6:00-8:00 pm. Busses will make a continuous loop leaving from 1) the Hotel Fort Des Moines, 2) the Downtown Des Moines Art Center location; 3)the Heritage Gallery for the Closing Reception for the Conference Exhibit; 4) the north side of the Historical Building (Locust will be blocked off for the World Food Prize Festival) and then back to the hotel.

It should be a return stop every 15 minutes, or so, from 6-8 pm.

The Des Moines Art Center is happy to host an open gallery with a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception for art educators from around the state. It’s a great opportunity to mingle with your colleagues, peruse the exhibition Group Dynamic: Portfolios, Series, and Sets, and pick up some unique souvenirs from the Museum Shop. 

Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts? The exhibition Group Dynamic considers this cliché by exploring artworks produced as groups, primarily in the form of artists’ portfolios, series, and sets from the Art Center’s permanent collections. Henri Matisse’s iconic Jazz portfolio (1947) provides a lively centerpiece and starting point for the exhibition. Recently conserved thanks to the donations of Art Center supporters, the Jazz series of twenty stencil prints derives from Matisse’s vibrantly-colored paper collages and presents themes of the circus and theater.

Like Matisse, some Group Dynamic artists explore particular themes or objects, while others use multiple images to tell a story or combine like a puzzle to form a single image. The prints, photography, and sculpture in the exhibition include works by Louise Bourgeois, Robert Cottingham, Marcel Duchamp, Anna Gaskell, Glenn Ligon, Robert Longo, Cindy Sherman, Alec Soth, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, and Carrie Mae Weems, among others. Group Dynamic is organized by Patricia Hickson, curator and downtown gallery manager.

View the work that conference participants have submitted and have been on display for two weeks prior to the conference. The Heritage Gallery is located in the Polk County Administration Building.

Many shops and galleries will be open to the public. The World Food Festival with ethnic food vendors, beer tasting, and entertainment will be in full swing.