Des Moines Arts Festival - Gathering Table Lectures and Demonstrations
ART + ADVOCACY SHARING TO ELEVATE CULTURAL EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN OUR ARTS AND CULTURE COMMUNITY.
Vongai Mercy Takuva (she/her) Advocate | Entrepreneur. Mercy is from Zimbabwe and a 2022 Mandela Washington Fellow.
Mercy's MWF Fellowship Project
Academic accessibility among disabled students at my University, Reformed Church University. "My goal is to bring about sustainable, inclusive change through embracing diversity and obtaining assistive technology and universal design for my university.
Jack Marren (he/him) Paint + Mixed media. Jack is from Iowa, a 2022 AXA Mentee, a 2022 Art Week Mural Artist, 2017 Best Buddies International Ambassador, and the 2017 Keynote Speaker at the BBIA Ambassador Leadership Conference. https://youtu.be/mFt1xIBqUmk
Jack’s 2022 start-up art business: Dare To Dream
Zoe (she/her) Paint + Mixed media canvas sculptures. Zoe would love to sell her artwork, primarily so she can afford more materials- her work is all about the process of creating- almost more than the end project. She would love to host gallery openings and work with other artists to learn more and develop her skills. All her work is inspired by current events or dreams.
Mark (he/him) Sketching and graphite drawings. Mark makes cards and currently sells them at farmer’s markets. Has a great strength to recreate photos and images with great accuracy. His work has been shown in several exhibits at Mainframe Studios. Mark is interested in entering more exhibits and working with artists to gain more experience. Mark loves to make special drawings for the people who are in his life and to share them as gifts. Very thoughtful and empowered throughout his life as an artist.
Nathan (he/him) Pastels and colored pencils. Nathan is interested in learning and developing his interest in art- he loves to draw food and characters/cartoons. Nathan is fairly new to the scene but very talented and motivated by art and the promise of making amazing works and connecting socially with other artists - he knows no strangers.
Vera (she/her) Mixes her own paint colors and creates collages with ripped paper, glue, and paints. Her artworks serve as one of her main means of communication and connection. Vera would love opportunities to make wonderful, colorful messes and have lots of free expression space and materials to work with.
Keith (he/him) Watercolor and acrylic paint. He tackles work quickly with beautiful and very colorful results. Keith loves to explore different methods and materials and has an amazing talent with form and placement. Keith is very soft-spoken and focused. He loves to make artwork to share. The process is what he enjoys the most.
Ryan (he/him) Builds squares on a page with a black sharpie and a ruler before filling the squares with every color of the rainbow. He can tackle a complicated drawing in 45 minutes and has a great capacity for making numbers of drawings to share. Each one is an original.
SUPPORT FOR THIS DEMONSTRATION PROVIDED BY
MOSAIC IN CENTRAL IOWA
THE HARKIN INSTITUTE
THE MANDELA WASHINGTON FELLOWSHIP 2022
