The Sioux City Art Center would not have been able to construct its beautiful museum nor would it be able to maintain its programming without the generous support of the Everist, Martin, and Seamster families. In 1985, in anticipation of the need for the Sioux City Art Center to construct a new facility, Margaret Ann Martin Everist initiated the building endowment. Over the next decade she and her husband Hubert would continue to add to the endowment and initiate challenge grants to spur additional donations.

M. A. Martin Everist Foundation

The M. A. Martin Everist Foundation was founded by Margaret Ann Martin Everist in 1990. Since the Sioux City Art Center opened the doors in its current location, the Martin Everist Foundation has provided regular support for important Art Center projects. Among these are:

• The opening of the Margaret Ann Martin Everist Permanent Collection Gallery, the first gallery in the current building to be devoted to showcasing the Art Center’s Permanent Collection. Additional support from the Foundation funded education initiatives that helped bring materials on the Permanent Collection into area classrooms;
• The commissioning of the signature Touched by the Sun by Michael Dunbar outdoor sculpture for the Art Center’s front lawn;
• Promotion for the Gilchrist Learning Center during its first year of operation, including the offering of many free classes and workshops.

The Martin & Seamster Endowment

The Martin & Seamster Endowment was established in 1997 by the Martin and Seamster families to honor Margaret Ann and Hubert H. Everist, and Margaret Ann’s father, T. S. Martin, who was a long-time Sioux City businessman. While commemorating their generous contributions and steadfast support of the Sioux City Art Center, the endowment fund enables the Art Center to develop new and exciting educational programs specifically for its younger audiences. Among the projects made possible by the Martin & Seamster Endowment are:

• The Animation Art of Ron Clements: Modern Disney Magic, a retrospective exhibition focusing on five Disney films produced by Clements. The exhibition opened on September 27, 2003 and was up through December 14, 2003.
• Shootout: A Community-Wide Photography Project and Celebration: Our Siouxland/Our Art Center. While the first show featured work by youth working with adult mentors from the Sioux City Camera Club, the second included close to 500 artworks produced by area elementary through high school students. In both projects the young artists’ works were professionally framed and given to the students.
• John Himmelfarb: TRUCKS and The Penelope Project. This engaging, mixed media exhibition of Chicago-based Himmelfarb’s representations of trucks included Penelope Awaiting Her Chamberlain, a 1946 Chevrolet farm truck that Himmelfarb converted into a mobile sculpture. The truck was towed to every elementary school in Sioux City to inspire the students to create their own truck-themed artworks.