Oskaloosa Art Center Finding Success In Change

Students and the public, nearly 700 in total, packed into the newly opened Oskaloosa Art Center on Thursday. (photo by McGuire)

by Allison McGuire

The crossroads between the Square and the Penn Central Mall suddenly sprang to life on Thursday, April 27th. In past days, volunteers had worked speedily to give the Alley a spring spruce, and the members of FACE (Fine Arts and Cultural Events) of Mahaska County were busy putting together the final touches for the grand opening of the Oskaloosa Art Center and Studios in its new downtown location.

Walking through the door, visitors to the new space at 115 1st Avenue West were greeted by a larger-than-life painting of Ray Charles sitting atop an upright piano. Artwork created by prior FACE youth art classes was on display, along with information for upcoming summer art camps for 6-12-year olds. A group of high schoolers surrounded the stage where bass player Ian Giese performed.

FACE recently was awarded a grant from the Mahaska County Community Foundation to purchase kilns and wheels for their new Ceramics Studio, and the Center has space and equipment for printmaking as well. Kargol added that they hope to expand activities for adults to include drawing classes, in addition to the monthly wine and painting event called Art Uncorked. An artist studio space also is available for rent.

Briana Bartlett, President of FACE, is excited to see the Center in its downtown location because it’s “good for the public to see the benefits of art.” Matt Kargol, the Gallery Coordinator, already has booked the main space for the next two years with a mixture of Iowa-based and national artists. For the Grand Opening, the main gallery was filled with colorful skateboard decks created by Oskaloosa High School art students and their families taking in the work. Under each deck, which ranged in style from a mixed media piece in the style of Lichtenstein to “Other Wordly,” students named the starting bid for their art.

Ms. Kargol directed those interested in finding out more about FACE of Mahaska County and the Oskaloosa Art Center to their website, FACEofMahaska.com. Current updates can be found on the group’s Facebook page. Oskaloosa Community Theatre presented a staged play reading at the Art Center the night after the Grand Opening, and Sarah Kargol said she hopes the Art Center will become a “home base for fine arts in Mahaska County.”

Posted by on May 1 2017. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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