Small Town, Big Art

The 2026 CCHS Art Show The Charles City Arts Center was filled with energy, pride, and creativity as we hosted the opening reception for the Charles City High School Art Show. From 5–7pm, more than 200 community members came through our doors to celebrate the incredible work of our local students. This year’s exhibit features over 200 pieces of artwork spanning a wide range of media, including drawing, painting, photography, digital art, wheel-thrown pottery, and 3D sculptura

The two hour Drum Iowa event on March 27, 2026 at your Charles City Arts Center was delightful! Read on for the full report, and an invitation. First, a Little Background The Drum Iowa facilitator, Myquawn Bailey Sr., MS, fell in love with drumming at his childhood church in Waterloo, Iowa, but was introduced to the power of hand drumming during his eleven years as a first-grade teacher in Cairo, Egypt. After returning to Waterloo, he discovered how much drumming could help a

Discover more about artist Victoria Reed - featured in our permanent collection Crow by Victoria Reed: A staff favorite at the CCAC! “I, for one, believe that our flaws are what ultimately define our personalities. As such, I don't hide errors in my work, I embrace them.”   Victoria Reed My name is Shaune Fields. I am the part time Co-Assistant Director at the Charles City Arts Center, but I also work full time with preschool aged children.  I’ve been with CCAC since August 2

Moral Responsibility of Artists in the Face of Political Power A series review by Kate Campbell How do art and politics meet? Do they conflict? Can art serve a political purpose and remain art? Do artists have any moral responsibility outside of their art? These are very complex questions, which this year’s films addressed. Opening Credits The first two films were set in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. The first artist claimed her films for Hitler were only about art, yet after th

The Holiday Art Market officially wrapped up on January 31st. Emily and Julie immediately began preparing the gallery for our first exhibit of 2026. All consigned artwork previously on display was refreshed and moved into the Galleria shop. These space transitions are no small feat — lots of heavy lifting, ladder climbing, rearranging large pieces, and redirecting lighting to prepare the space. Who needs a gym when you work at the Arts Center?! Julie Carey, setting up consign

Annual Meeting & Member Appreciation Dinner – January 17, 2026 On January 17, more than 50 members gathered at the Charles City Arts Center for a special evening that combined our Annual Meeting with a celebration of the people who make our work possible. The night was filled with conversation, reflection, good food, and shared excitement for the year ahead. The evening began at 5:00 p.m. with cocktails, appetizers, and social time, giving members a chance to reconnect and en

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at a fine arts show or festival? There are lots of moving pieces, and it takes time...

Exhibiting artwork at a fine arts festival requires a lot of planning and preparation work. A seasoned artist who routinely participates...

Is it fine art or is it craft? This is a much debated question that I’ve come back to over and over. On a personal level, this question...

Being an artist can be incredibly rewarding, but it's not without challenges. Creativity and artistic talent are traits often highly...

Fun Its been a very busy month at the Charles City Arts Center. We started out with an Opening Reception for Mariah Piippo on the 2nd....

CHARLES CITY, Iowa - Last night we opened the June exhibit titled "Women" by artist Joan Estlund. It is an exhibit of her digital art works with QR codes to lead those interested to a purchase page. The reception was free and open to the public thanks to our new sponsor The Rustic Corner. Opening night not only featured Joan's artwork, but also an acoustic performance by her of her original songs. She performs under the name Juni West. It was a beautiful performance that fea

CHARLES CITY, Iowa - April came and went quickly. A lot happened! (Apologies for the headline) We hosted the high school art show and as...

This article was originally published in the Charles City Press, 2/13/24. I've added some links and images to the blog version. This...

CHARLES CITY, Iowa - The weather is great and we have a really cool show this month. "Home Free" from artist Tonja Ihlenfeldt features her unique photograph/paintings. “I always purpose to touch the heart of each viewer with a message of hope and love. “Home Free” can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. I desire that someone will walk away from this show seeing hope…that there is a path in life to make everything good.” Ihlenfeldt’s work involves both painting and phot

CHARLES CITY, Iowa - It is impossible to believe that it is February already...But, it's true. I even just doublechecked the calendar. It...

CHARLES CITY, Iowa - The arts center is buzzing in December with lots of events and cool stuff. We kicked it all off on Friday December...

Our opening reception for the exhibit "Intuition" by artist Madalyn Vorrie was a success. THANK YOU! to all who came out to celebrate our November exhibit and artist. It was a fun night. I took a few photos here: Press release: The Charles City Arts Center will exhibit ceramic sculptures by artist Madalyn Vorrie in a November exhibit titled “Intuition”. The exhibit will kick off with an opening reception sponsored by Tellurian Brewing on Friday, November 3rd from 5-7PM at th

CHARLES CITY, Iowa - The Patchwork Pals Quilt Guild opened their October exhibit at the Charles City Arts Center with a reception on Friday, sponsored by Tellurian Brewing. The exhibit is the Guild’s seventh time showing their work at the Arts Center. Guild member Colette Schmidtke is excited to showcase her groups work for October. “The Art Center has been a fine supporter of the guild in helping promote the art of quilting with the displays every two years.” The Guild does

CHARLES CITY, Iowa - The worlds greatest Arts Center (personal opinion) hosted an opening reception for our 2 new mural artists, Molly Keen and Andrea Ehrhardt on Wednesday the 20th of September. The event was a whole mess of fun. Final tally shows that close to 50 people came out to celebrate with us. On a Wednesday night. Our community of art lovers should be super proud of what we are doing in this small little suburb of Colwell that we locals lovingly call Chucktown. We