Landmark Arts Festival
Saturday, September 19 | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
DMACC Newton Campus — Carroll Bennett Building
600 North 2nd Avenue West, Newton, Iowa 50208
NEWTON, Iowa — DMACC's Newton Campus will host a first-of-its-kind arts festival this weekend, showcasing around 20 artists and welcoming the community to enjoy hands-on creative activities and live performances.
At the Landmark Arts Festival (Saturday, Sept. 19, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) artists will be stationed at booths inside the DMACC Conference Center and activities are planned in the atrium and auditorium of the Carroll Bennett Building.
Organized by Rachel Braafhart, Conference Center Coordinator, and Sophie Parker, Executive Director of the Centre for Arts and Artists (CAA) in Newton, the free, family-friendly festival is a reimagined successor to the notable Iowa Sculpture Festival.
Braafhart and Parker describe the inaugural event as something of a pilot episode — a first season they hope earns a renewal.
"I'm really proud of us for tackling this kind of monumental event," Braafhart said. "I think any time you do something new but also something that's a reimagined or revised version of something that used to be, there's a little bit of pressure. You want to tread carefully because there are expectations."
The Iowa Sculpture Festival ran from the early 2000s until 2017 and, in that time, helped lay the groundwork for CAA and Newton's local arts community. The Landmark Arts Festival carries that legacy forward, but with a different focus: rather than centering on sculpture alone, organizers designed the event to showcase a much wider range of art forms and to make the day a more accessible celebration of local creativity.
To help ensure the festival returns in future years, Braafhart and Parker brought on several sponsors and vendors and assembled a roster of about 20 artists (75% of whom are local) to display and sell work, complete on-the-spot commissions, and lead demonstrations.
The festival lineup covers a wide range of mediums, from glass blowing, print making, and acrylic painting to illustration, watercolor, and papier maiche.
CAA Director Sophie Kruger summed up the spirit of the event simply in an interview with the Newton Daily News: "Creativity is a language everyone can speak."
A Community-Themed Art Competition
The Landmark Arts Festival also includes an art competition with a twist. Rather than judging pieces against each other for general quality (something organizers felt would be too subjective) participating artists were challenged to create work centered on the theme of community.
A judge will select the entries that best capture that theme, with cash prizes awarded to top finishers.
More to See and Do
Beyond the artist vendors and competition, the Landmark Arts Festival will include:
- Free, interactive stations designed for visitors of all ages and abilities
- A collaborative community art piece
- Live music performances
- Screenings of the Newton-based independent film "Littles" by Ketcham Pictures and "Midnight Metro: A Fashion Story," a documentary by the DMACC Fashion Institute
Plan Your Visit
Admission is free. Visitors interested in purchasing artwork are encouraged to bring cash — an ATM is available on-site at DMACC Newton Campus.
For more information, visit caanewton.org/landmarkartsfestival.