Exhibitions

The Sioux City Art Center’s exhibitions primarily include artworks made by contemporary artists who live and work in the upper Midwest. Exhibitions include thematic group exhibitions, one-person exhibitions, and both local and regional juried exhibitions. Large exhibitions of any kind are presented in either or both of the Art Center’s third-floor galleries, each of which has approximately 3,000 square feet of space.

View Current Exhibitions

Exhibitions

View Current Exhibitions

Exhibitions include thematic group exhibitions, one-person exhibitions, and both local and regional juried exhibitions.

More About Our Exhibitions

Second-floor gallery space is reserved for exhibitions with a local connection. Three first-floor galleries are used to present exhibitions of artworks in the permanent collection.

In 2003, the Art Center began a new series of exhibitions that are sponsored by the Blockbuster Partners, a group of supporters who are committed to making large-scale exhibitions accessible to the Sioux City community. Subjects of Blockbuster exhibitions since 2003 have included Rodin, da Vinci, and Pollock, and have featured subjects ranging from Colonial and early American historical objects and the photographic documentation of the western United States to motorcycles and Lego bricks.

Current Exhibitions

Ground Work

August 25, 2026—January 24, 2027

Ground Work explores how Iowa’s landscapes have inspired artists across generations. Drawn primarily from the Sioux City Art Center’s collection, this exhibition features paintings, photographs, and works on paper that reflect the beauty, labor, and changing character of the Midwest. From quiet seasonal scenes to contemporary perspectives on agriculture and environmental change, Ground Work invites visitors to discover how artists have interpreted the land as both a place and a lasting source of inspiration.

Siouxland Artist 2026 Exhibition

June 25, 2026—October 11, 2026

Pasture to Present

June 13, 2026—December 6, 2026

Pasture to Present: New Visions of Rural America is a two-part exhibition inspired by Grant Wood’s Corn Room murals. Originally commissioned for the Martin Hotel in Sioux City, Iowa, these murals resonate with a uniquely American view of the landscape, one steeped in symbolism, cultural pride, and an idealized view of the agricultural Midwest.

David Plowden’s Iowa

May 4, 2026—February 7, 2027

David Plowden’s Iowa, a series of black and white photographs shot over four decades, takes a sharp and expansive view of Iowa’s rural communities and agricultural landscapes, including barns, grain elevators, rail lines, businesses, highways, and the remains of once-busy towns.

Regionalism: Selections from the Permanent Collection

April 12, 2022—December 31, 2040

Since the Corn Room panels were removed in February 2025 and are being conserved for the second time in 40 years, I have reprised this exhibition to celebrate the Regionalist movement from the Art Center’s collection.

Upcoming Exhibitions

Powwow Portraits

October 22, 2026—January 10, 2027

Photographer Savannah Berlyn Anderson celebrates the people, regalia, and traditions of contemporary powwow culture through a series of striking portraits made during the 2026 Powwow on the Winnebago Reservation. Paired with examples of regalia and handcrafted moccasins from her Moccasin Portraits series, the exhibition highlights the artistry, craftsmanship, and personal stories woven into each photograph and object.

ARTcetera 2027

December 31, 2026—March 19, 2027

The Sioux City Art Center will present ARTcetera in early 2027 and we would love to include your artwork. The artworks in ARTcetera will be installed in our three first-floor galleries, totaling approximately 5,000 square feet.

Marc Handelman | West After West

February 11, 2027—June 20, 2027

West After West features a compelling series of paintings by Marc Handelman that reexamines the legacy of the Lewis and Clark Expedition through art, history, and science. Inspired by botanical specimens collected during the Corps of Discovery, Handelman’s layered paintings blend landscape, abstraction, and historical imagery to explore themes of westward expansion, colonialism, and the changing American landscape. Presented in Sioux City, along the historic expedition route, the exhibition invites visitors to consider how the past continues to shape our understanding of place, identity, and the natural world.

Youth Art Month Exhibition: Elementary Students

February 19, 2027—April 19, 2027

In celebration of Youth Art Month, the Sioux City Art Center will feature its 36th annual Youth Art Month Exhibition, featuring work by high school students.

Past Exhibitions

2026 Biennial: Interstates

April 16, 2026—August 9, 2026

For the 2026 Sioux City Art Center Biennial, we invite artists to create new work that reflects on movement, connection, and distance as they shape life in Siouxland, Iowa, and the region.

Heather Akerberg: Both, And

March 6, 2026—June 14, 2026

Heather Akerberg is an award-winning textile artist whose bold, contemporary quilts have a deep respect for traditional techniques yet continually push the boundaries of quilting as a fine art medium. Born in Sioux City and now based in Omaha, Nebraska, Akerberg begins each new piece with a digital design that plays with tonal color and intricate patterns.

Youth Art Month Exhibition: Middle School Students

February 19, 2026—April 19, 2026

In celebration of Youth Art Month, the Sioux City Art Center presents its 37th annual Youth Art Month Exhibition, featuring work by middle school students.

Xavier Tavera: Borderlands

October 30, 2025—March 29, 2026

Begun in 2016, this series of photographs documents the people and places that define life along the U.S.–Mexico border. Rather than portraying the border as a fixed line, Tavera invites viewers to see it as a layered and evolving space shaped by shared history and overlapping cultures.