Featured Member Project

Featured Member

In an effort to forge a greater connection with their constituents, the Iowa Arts Council is taking their show on the road. This week they kicked off their Office on the Road program, traveling to Dubuque, IA, to meet with constituents. Two Iowa Arts Council (IAC) staff members meet with anyone who wants to talk on a first-come-first-served basis for 20—30 minutes each. "We know a face-to-face meeting can be more effective than emailing or phone calls," IAC Administrator Mary Sundet Jones said. "So we're going around the state to meet with those who don't have the time or means to visit our offices in Des Moines."

They worked with the community arts agency in Dubuque, the Arts and Cultural Advisory Commission, as a local host, to get the word out and coordinate meetings. Artists, local arts professionals, and nonprofit directors outside the arts came seeking assistance, advice, or just an understanding ear. IAC staffers came with no agenda, but offered resources including feedback on a project, guidance on a grant application, or avenues of support. Sundet Jones stresses that this is an open-ended resource for the Iowa arts community, "What do you need to talk to your state arts agency about?" Office on the Road came about from a desire to be more on the ground, and it is more sounding-board than professional development seminar or grantwriting workshop, although IAC offers those as well.

The result is that IAC learns just as much from the constituents who come for meetings as the constituents learn from them. A school district's arts in education coordinator has plans to develop a website where rural Iowa students could connect with the local symphony. A screenwriter is finalizing a script and beginning the process of shopping it around. A group of community members are planning to create an artist-owned building with studio space and an education component to foster mentorships between emerging and established artists. IAC's philosophy is they won't know if they don't ask.

IAC hopes to expand the program in the future, with a second site in Western Iowa in the works for this spring. They are planning to expand to a town hall gathering format along with individual meetings after that. At little to no cost and a huge return on investment, Office on the Road has unlimited potential for IAC, as well as replication by other arts councils around the country.