Organizers of the Southwest Iowa Art Tour has announced there will be 19 locations in 13 communities over the three day event that takes place this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (September 18-21).
This is a self-guided tour where more than 70 artists will showcase a range of works from fiber art to sculpture, pottery, painting, metal works, jewelry, and glassware.
Tour locations include former churches, renovated barns, and historic opera houses.
This year's art tour hours are Friday at 11 locations from four until seven p.m. and at all 19 locations on Saturday from ten until five and Sunday from noon until four.
Click HERE to read and download a 2026 map courtesy of the Southwest Iowa Art Tour.
News release from the Southwest Iowa Art Tour:
The Southwest Iowa Art Tour is preparing for its thirteenth year connecting rural communities through art. Mark your calendars for Friday, September 18th, Saturday, September 19th and Sunday, September 20th this year!
In 2014, a group of southwest Iowa artists came together to pull off a regional event to connect their rural communities – a self-guided ‘Art Tour’ that would showcase their artworks, studios, galleries, and hometowns. The first year included nine participating communities and thirty artists.
The success of the Southwest Iowa Art Tour has grown the thirteenth annual event to include thirteen communities, nineteen Gathering Places, and more than doubled the number of participating artists.
This self-guided tour allows participants to begin and end where they would like, come and go from location to location at their leisure, and explore diverse art forms – including fiber art, sculpture, pottery, painting, metal works, jewelry, glassware and much more from more than seventy artists.
The nineteen unique stops this year include many familiar locations, plus a few new stops, in unique locations including former churches, renovated barns, historic opera houses, and more.
Gathering Places will be located in the following Southwest Iowa towns: rural Clarinda, Corning, Council Bluffs, Crescent, Glenwood, Harlan, Macedonia, Malvern, Neola, Red Oak, Stanton, Sidney, and rural Thurman.
Gathering Places that are new to the Southwest Iowa Art Tour this year include The Studio in downtown Stanton, The Wilson Performing Arts Center in Red Oak, Studio 26 Gallery in Glenwood, Reinert Images in Glenwood, Jody Ann Art in Crescent. The Harlan Gathering Place has moved to a different host location on the square, and doubled to side by side Gathering Places at Coffee Girl and Christian’s Rise Donuts on Market Street.
The Southwest Iowa Art Tour will be held on its traditional third Saturday and Sunday in September, with an additional Friday “Sneak Peek” at select locations. Modification of the Southwest Iowa Art Tour into a three-day event has allowed the public extra time to visit as many Gathering Places as possible over the weekend.
This year’s Friday “Sneak Peek” hours are from 4 to 7 PM on September 18th at 11 of the 19 locations. This will provide attendees with the additional opportunity to explore the Gathering Places in many of the communities a little early. The hours for all locations are from 10 AM to 5 PM on Saturday, September 19th and from Noon to 4 PM on Sunday, September 20th. Please check the website for a map and full listing of Gathering Places.
The Southwest Iowa Art Tour began with the intent to not only bring awareness of the arts and artists in rural southwest Iowa, but also to help support economic reinvestment in our small towns through the arts.
Remember that when you purchase an original piece of work from an artist, you are directly helping to make the arts a viable career choice in our area. Each location offers a taste of something different – literally and figuratively. Wine tastings, snacks, live music, art demonstrations, live paintings, adaptive re-use of historic buildings, and great conversations with local artists await you. And while you’re at it, grab a shake from that local ice cream shop or have dinner from a restaurant on the route. We encourage you to bring cash, as not all artists can process cards or accept checks.
Coordination of the Southwest Iowa Art Tour is transitioning this year, being handed off by Becca Castle Laughlin of Imogene to Golden Hills RC&D in Oakland, with support from Mallory Finch and the collaborative efforts of local participating artists. Fiscal sponsorship is provided by the Community Foundation for Western Iowa.
Funding for coordination and promotion of this event, which is free to the public, comes in part from local sponsorships. This year, partnering supporters at the $1,000+ level are the Montgomery County Supervisors, Houghton State Bank of Red Oak, Pottawattamie Countywide Tourism Promotion Committee, Fremont County Tourism Board, and a Community Impact Grant from the Community Foundation for Western Iowa. The $350 sponsors for 2026 include Malvern Bank, Kohll’s RX of Malvern & Council Bluffs, Blick Art Supplies, Dave Carbaugh State Farm of Glenwood & Red Oak, and Pottawattamie Arts, Culture, and Entertainment (PACE) in Council Bluffs.
We are proud to have the support of more than two dozen local businesses and organizations as sponsors or partners for the 13th Annual Southwest Iowa Art Tour. We encourage you to support those businesses who support the arts in southwest Iowa, and make the most of your Southwest Iowa Art Tour experience by stopping at the great restaurants and other shops in the host towns. A full listing of sponsors of the Art Tour, as well as a map so you can plan out your route, can be found on our website at www.swiarttour.com or in our full-color brochure, available at each Gathering Place!
For more information be sure to check the “Southwest Iowa Art” Tour Facebook page (with individual Facebook Events for each Gathering Place) and visit the website: www.swiarttour.com, or contact Becca at swiarttour@gmail.com. Come support our artists in Southwest Iowa, and be a part of “connecting rural communities through art.”
