For Immediate Release: July 30, 2007
Contact: Jeff Morgan
Public Relations
515.281.3858
Jeff.Morgan@iowa.gov
Alcoholic beverages delivery truck promotes Iowa art
Iowa Arts Council web site – buyiowaart.com – on the road
(DES MOINES, Iowa)—The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division (ABD) today formally unveiled a semi-tractor trailer that promotes Iowa art by Iowa artists.
The Iowa ABD provided advertising space on exterior panels of a 45-foot delivery trailer in support of buyiowaart.com, a web site created by the Iowa Arts Council to give Iowa artists and arts organizations an opportunity to market and sell their works on the Internet. Buyiowaart.com features books, music, photography, traditional art, visual art and crafts offered by Iowa artists and galleries.
“This truck logs thousands of miles every year on its way to and from Ames, Burlington, Iowa City and various points in between, and it will promote the works of Iowa artists represented on the web site to hundreds of thousands of motorists on our highways and Interstates,” DCA Director Cyndi Pederson said. “We are very thankful to the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division for making this contribution to buyiowaart.com, and we’re proud to say Iowa’s artists and arts organizations are now being promoted from the Interstate to the Internet.”
Bill Nellans photographed existing art and Annabel Wimer created the design for the semi-tractor trailer from those photographs. Artists who have work represented in the semi’s design are Marcia Joffe Bouska, Sara Jayne Cole, Pam Dennis, Jan Gipple, Janet Heinicke, Peggy Johnston, Mark Rushton (CD cover) and WORLD PORT (CD cover).
The graphics are made out of an adhesive vinyl 3M material and take three people about eight hours to apply. The graphics were printed on three-foot panels, centered vertically, heated by a blowtorch and adhered around the rivets on the trailers.
The semi-tractor trailer travels to Iowa City (Mondays-Tuesdays), Burlington (Wednesdays) and Ames (Fridays), logging more than 46,000 miles annually on Interstates 80 and 35. With the trailer’s advertising space valued at about $60,000 per year, and the graphics having a life expectancy of seven years, the total contribution Iowa ABD is making in support of buyiowaart.com is about $420,000.
“The project brings together cocktails and culture on 18 wheels in support of Iowa artists,” said Lynn Walding, administrator of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division. “In so doing, the Division has found a fitting use for the exterior of the truck, as well as the interior used to transport product. Needless to say, the buyiowaart.com trailer is now one of the more eye-catching trailers in our fleet.”
The idea to promote buyiowaart.com on an Iowa ABD semi-tractor trailer grew out of the Great Places program, which brings together the resources of state government to build capacity in communities, regions, neighborhoods or districts to cultivate the unique and authentic qualities that make the places special.
Currently, Clinton, Coon Rapids, Mason City and Sioux City have Iowa ABD semi-tractor trailers crossing the state promoting their communities as Great Places. Five additional Great Places – Adams County, Dubuque, Guttenberg, Fairfield and Jackson County – also will be promoted on Iowa ABD semi-tractor trailers.
Buyiowaart.com launched in June 2005 and brings a wide variety of Iowa artists into one place where people around the world can browse, shop and search for works ranging from paintings, posters and photographs to music, books and poetry. IAC developed the site as a service to Iowa artists and artist agents to market and sell their work through the Internet.
Artists on buyiowart.com are panel-reviewed and must be registered on the IAC Directory of Iowa Artists and Performing Groups. IAC handles transactions and sends the proceeds directly to the artist or artist agent. IAC retains a small fee from the transaction when a purchase is made. The fee is used for ongoing maintenance and development of the web site, and each artist is responsible for fulfilling the product order.
The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division is responsible for the regulation and control of alcohol in the State of Iowa. Iowa is one of 19 control jurisdictions (18 states and Montgomery County, Maryland) that, since the repeal of prohibition, directly control the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages. In addition, the Division is responsible for the enforcement of state and federal laws and regulations regarding the sale and use of alcohol and tobacco products.
The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs is responsible for developing the
state’s interest in the areas of the arts, history and other cultural
matters with the advice and assistance from its two divisions: the State Historical
Society of Iowa and the Iowa Arts Council. DCA preserves, researches, interprets
and promotes an awareness and understanding of local, state and regional history
and stimulates and encourages the study and presentation of the performing
and fine arts and public interest and participation in them. It implements
tourism-related art and history projects as directed by the General Assembly
and designs a comprehensive, statewide, long-range plan with the assistance
of the Iowa Arts Council to develop the arts in Iowa. More information about
DCA is available at www.culturalaffairs.org.