Des Moines Art Festival opens with lofty expectations

What’s considered one of the nation’s top ten art festivals is underway today in central Iowa, with prices on items ranging from 25-dollars to 25-thousand dollars. The Des Moines Arts Festival got applications from 865 artists to take part this year and the top ones were chosen to display their works, according to fest executive director Mo Dana. There are 150 artists from 37 states and England bringing work in 14 categories, including: sculpture, wood, ceramics, glass, metalwork, photography, painting and jewelry. 30 of the artists are from Iowa. There are also 18 young Iowa artists who were chosen to display their works. Dana says there are 30 different children’s art events at this year’s festival — all of which are free. This is the sixth Des Moines Arts Festival in its current form, stretching across three downtown bridges over the Des Moines River. The ranking publication, the “ArtFair SourceBook” of the 400 best shows in the nation, ranks the Des Moines festival number-six in the U.S., which Dana says is both a blessing and a sort of curse. St. Louis has the best art fair according to the publication, followed by San Francisco, California; Reston, Virginia; Kansas City, Missouri; and Denver, Colorado.