Join us for the first installment of Night at the Museum for this academic year — a series of monthly events for students that occur on Thursday nights, when the museum is open late.   This month, in honor of National Voter Registration Day (Sept. 17), the Stanley is helping students learn about voter registration and civic engagement! Members of UI student org Hawk the Vote will be present to register students to vote and talk about the value of participating in elections at all levels...

Enjoy refreshments, curator remarks, and an open house in recognition of the fall 2024 Main Library Gallery exhibit, Hawkeye Histories | Sporting Stories, curated by Dr. Jennifer Sterling. Event Schedule  4–6 p.m.: Reception and open house with curator Dr. Jennifer Sterling 4:30 p.m.: Brief remarks from Sterling in the Main Library Gallery  6 p.m.: Opening event ends 8 p.m.: Main Library Gallery closes (open late on Tuesdays) Admission to the gallery is always free. No RSVP required for...

Celebrate Grandparents' Day at the Stanley with a special Sunday with the Docents tour. Discover how different generations perceive art with docent, Laurie Zaiger and her granddaughter, P.J. Huch, as they discuss select art works from the museum collection. They will share how a child and an adult each experience artworks and what they can learn from each other. This tour is part of the Sundays with the Docents program, where Stanley docents create unique tours to share with our audiences...

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...

Join us for the annual Jeanne and Richard Levitt Lecture featuring artist and UIowa alum, Jiha Moon. The talk will be accompanied by a reception celebrating Moon’s latest mural installation in the museum lobby, One An Other. Moon will discuss the process behind the mural's creation and her studio practice since leaving Iowa. Completed in July 2024, One An Other is the third installment in the Stanley Museum of Art's Threshold series, and represents the most ambitious site-specific installation...

Join us for an evening filled with incredible performances, stunning art displays, and delicious food at Black Market Connection 2024 at the Stanley! Discover the beauty of Black entrepreneurship and culture, and support and connect with Black artists and entrepreneurs in the Iowa City community.  Dress up or come as you are and celebrate Black art, culture and experience with us! Performances by talented poets, rappers, and singers Music by the amazing DJ cDisiac Artworks displayed in a...

Join us for the latest session of Stanley Sage, a program designed for older adults. This month, in Stories from the Studio, explore the dynamic environment of an art studio classroom and the transformative impact it has on both students and teacher. Artist and teacher Laurie Zaiger will discuss how she teaches technique and structure while nurturing each student’s artistic voice.  Stanley Sage aims to inspire older adults to engage with the arts by learning about local artists' experiences and...

Keith Haring captivated audiences with bold lines and dynamic figures. He also loved to dance. After discussing Haring's work in the gallery, we'll create our own iconic figures using the freeze dance game in our lobby! Show off your own dance. When the music stops, hold that pose! A friend will trace your outline. After repeating this a few times, we'll color in the outlines with colors and patterns. If the weather permits, we will use sidewalk chalk in Gibson Square Park (in front of the...

Start your weekend early with an epic 80s-theme dance party against the vibrant backdrop of the Stanley Museum of Art! Dance the night away under the open sky in Gibson Square Park, surrounded by art, music by DJ Ahzia, and delicious food from Da Flava Unit. Inspired by the vibrant and energetic works of Keith Haring, currently on display at the Stanley, Dance Party with My Friends is a celebration of color, dance, and pure 80s fun. Explore the museum's galleries before or after hitting the...

Join us at the Stanley Museum of Art on Aug. 4 at 2 p.m. for our Sundays with the Docents tour where Stanley docents create unique tours to share with our audiences throughout the year. The Art of Medicine will be led by Docent Ellen Link. Ellen is a graduate of the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, and was a faculty member in the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics for over 25 years. She is now an Emeritus Faculty who holds a passion for art and art museums, and has developed an...

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...

The University of Iowa is planning to retire the Arts Iowa calendar website effective June 30, 2024. Retiring the Arts Iowa calendar website is necessary because the platform on which the site is built will soon be obsolete and no longer supportable. Additionally, traffic to the site has declined significantly in recent years as users increasingly find event information through the UI Events calendar (events.uiowa.edu) and your respective collegiate and departmental websites. Finally, the...

Join us at the Stanley Museum of Art on June 23 for our second Sundays with the Docents tour where Stanley docents create unique tours to share with our audiences throughout the year. Weird Science will be led by Docent Mary Blackwood who will explore how artists have been influenced by the culture, knowledge, and politics of the societies in which they live and work. Through the Stanley's collections, visitors will discover whether artists incorporate science in their art subconsciously or...

Iowa City’s biggest event of the year returns this summer! The Stanley Museum of Art will be part of the 7th Annual Downtown Block Party on Saturday, June 22, 2024 from 4–8 p.m. Stop by the Stanley kiosk to try your hand at painting a mural with us! Grab some chalk and let your imagination run wild or pick a card from our inspiration deck to get your ideas flowing!  The activity is inspired by Keith Haring's mural which is now on view at the Stanley Museum of Art through January 7, 2025. Keith...

Join us for a children's art-making workshop focused on the beloved book The Rainbow Fish. After listening to the story, participants will create their own beautiful, shimmery rainbow fish collage using metallic paper. Workshop led by Debra Marqusee. Stanley Creates is planned with families in mind; UI students are also welcome to attend. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Space is limited so please reserve your spot here.

First Round is a monthly gathering gives locals the opportunity to meet new people, socialize, and learn about the latest happenings in the arts, business, and culture sectors of our community. The Stanley Museum of Art is hosting First Round for the month of June and providing guests with their first beverage. Event begins at 5 p.m. followed by a panel discussion taking place from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Lauren Lessing will be in conversation with Jim Hayes about the latest exhibition at the Stanley, T...

The Stanley Museum of Art will be at the 2024 Iowa Arts Festival! Stop by our stall on Sunday, June 9 for a day of family-friendly art-making activities and learn more about what the Stanley has to offer!  The Iowa Arts Festival is an award-winning, weekend-long community celebration and Iowa City tradition that celebrated 40 years in 2023. The event features over 100 local, regional and national visual artists in the Art Fair, and on Saturday and Sunday, we feature youth artists ages 16-25 in...

The Iowa City Gallery Walk is back this summer and once again begins at the Stanley! Kick start the Gallery Walk at the Stanley Museum of Art and experience the newest Keith Haring exhibition! Enjoy snacks, a cash bar, and music performed by Melanie Landsittel in the lobby. To My Friends at Horn: Keith Haring and Iowa City celebrates Keith Haring's legacy and honors the many individuals who shaped his visits to Iowa City during the 1980s. It features the mural Haring painted in 1989 for Ernest...

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...

The Drawing Salon focuses on drawing artworks from the museum's collection. Each session will focus on a different artwork. The sessions will begin with an introduction and discussion of the selected work. Participants will be encouraged to pursue their own visions and to take inspiration from the artworks in the gallery. Pencils and sketchbooks/paper are the only artmaking materials allowed in the galleries. The museum has golf pencils with erasers and clipboards for participants to use...