SWIA Art Tour this weekend
The Southwest Iowa Art Tour will be proceeding with a modified version of their annual event the third Saturday in September. As with everything this year, COVID-19 has brought a new set of challenges to the Seventh Annual Southwest Iowa Art Tour, but organizers and artists will be exercising proper precautions to safely continue it at a limited number of locations as a one-day event on Saturday, September 19th from 10 AM to 6 PM. Gathering Places will be exercising additional precautions including outdoor venues, social distancing measures and extra sanitizing to ensure the health and safety of our artists and participants. Masks will be recommended at all Gathering Places, and required at some locations. Please be respectful of individual Gathering Place guidelines, and of course please stay home if you are not feeling well. Participants and attendees are encouraged to chart their own course and visit some of the great businesses and eateries along the way, while discovering phenomenal art and artists in southwest Iowa.
It all began in 2014 when a group of southwest Iowa artists came together to pull off an event unlike any others in their rural communities – a self-guided ‘Art Tour’ that would showcase their artworks, studios, galleries, and hometowns. The Southwest Iowa Art Tour is now in its seventh year connecting southwest Iowa communities through art! The first year included nine participating communities and thirty artists. The success of the Southwest Iowa Art Tour grew to its peak last year for the sixth annual event to twelve communities, sixteen Gathering Places, and more than ninety local artists. This year, with COVID-19 concerns the event has scaled back to 7 communities, 9 Gathering Places and 50 artists.
This self-guided tour allows participants to begin and end where they would like, come and go from location to location at their leisure, and explore diverse art forms – including fiber art, sculpture, pottery, painting, metal works, jewelry, glassware and much more from over ninety artists. The nine unique stops will be located in the following Southwest Iowa towns: Avoca (Avoca Main Street, corner of Crocker & Elm), Council Bluffs (PACE Hoff Family Center for the Arts & Culture, 1001 South 6th Street), Glenwood (Mary Sneed’s Fine Art & Custom Framing, 507 S. Locust), Harlan (Historic Courthouse Square, 7th & Durant), Macedonia (Painted Camel Gallery, 320 Main Street), Malvern (Art Church, 201 E. 4th Street; Colorado Studio, 202 E. 5th Street; Fine Arts on 5th, 104 E. 5th Street) and Red Oak (Historic Fountain Square, 4th Street & Coolbaugh). In keeping with tradition the event will be held the third weekend in September, but this year it has been reduced to a one day event. The hours are Saturday, September 19th from 10 AM to 6 PM.
The Southwest Iowa Art Tour is coordinated by Golden Hills RC&D of Oakland and the collaborative efforts of local participating artists. Funding for coordination of this event is provided by the local businesses and organizations that stand behind the Art Tour each year. We know that this has been a difficult year for small businesses and would like to especially thank them for their continued support. This year, we are proud to announce our partnering supporters at the $1,500 level as the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation and the Pottawattamie Countywide Tourism Promotion Committee (WattaWay), and Houghton State Bank of Red Oak at the $1,000 level. Our $350 sponsors for 2020 include Malvern Bank; David Carbaugh State Farm Insurance and Rubey Realty of Red Oak; CB Skin Secrets, Kathy Fiscus/Iowa’s Front Range and Pottawattamie Arts, Culture and Entertainment (PACE) of Council Bluffs; and Kum & Go. We are proud to have 22 additional businesses, individuals and organizations as sponsors for the 2020 Southwest Iowa Art Tour. We encourage you to support those businesses who support the arts in southwest Iowa, and make the most of your Southwest Iowa Art Tour experience by stopping at the great restaurants and other shops in the host towns. To find out which businesses are sponsors of the Art Tour, a full listing of sponsors may be found on our website at www.swiarttour.com, or in the 2020 Southwest Iowa Art Tour brochures. Pick one up at the Golden Hills office in Oakland or at one of the Gathering Places so you can plan out your route!
The Southwest Iowa Art Tour is proud to carry on the mission of bringing awareness of the arts and artists in rural southwest Iowa and supporting economic reinvestment in our small towns through the arts. Remember that when you purchase an original piece of work from an artist, you are directly helping to make the arts a viable career choice in our area. And while you’re at it, grab a shake from the local ice cream shop and a burger from your local café!
For more information be sure to check the “Southwest Iowa Art” Tour Facebook page, visit their website: www.swiarttour.com, or contact Becca at rebecca.castle@goldenhillsrcd.org. Come support our artists in Southwest Iowa, and be a part of “connecting rural communities through art.”