It sure didn’t take long for the Iowa Arts Council to get rolling after Gov. Harold Hughes and the Iowa Legislature established it in 1967. By the end of the year, the new group had already lent its support to Iowans involved in ballet, theater, modern dance, opera, symphonic orchestras, art exhibits, architecture, motion pictures and even a weaving workshop. “There’s about everything but modern jazz, and it’s too bad we don’t have some of that,” council director Jack Olds told the Des Moines Register at the time.

 

So now, 50 years later, we're  celebrating the Iowa Arts Council’s statewide support for the arts – including modern jazz – with an array of golden anniversary programs and special events, culminating with the Celebrate Iowa Gala on Dec. 8 at the State Historical Museum of Iowa.

 

As it turns out, our Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs colleagues at the State Historical Society of Iowa are celebrating its own anniversary – 160 years – so we’re planning to mark our milestones together. (Not to brag, but that’s more than two centuries of Iowa arts and history!)