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Governor Presented with National Arts Award
Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack was presented the 2006 National Award for State
Arts Leadership May 23 at the State Historical Building in Des Moines. The
award from Americans for the Arts and the U.S. Conference of Mayors was
presented to the governor by Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie. It recognizes
Vilsack’s dedication to establishing arts programs in Iowa.
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Director Anita Walker and Jay Dick of Americans for the Arts also gave brief remarks as part of the presentation. The award was originally announced as part of the U.S. Conference of Mayor’s 74th winter meeting in Washington, D.C. earlier this year.
Worthen’s Complete State Capitol Collection
Now on Display
The event also featured the formal unveiling of Robert Josten’s collection
of 17 original Amy Worthen prints. Real and Imagined Aspects of the
State Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa represents some of Worthen’s
best known work, combining a legendary local landmark with fanciful characters
and perspectives. While individual prints from the series have been exhibited
in state buildings, this installation in Café Baratta’s is
the first time the completed series has been displayed in its entirety on
the Capitol Complex. Josten, a Des Moines attorney and philanthropist, has
loaned the art for the exhibit through March 2007.
Worthen is a well known Des Moines printmaker and scholar in the art of
printmaking. Her engravings, often architectural in content, combine humor,
history and a dedication to expressing the full effects of the printmaking
medium. Worthen’s work is available for purchase on www.buyiowaart.com,
an initiative of the Iowa Arts Council.
