Iowa

This month’s edition of State to State features three creative collaborations between state arts agencies and other state government departments. Read on for three examples of how state arts agencies are joining forces with their state departments of education, agriculture and finance. To share your own collaboration story, contact Kelly Barsdate at NASAA.

Iowa

Celebration of Iowa: Agriculture Art Award

The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs is collaborating with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation on a new agricultural art contest. The Celebration of Iowa: Agriculture Art Award is a juried competition for artwork that promotes the natural beauty of Iowa and its role as a global leader in agriculture. The competition is designed to celebrate the beauty and the bounty of Iowa lands, to broaden understanding of the importance of agriculture to Iowa communities, and to make the stories and perspectives of Iowa farmers visible to a broad audience. The awards include cash prizes for a Youth Division (ages 17 and under) and an Adult Division (ages 18 and over). Adjudication will be coordinated by the Iowa Arts Council, and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation is sponsoring the prizes. Contest winners will be honored at the Iowa State Fair, an annual event that attracts more than a million people from all over the globe and salutes the state’s best in agriculture, industry, entertainment and achievement. Winning artworks will be available for exhibitions arranged by the sponsoring partners. For more information, contact Veronica O’Hern at the Iowa Arts Council.