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Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation details $4 million airport art program, accessibility plans
Summary
Dr. Alexa McCarthy told the Des Moines City Council the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation raised about $4 million to commission five site-specific artworks for the new airport and will add Braille and audio labels to make installations accessible.
Dr. Alexa McCarthy, executive director of the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation, told the Des Moines City Council that the foundation has raised about $4 million to fund five site-specific installations for the city's new airport and that each piece will include English and Braille labels and audio descriptions to improve accessibility.
The foundation positions itself as the lead advocate for public art in Greater Des Moines and said it seeks to place work in "unexpected places" and to advance projects through public-private partnerships. "We raised $4 million to fund five site-specific installations that follow Alice Aycock's Liftoff," McCarthy said, adding that roughly $3.5 million of those funds were restricted to the airport as of 2024.
City staff and McCarthy provided details about the five airport commissions: Ann Linberg's Veridis (custom printed glass and aluminum behind baggage claim and ticketing), Adam Frank's bur-oak glass panels with a projected animation component, a large suspended installation by Gordon Huether, Alteronce Gumby's Home Before Dark panels embedding local agates, and a Color Sentinels exterior piece by local RDG Art Studio artist Matt Niebur that will echo Iowa prairie-rose patterns on bus shelters. McCarthy said architectural renderings are conceptual and architects for the airport work include HNTB and BNIM.
The foundation said it does not use city operating funds for these projects; the work is funded by private donors and grants and the foundation serves as a subject-matter expert and liaison for nearby municipalities. McCarthy highlighted partnerships including a Leon Keer augmented-reality mural produced with Principal Financial Group (named among Graffiti Street's top 12 murals internationally for 2025) and a Ricardo Gonzalez mural at 500 Grand done with Operation Downtown and Gallery TJ Moberg.
McCarthy described conservation and community programs: the foundation recently conserved the Miffy Fountain, installing new pavers and landscaping; is redoing citywide artwork labels to include Braille and audio; and runs outreach with schools and arts organizations. She also described a residency that paired visual art and Ballet Des Moines performances; the ballet component was displayed at Olson Larsen Galleries.
During questions, a board member identified only as Linda asked whether other projects have endowments for maintenance. McCarthy said that when she began in 2023 the Miffy Fountain was the only named maintenance endowment, but that the foundation now factors maintenance endowments and expected lifespans into new commissions and prioritizes securing funds to cover future maintenance needs.
Council members thanked the foundation and its donors and expressed enthusiasm for seeing the new works at the airport. The foundation said an Android version of its app will launch to coincide with the airport openings and that audio narration was produced in collaboration with the Iowa Department for the Blind and a local teen tech center.
