Relief Grants Help Stabilize Iowa’s Creative Workforce
When Gabi Torres strolls through a tiny park in Clinton, she imagines something more: a dozen colorful paintings displayed on free-standing poles.
She describes it as a “forest of art” and plans to hire a local woodworker to build the poles and frames. In the spring, she’ll enlist high school students to install the artwork in the space between a low-income neighborhood and some warehouses on the riverfront.
“I love that this will be the backdrop for something so beautiful,” she said.
The project, called “The Grove,” received a $5,000 grant from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs as part of its ongoing efforts to help Iowa artists and cultural organizations rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the spring of 2020, the department has distributed nearly $11 million in grants funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the subsequent American Rescue Plan Act.
The federal funds have more than doubled the department’s competitive grants over the past two years, benefiting more Iowa artists and arts organizations than ever. The investments have helped stabilize the state’s arts businesses and entrepreneurs as they move into 2022.
“Artists and nonprofit leaders are creative problem-solvers,” the department’s director, Chris Kramer, said. “They’ve figured out countless ways to adapt during these challenging times and leverage even small grants for extraordinary projects in their communities.”
Many of the relief funds have supported Iowa’s larger cultural institutions and attractions, including performing arts centers and venues that remained dark for more than a year. Museums, historical sites, zoos and science centers benefited from the funding, too.
But even more grants were awarded to first-time and nontraditional recipients across the state.
The city of Tipton will use a grant to create a downtown mural. In Pocahontas, a grant helped the Rialto Theatre retain staff and remain open. In the Huxley schools and the Hopkinton library, grants helped pay for guest artists and performers. Similar grants supported community theaters in St. Ansgar and Dubuque and an arts festival in Davenport.
In Council Bluffs, the artist Ann Brugenhemke received $2,500 to create a kinetic sculpture with a pendulum that steadily erases the word “hate” written in colored sand on the ground below. She hired a woodworker to help with its construction.
“When you’re faced with a situation like (the pandemic), you have to dig a little deeper. So this ended up being just the right thing at the right time,” she said of the grant. “It puts a little wind in your sails when someone supports your idea.”
In a typical year, Iowa’s creative sector generates approximately $4.2 billion for the state’s economy, employing more than 43,000 creative workers across 5,000 arts, cultural and creative businesses statewide. After the pandemic triggered widespread closures, event cancellations and layoffs, the state’s arts and culture sector shed almost 4,500 jobs and is still working to recover.
In addition to the grants, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs launched a statewide campaign to encourage Iowans to “Re-Imagine, Re-Engage and Reconnect” with local arts and culture.
“Many artists used the grants to stabilize their businesses — to keep the lights on and pay their bills — but also to pay it forward and help their communities,” Iowa Arts Council Administrator David Schmitz said. “Arts and culture help people adapt to change and stay connected, especially in tough times.”
Darrell Johnston, who grew up in Leon, had been working nationwide as a theater artist and educator when the pandemic wiped out his calendar. He switched gears and enrolled in law school in the Twin Cities.
Meanwhile, as a creative outlet, he wrote a musical comedy about the origins of Iowa’s little-known state song, which was set to the tune of “O, Tannenbaum” (“Oh, Christmas Tree”) and adopted in 1911. He wrote a more upbeat alternative for the new show.
Johnston used his $2,500 grant to help pay musicians for the “State Song” premiere Jan. 2–3 at Graceland University in Lamoni. A few days later the Iowa musical production premiered in New York where he rented the Manhattan Theatre Club to show it off to potential investors.
“If nothing else,” he said. “I hope it will encourage Iowans to lead with our best foot forward.”
— Michael Morain, Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
