SIOUX CITY | Back in 1995, a handwritten note containing $2 came across the desk of capital campaign workers. An art-loving, 8-year-old boy dipped into his allowance to help build the Sioux City Art Center, at 225 Nebraska St.
“It was small as could be but as big as he could give,” said Sandy Ellis, who helped coordinate the fundraising effort. “To me, it could’ve been $100. It was just so meaningful.”
He may have been one of the youngest contributors but certainly not the first. Countless community members envisioned having a dedicated space to study, engage in and enjoy the visual arts.
They’ve invested time, talent and funds with the hope that, someday, Sioux City would have an art museum they could point to with pride.
The Sioux City Art Center, which celebrated its centennial on May 16, bears proof of the community’s commitment to art through the ages.
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“The centennial is a milestone,” said Director Al Harris-Fernandez. “It shows the vision and the many, many people from 1914 to the present who have supported the Sioux City Art Center.”
The 100th anniversary has been commemorated, in part, with Jackson Pollock’s “Mural,” which is considered an icon of modern American art. The painting will remain on display through April 2015.
The Sioux City Society of Fine Arts was founded in 1914, and a permanent collection was established within the first two years. Alice K. Lawler, the daughter of one of Sioux City’s early settlers, took up duties of director. She ensured artworks were displayed in buildings throughout the city, but the society did not have a place to call its own.
As a result, the Art Center changed locations several times since its founding – at one time settling into the site of a former laundry and Moose Lodge.
Helen Glazer, who served numerous terms on the Art Center Association board, witnessed the long-awaited advancement of the organization from storefront to a stand-alone building.
She identifies one woman as a driving force behind the multi-million dollar project.
“Margaret Ann Everist really wanted to build and spearheaded the campaign,” Glazer said. “It’s because of her that we have this beautiful building.”
Everist died in 2003, but before she did, the Art Center celebrated a grand opening of its $9.2 million facility in March 1997.
Debbie Boyle was board president of the Art Center Association at the groundbreaking of the new Nebraska Street location.
“In retrospect, I did give a considerable amount of my time both as a volunteer and later as an employee to the Art Center,” she said. “But I received so much more in return: the joy that Margaret Ann Everist's vision became a reality, the awe of the building's exquisite architecture, the pride that our city has such a vibrant arts center and, now, the little thrill I get when my grandsons play in the children's Hands-On! Gallery.”
One goal of the 45,000-square-foot facility, at 225 Nebraska St., aimed to foster an interest in fine art and promote regional artists, plus bring in blockbuster exhibitions.
The first blockbuster exhibit debuted in 2002. It featured more than 60 bronze sculptures by Auguste Rodin. Following shows have brought in everything from motorcycles to images of Marilyn Monroe.
A traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian, called “Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art,” is slated for 2017, according to Harris-Fernandez.
The Art Center continues to grow with sights set on a 13,000-square-foot Learning Center, which is intended to increase access to education programs.
“For me, it’s the education and the exhibitions that have made such a difference,” Boyle said. “It gives me great joy because it’s reaching so many people – even more than we could have imagined.”
