and an award-winning freelance historian, Bill R. Douglas brings his diverse, rich background to bear on a question that tugged at his soul: Why hasn’t anyone written a comprehensive history of Iowa’s religions? He decided to answer it himself with The People Are Kind: A Religious History of […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘I’m comfortable here’: Filmmaker Kristian Day makes documentaries in, and about, Iowa
Des Moines-based storyteller Kristian Day has made a name for himself in the world of media production. His bonafides include creating The Last American Gay Bar, a 2024 docuseries for OUTtv covering The Blazing Saddle in Des Moines, and hosting the show Iowa Basement Tapes on KFMG radio, which aims to preserve local DIY music […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: An environmental art exhibition at Grand View University combines the cosmic and down-to-earth
The exhibition “GAIA II: The Pale Blue Dot” begins a month-long run at Des Moines’ Grand View University on Monday, Oct. 20. A beguiling blend of expressive imagery and compelling messaging, celebrated artist Mary Kline-Misol and conservationist Christine A. Curry join forces to create an immersive, thought-provoking climate crisis dialogue anchored by complex paintings. Kline-Misol […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Des Moines’ new indie bookstores want to help Latino, LGBTQ readers ‘see themselves on the shelf’
Like a book, an independent bookstore can be a spiritual oasis in a chaotic world. It probably says something about our world, then, that three indie bookstores sprouted up in central Iowa over the past 18 months. From pushing back against book bans and COVID-era malaise to capitalizing on online reading trends, Shelf Love DSM, […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
The 10th annual Cloris Awards will bring together Des Moines’ theater pros and fans on Sunday
The Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Arts Awards, a celebration that brings together Des Moines’ theater professionals, reflects its namesake. Leachman was a dynamic, versatile performer whose work spanned nearly eight decades and every acting medium. From dramatic roles (including Ruth Popper in The Last Picture Show, which earned her an Academy Award) to her […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The pair of artists behind Des Moines’ Pride murals, Cat Rocketship and Dani Awesome, have a colorful love story
Artists Cat Rocketship and Dani Awesome have created some big, head-turning work together: massive rainbow murals in the East Village and Historic Valley Junction; human-sized Iowa wildlife painted along a bike trail in West Des Moines; pop-up art markets and a pair of Etsy shops with over 7,000 sales of original prints, stickers, jewelry and […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The new About Time Theatre Company hopes Des Moines isn’t too squeamish
If you have an adventurous palate when it comes to theatrical experiences, it’s about time this seven-player troupe came into your life. About Time Theatre Company is made up of stage and creative arts veterans from across the country who converged on Des Moines. “[We] moved here from the Chicago market where I’d done a […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa Blues Hall of Fame inducts Eddie Bowles, John Resch, Turk E. Krause and Scott Long
The blues. An evocative word used more than two centuries ago by John James Audubon when he wrote to his wife that he “had the blues.” Before that, the first written reference was in English playwright George Colman’s 1798 Blue Devils, most likely a term filtering down from the 1600s referring to “intense visual hallucinations […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Poetry has a cathartic power for Kelsey Bigelow, and she’s determined to share it
“We deserve to be on the big stages the way stand-up comedians are,” said Des Moines poet Kelsey Bigelow. “We’re using our stories and our voices. It’s just in a different format.” Iowa, home of the celebrated Writers’ Workshop and the UNESCO City of Literature, is embracing a new generation of poetic voices, from Caleb […]
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Peak Iowa: The Clown prince of heavy metal reigns on, 25 years after Slipknot’s Safari Club debut
Since the release of their eponymous debut studio album in 1999, and the even more hellacious follow-up Iowa in 2001, the music and masked musicians of metal band Slipknot have resonated with irrefutable musical defiance for millions of “maggots,” as their fans proudly call themselves, the world over. It all started in Des Moines, hometown […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Des Moines’ Sensi’il Studios makes its cinematic debut Nov. 15 with a new kind of comic book movie
Sensi’il Studios, the brainchild of Des Moines artist Basi Affia, is the only Black comic book publisher in the states of Iowa and Nebraska. Pyramid Theatre Company, meanwhile, is Iowa’s first Black theater company. Before he founded Sensi’il Studios in 2022, Affia was a critically acclaimed performer in two of Pyramid’s stellar early productions, A […]
