Request to view artwork
The Stanley Museum of Art’s collection belongs to the State of Iowa, and we want you to have access to all of it.
While only a small percentage of the full collection can be on view at any time, you can make a request to see a specific artwork during our public viewing hours.
Requests must be made at least one month in advance to allow time for the registrarial team to assess the object to determine whether it can safely be removed from storage for study and prepare it for viewing.
Contact us (stanley-museum@uiowa.edu), with questions.
Request a tour
Families, friends, and organizations can request free tours of the Stanley’s collection.
Tours typically last one hour and occur during normal museum hours. Docents or museum staff lead all scheduled tours.
Minimum tour size is 7 people. Tours must be requested at least one month in advance.
Contact Josh Siefken, Associate Curator of Education (joshua-siefken@uiowa.edu), with questions.
Explore the collection online
Explore our digital guide through Bloomberg Connects.
Bloomberg Connects is a free digital guide to hundreds of cultural organizations around the world that makes it easy to access and engage with arts and culture from mobile devices, anytime, anywhere. Participating organizations include botanical gardens, historic houses, outdoor sculpture parks, and world-class museums. Bloomberg Connects features expert commentary, engaging audio content, accessibility feature, interactive maps, and is available in over 40 languages through Google Translate.
Our guide offers audio tours, collection highlights and other exhibition-related content developed by staff and students, interactive maps, and more.
Explore select collection highlights on our website.
In the midst of the Great Depression, the University of Iowa embarked on a visionary expansion. Seeking to integrate and professionalize arts teaching as part of its core identity, the Fine Arts and Performing Arts buildings were constructed on West campus. The UI was one of the first public universities to understand the power of art to encourage independent, creative, and responsive thought while fostering a robust civil society. In a period marked by economic and political crises, the UI established the first MFA program in the world and committed itself to collecting the best contemporary art from which students and faculty could learn and generate research.
Explore some of our collection through the Iowa Digital Library.
The Iowa Digital Library features a trove of digital objects created from the holdings of the University of Iowa Libraries and its campus partners. Included are illuminated manuscripts, historic maps, fine art, historic newspapers, scholarly works, and more.
Before the Stanley Museum of Art reopened in 2022, we collaborated with the UI Main Libraries and the Digital Scholarship & Publishing Studio to publish some of our collection online. The Iowa Digital Library allows you to explore a sample of the range, depth, and breadth of our extraordinary collection.
Teach with the collection
Schedule a K-12 Tour
The Stanley School Programs offers tailored tours for your K–12 class or organization. Led by trained docents or museum staff, students will learn about the history of the museum, view key works in our collection, and engage in lively discussions and activities to ignite their critical thinking skills and imaginations.
Access K-12 Instructor Resources
In addition to museum visits, we offer teacher resources about the Stanley School Programs Collection for K–12 teachers and students.
Schedule a University Visit
Faculty, staff, and students may request an exhibition tour in our galleries or a specialized viewing experience of work in our visual laboratory and classroom through our online visit request form.
Access University Instructor Resources
In addition to museum visits, we offer instructor resources about the collection and programs. This includes digital files, worksheets, downloadable PDFs, and videos.
Attend a museum program or event
The museum hosts a variety of programs and events which are free to attend for all members of the community.
Information about specific event series or events for specific audiences (children, UI students) can be found here.
Art & Write Night
Join the long, rich, historical tradition of artists creating in our spaces.
Professional, aspiring, and amateur artists alike, make our museum your muse. The return of this popular program series welcomes guests into the Museum of Natural History's magical gallery spaces after-hours to work on sketching or writing projects with other campus and community artists.
Tell a friend, grab a notebook, and join us on the first Friday of each month. We'll provide a new inspo prompt for each session and...
Friday Crafternoons
Need a creative break at the end of the week? Swing by the Stanley on Friday afternoons to work on a craft project of your choice.
Bring your own in-progress project or start a new one using the various supplies provided. Try your hand at sketching, coloring, knitting, embroidery, origami, and so much more in a relaxing, low-pressure environment. Stay as long as you like and make new connections. Light snacks will be provided.
Friday Crafternoons occurs almost every Friday at the Stanley Museum of...
Friday Crafternoons
Need a creative break at the end of the week? Swing by the Stanley on Friday afternoons to work on a craft project of your choice.
Bring your own in-progress project or start a new one using the various supplies provided. Try your hand at sketching, coloring, knitting, embroidery, origami, and so much more in a relaxing, low-pressure environment. Stay as long as you like and make new connections. Light snacks will be provided.
Friday Crafternoons occurs almost every Friday at the Stanley Museum of...
Write at the Stanley: A Generative Writing Workshop
Join us monthly to generate new creative writing inspired by works in the Stanley collection. Each session will be led by a different talented writer from our area, who will be offering a new prompt and a new approach to ekphrastic writing (writing inspired by visual art). Bring your own notebook and pencil or computer and leave with the beginning of a newly written piece.
Co-sponsored by Iowa City Poetry. Teen and adult writers in all genres are welcome.
Write at the Stanley meets every fourth...
Exhibition Opening Reception and Artist Talk by Ibrahima Thiam
Join us for an opening reception for the concurrent exhibitions, Portraiture & Archives in African Photography and Maam Njaré: Goddess of Water.
Featured artist and co-curator of the exhibitions, Ibrahima Thiam will give a short presentation, followed by a Q&A session. Refreshments will be provided.
This program is free and open to all.
Teaching with the Museum: Faculty Workshop & Happy Hour
Start the semester at the Stanley and learn how to make the most of the museum in your teaching practice. Whether you already bring your classes to the museum or are curious about teaching with our collection for the first time, join us for a day built for faculty and instructors.
In two workshop sessions, museum staff will introduce object-based learning, share museum resources, and offer hands-on ways to bring the galleries into your teaching, from activating nuanced class discussion to...