Sioux City History and Culture by Bicycle Part 76: Sioux CIty Art Center

The Sioux City Art Center was founded in 1938 as a Works Progress Administration project, it was established to serve people of all ages and backgrounds. The Sioux City Art Center is one of only four WPA art centers in Iowa to survive to the present without interruption. In 1997 it moved into it's current 9 million dollar facility, whiched marked a major transition. The 45,000 square foot building has approximately 10,000 square feet of gallery space for changing exhibitions and a permanent collection. The facility also offers 5,000 square feet of classroom space, a three-story atrium for receptions and other public functions, a 131-seat lecture hall with sophisticated audiovisual systems, conference rooms, and a twelve station interactive Junior League Hands On! Gallery.

Since the opening of the new facility, the Art Center has received a good share of recognition. In 1997 it was named Cultural Attraction of the Year by the Iowa Division of Tourism and in 1998 Arts Building Communities/Arts Organization of the Year by the Iowa Arts Council. In January 2000, the Omaha World Herald selected the new Sioux City Art Center as one of the ten most significant Art Events of the Decade in the Midwest. In 2002, the Art Center’s community arts project Prairie Dog Quest received the Tourism and Arts Award from the Iowa Division of Tourism.

Past locations for the Sioux City Art Center have been:
1938 - The Williges Building 613 Pierce Street, Lower Level
1958 - The Commerce Building 520 Nebraska Street
1961 - The Sioux City Municipal Auditorium Building 617 Douglas Street
1966 - 513 Nebraska Street

The Sioux City Art Center is host of NW Iowa's premier art fesitval, Art Splash, held Labor Day Weekend.

The building that says Sioux City Art Studio used to be the Sioux City Transit transfer station. After the new Martin Luther King Jr. Transportation Center was built the art center bought it for their use.

Art Center web site:
Sioux City Art Center

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