On the first Friday of every month, something incredible happens at 900 Keosauqua Way. Creativity spills from every floor of Des Moines’ Mainframe Studios, transforming the city’s largest artist hub into a vibrant, open-door celebration of local art, music and community spirit. Inside, roughly 200 artists open their studios to the public, revealing an ecosystem of expression.
Each First Friday highlights a different theme or focal point, but every iteration is a monthly art celebration. The series began in 2018, one year after Mainframe Studios officially opened its doors. It’s free. It’s welcoming. It’s unlike anything else in the Midwest.
“Artwork needs an audience, and First Fridays allow the community to see how artists work, view and purchase finished works, and de-mystify the artistic process,” says Julia Franklin, Executive Director at Mainframe Studios. “It’s a great way to meet artists and other arts enthusiasts.”
What began as a grassroots gathering of a few hundred people has grown to a thriving event drawing more than 2,400 visitors each month — families, students, visitors, locals, and art-lovers alike.
A multi-sensory experience
Iowa-based interdisciplinary artist and advocate Jill Wells curated April’s First Friday event. The exhibition, “Diverse by Design,” pushed the boundaries of what the gallery experience can be. It featured the works of more than 35 contemporary Iowa artists of all abilities and identities, many of whom were exhibiting for the first time. The show asked its audience to engage not just with their eyes, but with all five senses by offering many opportunities for artistic interaction.
Diverse by Design is about more than art; it’s about access — to job security, to freedom of expression, to inclusion. Wells aimed to challenge the elitism and ableism that exists in many art spaces to create something that truly welcomes everyone.
“[With Diverse by Design] I wanted to address things specific to the art world, like elitists, ableist spaces, and personalities around what ‘real art’ is,” Wells said. “I [hope people] gain awareness of what’s outside of ourselves, which helps push us forward and build empathy within the world that we live in.”
Floor by floor
As I moved through the building, each floor became a chapter in a sensory story.
When you enter Mainframe Studios, you first find yourself in the atrium with music blasting, people chatting and shifting around the open room, and, of course artwork surrounding.
Exhibition goers and artists at the “Diverse by Design” show. — Photo by @maharryphotography courtesy of Mainframe Studios 
Exhibition goers and artists at the “Diverse by Design” show. — Photo by @maharryphotography courtesy of Mainframe Studios 
Exhibition goers and artists at the “Diverse by Design” show. — Photo by @maharryphotography courtesy of Mainframe Studios 
First Friday photos past and present. — courtesy of Mainframe Studios
The second floor houses twin galleries, one focused on imagined futures shaped by environmental and social change, the second presenting a documentary-style look at systemic inequalities such as racism and consumerism.
One standout piece included Keith Taylor’s beadwork reinterpretation of David Hammons’ African-American flag. Suspended from the ceiling, the red, green, black and white design shimmers, holding personal and collective memory in every stitch.
The gallery was filled with art from students ranging in media from textiles to a steel beam surrounded by glass. It was a wonderful array of student art.
Exhibition goers at the “Diverse by Design” show. — Photo by @maharryphotography courtesy of Mainframe Studios 
Exhibition goers at the “Diverse by Design” show. — Photo by @maharryphotography courtesy of Mainframe Studios 
Exhibition goers at the “Diverse by Design” show. — Photo by @maharryphotography courtesy of Mainframe Studios
The fourth floor was a playful celebration of color, texture and tactile engagement. I spent the most time on the fourth floor exploring all the different interpretations of bold colors and interactive play. Blues and pinks dominated the palette, spilling into interactive corners where Play-Doh was available for spontaneous creation.
“I saw some young folks creating flowers [out of Play-Doh],” Wells said. “I thought that was interesting because there are several garden pieces with foliage, birds and nature. It was a really interesting response I noticed that night.”
Beyond the gallery walls
At its heart, “Diverse by Design” wasn’t just about visual art, it was about building empathy through experience. It asked: Who gets to make art? Who gets to see it? Who was it for? Wells’ answer was clear: everyone.
The show ran through the end of April, but its impact lingers.
First Friday photos past and present. — courtesy of Mainframe Studios 
First Friday photos past and present. — courtesy of Mainframe Studios 
First Friday photos past and present. — courtesy of Mainframe Studios 
First Friday photos past and present. — courtesy of Mainframe Studios First Friday photos past and present. — courtesy of Mainframe Studios 
First Friday photos past and present. — courtesy of Mainframe Studios
“I hope that folks walk away with a greater sense of awareness of the diversity and needs within not only the art world, but everywhere,” Wells says. “I hope that folks gained a level of awareness that they didn’t have before they walked into the doors. That [Diverse by Design] was a positive experience, and that galvanizes our community to continue to have empathy for one another, love one another, work together, and not be divided.”
As First Fridays continue month after month, Mainframe Studios proves that art can be more than beautiful; it can be transformational.
If you didn’t get to check out Diversity by Design, First Friday is every month. With new themes, open art studios, refreshments, and creative activities, there is little chance you will be bored or experience the same thing twice.
May’s First Friday experience, “The Environment,” takes place May 2 from 5-8 p.m., and features unique interpretations of the environment and works from Diane Blair Kunzler and Iowa State University students. On June 6, First Friday’s exhibit “Mainframe Nonprofit Highlights” will take place.
