Des Moines Art Center — Attraction in Des Moines

ATTENTION PEOPLE WITH CHILDREN (I would recommend reading the many other reviews similar to my experience as well) 👇🏽 My family and I have visited many times as we are local. The building? Beautiful. Wide array of artwork to enjoy? Not bad! Welcoming and kind staff? Very, very hit and miss. Each and every time we have visited, I leave feeling unhappy. My complaint are the gallery attendants. I don’t know where they have found these people. It’s as if they’ve given them a course on “how to make people feel uncomfortable” and “how to scowl in a way that makes people want to hide in the next room”. I almost took a picture of one of them. My daughter even commented how it made her uncomfortable. She was just standing a few feet away glaring at us. Make eye contact? She didn’t even look away! Heaven forbid smile! This was for a homeschooling field trip- which should’ve been fun and an escape from the books but every corner we turned it was another unfriendly person watching us as if we were going to grab a painting and take off with it. Let me also mention how we have gone to many, many art museums over the years. We’ve been to the Louvre in Paris and honestly the Kansas City art museum is also fantastic. I have never experienced gallery attendants as unfriendly as Des Moines and ours doesn’t even come close to those. Colored pencils were not allowed in the galleries, Which was frustrating because we were asked at the front desk what type of coloring material we had with us for our homeschooling packets And I told her colored pencils which she said was fine. We get into the gallery and we are immediately approached telling us that those are not allowed. Since it is a dry media, I do not understand why that is the case. Do you also not allow pens in people’s purses? Because I’m sure that isn’t the case. It feels more like a prison than a place where we display forms of human expression.

I would also like to mention that my daughter took art lessons last year in a class for five-year-olds that spanned over 6 weeks. My husband and I were very underwhelmed by the projects they worked on. For example, my daughter brought out a colored on paper, disposable plate. Other days she said she had worked on things, but she had to leave it in the class and that they would get it next time but surprise! There wasn’t anything to take out the next class I brought her too. It was over 2 hours long. What on earth do they do in there that long? They’re 5, not 2. We work on elaborate art projects at home. Give them something challenging and worth the money. Get messy! Make real art! The teacher also seemed very uninterested and quiet when we dropped her off to all the children. My recommendation would be to make the art projects worthy of being at an art center and hire people who want to be there!

Honestly the more reviews I read the more angry I get. How do you expect children to have an interest in the arts if you make it such a horrible please to be? They’re the future, give them a reason to want to come. It’s simple… hire friendly people who take an interest in humans or simply train your staff...

I absolutely loved my (free!) visit to the Des Moines Art Center. I came when they were working on installing a few new exhibits, but there was still plenty to see and ponder here. The staff were overall friendly and kind without being overbearing or interruptive; the fellow who welcomed me in was pleasant and talkative, but at no time did I feel beleagured by our chat. My only complaint is that in the Richard Meier building, one of the staff seemed to get very close to me as I viewed the artpieces, and another staffperson was playing music or a video on his phone, which was quite loud to begin with and echoed up into the top floor.

The art on display was quite captivating and lovely to view, and it spans a wide variety of styles, eras, and cultural origins. The temporary exhibit, Double Take, was interesting, tho I wish there had been clear signage on which photo was staged and which was candid; not knowing made it difficult for me to engage fully with the exhibit. I absolutely fell in love with Water Woman by Wangechi Mutu and kept physically and mentally returning to her. And there were plenty of other stunning pieces I keep thinking about as well.

A stroll thru the Rose Garden afterward was nice; I remain unsure as to where the sculpture garden is. Exterior signage in this way could be improved. I also was delighted by the Little Free Art Gallery by the Center's parking lot. I wish there had been materials provided to make my own piece to add, but I did take a delightful little turtle painting by an artist of the name of Alleighlee.

One major issue I noted was the Center's accesibility. I can see that this museum is trying to be an accessible space, but a few major issues stood out to me. One is that one of two disabled entrances (the one on the north side) appears to be more of a sidedoor and afterthought. The entrance on the south side of the parking lot is a closer choice, but I'd love to see a solution worked out so that people with wheelchairs or strollers can enter thru the main set of doors.

Also, the single elevator in the Meier building was not operating the day I visited. This means that the lower and upper floors could not be accessed by anyone who is unable to use the stairs. The bathroom on the lower level of the Meier building also is mostly accessible (plenty of space, lower paper towel dispenser, etc), aside from the heavy doors that could be an issue for some folks to get open.

Overall I absolutely loved my visit to this museum, but as an ablebodied person, I also had a lot more freedom to roam and explore than some people may have. The artwork here is beautiful and diverse, and has given me so...

I must say that the museum is exceptional and wonderful. The atmosphere is incredibly calm and relaxed which allows you to appreciate all the pieces calmly and in your time. The attention of the staff in all the rooms was first class, the ladies I asked for recommendations and information went beyond a simple instruction, which is quite appreciated because it shows that the staff loves their workplace. The variety of pieces in the permanent exhibitions is amazing with pieces by international artists such as Picasso. It has a restaurant inside the museum which allows you to enjoy a snack during your visit. My recommendation is that you go on Thursdays as they close until late and it gives you the opportunity to observe the whole complex calmly. Best of all, all this wonder is free! So it is definitely a must-see gem when visiting Des Moines.

Debo decir que el museo es excepcional y maravilloso. La atmósfera es increíblemente tranquila y relajada lo que te permite apreciar todas las piezas con calma y a tu tiempo. La atención del personal en todas las salas fue de primer nivel, las señoritas a las que les pregunté recomendaciones e información para poder observar mejor las exposiciones fueron más allá de una simple instrucción, lo que se aprecia bastante porque se nota que el personal ama su lugar de trabajo y se agradece una atención sincera y amable. La variedad de piezas en las exposiciones permanentes es increíble contando con piezas de artistas internacionales y del nombre de talla como Picasso. Tiene un restaurante dentro del museo lo que te permite disfrutar de algún aperitivo durante tu visita. mi recomendación es que acudas en los jueves ya que cierran hasta tarde y te da la oportunidad de observar todo el complejo con calma. Lo mejor de todo es que toda esta maravilla es ¡gratis! así que definitivamente es una joya imperdible al...