The University of Iowa announced today (Wednesday, Oct. 22) the selection of a development partner for the new UI Museum of Art (UIMA). The group selected for negotiations is a partnership between H+H Development Group of Iowa City and Mortenson Inc. of Minneapolis.

The university will now enter into a multi-month negotiation phase with the selected development team. This phase of the project will include selection of the design team, development of the design concept and schematic design targeting a project size of 60,000 square feet, and the establishment of a proposed lease agreement. The lease agreement and design will be presented for Board of Regents consideration and approval as it is completed.

The university intends to deliver the project as a public-private partnership, with the benefit of local, privately owned land near the core of the UI academic campus.

“I am very excited about this major step forward in bringing a new UI Museum of Art facility to our campus and community,” says UI President Sally Mason. “The selected development partners brought many strengths to their proposal that will invigorate the arts at the university, in downtown Iowa City and throughout the community, and across the state.”

One such strength in the proposal is the location of the new building: the southeast corner of the Burlington-Clinton intersection. The new Voxman Music Building will open in 2016 on the southwest corner of that intersection. Executive vice president and provost P. Barry Butler, who announced the selection at the Board of Regents meeting in Iowa City, says this location will “make the museum easily accessible for all UI students, whether they’re taking an art course or just interested in viewing the UI’s wonderful collection.”

The various project stages—Request for Information, Request for Qualifications, proposals—garnered interest and feedback from numerous local, regional, and national developers. Mortenson Inc. has significant major arts project experience.

“We are grateful that the Board of Regents and the university’s president and administration are so devoted to achieving the goal of helping the UIMA recover from the 2008 flood, and of creating a new museum facility to serve Iowa in the 21st century,” says Sean O’Harrow, director of the UI Museum of Art.

Launching I.O.W.A.: “Integrated Outreach With Art”

In addition to moving forward with the Museum of Art, the University of Iowa announced a major outreach effort through the launch of Integrated Outreach With Art (I.O.W.A.), a free, statewide program offered by the UI Museum of Art that includes a wide range of art exhibitions, loans, education programs, and consulting services to partner institutions in Iowa.

The objective is to match the University of Iowa’s Museum of Art offerings with the needs of other organizations in Iowa, enhancing the quality of arts education for Iowans and coordinating services to make them more cost-effective and efficient.

“The 2008 flood devastated the UI Museum of Art's facility, but during the recovery process its staff worked tirelessly to create an all-encompassing program that took art exhibitions and educational programming to audiences in Iowa,” says O’Harrow. “The Great Recession made it difficult for cultural institutions in Iowa to serve their populations. However, UIMA outreach has proven to be a lifeline for audiences in many Iowa communities.”

I.O.W.A. is comprised of many of Iowa’s leading art, cultural, and educational organizations—including 11 museums and galleries, and 16 other communities and 50 schools—in 99 locations in Iowa. I.O.W.A. partners share a vision of creating a network that can be a national leader in transforming arts education through innovations in shared exhibitions and educational programming, encouragement of new research in the arts, development of integrated and efficient models of exhibitions and programming delivery and financing, and optimizing operating activities.

In doing this, I.O.W.A. strives to address the changing cultural and educational environment, ensuring residents and visitors throughout Iowa receive the best possible service.

“This outreach program—Integrated Outreach With Art, or I.O.W.A.—is appropriately titled,” says O’Harrow. “This is the only such initiative in Iowa designed to serve all Iowans in all regions in the state for free. This program provides art exhibitions, loans, arts educational programming, and other services statewide to all participating organizations in an efficient and effective format.”

Any organization in Iowa can take part in I.O.W.A., and the goal is to include as many partners as possible. There are four levels of participation in order to help other organizations understand the options and possible relationships with the UIMA:

• Level 1: Partners that can host UIMA art exhibitions, take in loans of artwork, accept educators and other visiting experts for educational programs, and consult with UIMA staff on issues and solutions. This level could include more substantial long-term loans if appropriate.
• Level 2: Partners that can host an occasional loan of artwork, accept educators and other visiting experts for educational programs, and consult with UIMA staff on issues and solutions.
• Level 3: Partners that can host educators and other visiting experts for educational programs, and consult with UIMA staff on issues and solutions.
• Level 4: Partners that would like to consult with UIMA staff on issues and solutions.

The UIMA’s post-flood outreach efforts have yielded great results. O’Harrow says within the first three years, the initiative tripled the number of people participating per year in UI Museum of Art programs—close to 100,000 people in Iowa. Three years later, around 150,000 people per year take part across the state.

“This translates to 5 percent of the population of Iowa being served by an organization of fewer than 10 museum professionals, which by any measure clearly demonstrates one of the most successful programs in the state today,” O’Harrow says.

Partner Institutions

I.O.W.A. partners benefitting from the exhibitions and loans program include:

• The Sioux City Art Center
• The Dubuque Museum of Art
• The Figge Art Museum in Davenport
• The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art
• The Des Moines Art Center
• The African American Museum of Iowa
• The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library
• The University of Northern Iowa Art Gallery
• The Faulconer Gallery at Grinnell College
• The Luce Gallery at Cornell College
• Kirkwood Community College