Toon’d In Art Show: 50th Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, The Fremont, Des Moines, Saturday, July 13, 6-10 p.m., Free
A golden age for small indie art shows flourished from 2008 to 2021, when the now-defunct Des Moines Social Club was bursting with activity. It was an epicenter for all arts disciplines, including several small, “found-space” galleries tucked in its massive downtown location. These galleries — Instinct Gallery and Finders Creepers Gallery — were the flashpoints for many pop-up art events.
In 2013, inspired by happenings at the Des Moines Social Club, D. Ryan Allen founded Toon’d In.
“I did this as a way to meet more artists and to have some fun shows,” explained Allen, the mad artist behind the Lord of Infernal Engines Studios. “The plan was to have a core group of artists organize and host a cartoon-themed art show every two to three months.”
Core members of Allen’s group include Brian Jones (collage, found object, mixed media), Stephanie Knight (painter, illustrator, doll maker), KimB Kreatures (doll maker, graphic designer, vampire expert) and Jordan Denato (illustrator, zine maker). They established artist enclaves like the Paintpushers, Art-aholics and the Rebel Art Alliance. The common thread was a passion for making art and sharing it with others.
Allen (who, I must disclose, is a longtime friend of mine) discovered a super power. He was very good at organizing these Toon’d In shows, so he assumed the mantle of producer, too. “I just kept putting on group shows … set to a variety of themes: Fantasy, Jim Henson, Monsters, Monty Python, etc. I even had a great show celebrating Frankenstein’s 200th birthday.”
The Frankenstein bicentennial art tour lasted a year, exhibiting at several Central Iowa libraries. Another show blended visual arts and burlesque performances. Each show was an intoxicating mix of experienced, emerging and experimental artists.
Along the way, Allen bonded with a neighborhood bar with a penchant for supporting the work of indie artists. The Fremont, just north of Iowa’s state capitol, offered a random series of events, mostly small indie bands and art shows. Allen’s Toon’d In events would become a perfect match.
Then the pandemic hit.
“I took a few years off when COVID nuked everything,” Allen said. “I lost a couple of beloved friends, who were both amazing and inspiring artists. Slowly, I’m making a return to the art business and curating group shows.”
During his COVID hiatus, Allen reflected on his own path. After attending Iowa State University’s College of Design, he spent several years in a corporate job, working on art on the side. He became a full-time artist in 2011. Allen earned the moniker of Zombie Artist or Zombie Guy after producing a series of zombie coloring books called Shades of Decay, which brought invites to plenty of comic and horror conventions.
“I have been a creative soul since I was kid and always had my face buried in a sketchbook, making art and writing stories,” he said. “I have always loved science fiction, fantasy, cartoons, monsters and comic books … that love comes through in my art.”
Persistence paid off as he rekindled his pre-pandemic partnership with The Fremont. Toon’d In relaunched on April 20 with a pop-up show celebrating the 75th anniversary of Creature from the Black Lagoon. (Trivia fact: that film’s leading lady, Julie Adams, was an Iowa native.)
His next show will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons.
“Everyone that takes part in these shows are passionate and talented artists working in a wide variety of media,” Allen said.
“Art can be a lonely and solitary pursuit. It’s important that artists have local outlets to showcase and sell their hard work and hopefully build an art community. … These pop-up shows are very DIY and can be easy to make happen. One of the things I stress curating these events is that I encourage artists to champion and support one another, to look out for each other.”
This article was originally published in Little Village’s June 2024 issue.
