Iowa

Facts and Figures

In the past five years, the National Endowment for the Arts distributed $8,061,369 in federal funding, either directly or through state and regional partners, in Iowa.

In the most recent information (2020) from the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA), which is produced jointly by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Office of Research & Analysis and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Commerce Department, Iowa...

  • Added 2.1 percent or $4.2 billion to the state economy from arts and cultural production
  • Employed 38,110 workers in the arts and cultural industries, with workers earning wages and benefits totaling more than $2.4 billion

More than 45 percent of Iowa’s adults attended live music, theater, or dance performances, while more than 17 percent attended art exhibits, according to the 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau.

In addition to offering direct grants, the NEA supports national initiatives benefiting people across the country:

An average of more than 697 students from 51 high schools in Iowa participated in Poetry Out Loud annually.

Blue Star Museums program provided free admission to thousands of active military personnel and their families at 96 participating museums in Iowa.


Iowa Fact Sheet

On this page, find information on the arts and culture for Iowa, and how the National Endowment for the Arts has supported the arts in communities throughout the state. Below are highlights of just some of Arts Endowment grantees and artists working in Iowa. 

To find a list of grants awarded by the agency to Iowa, go to our Recent Grant Search. 

State Highlights

an older man with a long white beard stands outside a barn loading a reel onto an old fashioned film projector

Moving Images in Rural Iowa: A Look at the Documentary "Saving Brinton"

A native of Washington, Iowa, Mike Zahs--teacher, historian, inveterate collector, and lover of the secret histories stored in other people’s cast-offs--is the subject of "Saving Brinton", a film by Tommy Haines, John Richard, and Andrew Sherburne, which premiered at this year’s AFI Docs festival.
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collage of three photos of artists Shin Yu Pai, Steven Walker, and Jym Walker

The Art of Place: Artists in Residence at National Parks

We chatted with three artists who’ve previously participated in the NPS artist-in-residence programs at Arizona’s Petrified National Park, California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park, and Idaho’s Craters of the Moon National Monument; Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas; and Iowa’s Herbert Hoover Historical Park and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
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Headshot of a man.

Dwight Lamb

2017
Fourth-generation old-time fiddler and button accordion player Dwight “Red” Lamb, 2017 National Heritage Fellow, is a master of Danish fiddle and accordion traditions, as well as Missouri Valley old-time fiddling.
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a woman weaving.

Dorothy Trumpold

2001
2001 National Heritage Fellow Dorothy Trumpold of East Amana, Iowa, has been weaving rugs for nearly 60 years.
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Jill Osier

Jill Osier

2007
Originally from northeast Iowa, 2007 Literature Fellow Jill Osier has worked as a writer, laborer, and educator, much of the time in Iowa and Alaska.
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United States of Arts: Iowa

In collaboration with the Iowa Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts looks at the arts and culture of Iowa as part of its celebration of the 50th anniversary of the agency's establishment.
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State & Regional Contacts

Iowa Arts Council 
600 East Locust
State Capitol Complex
Des Moines, IA 50319
515/281-8741

Arts Midwest (Regional Arts Organization)
2908 Hennepin Avenue, Suite 200
Minneapolis, MN 55408-1954
612/341-0755
TT/Voice: 612/341-0901
general@artsmidwest.org