By Heather Dewey Wagner, Executive Director
As I look back on this year at Eastern Iowa Arts Academy, I feel proud, grateful, and honestly a little amazed by everything that has happened.
This has been one of the biggest years of growth in our history. Not just in numbers, although those numbers are incredible. Our on site youth participation has grown by over 400 percent in one year. That kind of growth tells us something very clearly.
The need is real.
Families are looking for meaningful creative outlets for their children. Teens are looking for places where they can feel safe, seen, and accepted. Adults are looking for ways to reconnect with creativity. Artists and musicians are looking for places where their work is valued. Community members are looking for spaces that feel welcoming, alive, and full of purpose.
When we moved into the historic 1914 Arthur Elementary School, we knew we were stepping into something much bigger than a building. We were stepping into a responsibility. We are proud to say that Arthur is now a local historic landmark, and we are honored to care for its history while transforming it into a vibrant arts home for children, teens, adults, artists, musicians, families, volunteers, and community members of all abilities.
This building has changed what is possible for us.
It has given our students more room to create. It has given our musicians more room to rehearse and perform. It has given our students a place to gather and learn. It has given local artists a place to show their work. It has given families a place to come for support. It has given our staff, teachers, interns, and volunteers a place to build something meaningful together.
This year, we were very intentional about growth. We did not expand everything just to be bigger. We expanded where the need was clear and where the opportunity made sense.
Our adult programming has grown in exciting ways. More adults are coming into the Academy for classes, memberships, creative gatherings, civic meetings, and opportunities to try something new. Some are lifelong artists. Some have not made art since they were children. Some are simply looking for connection, joy, and a reason to make time for themselves. We love seeing adults walk into our building and realize this place is for them too.
We also began developing North Star, our adaptive arts program for K through 12 students with profound and severe disabilities. North Star is deeply important to us because it reflects what we believe at our core. The arts should be available to every child, including children who have too often been left out of traditional creative spaces. Every student deserves access to color, sound, movement, expression, choice, and creative experiences designed with them in mind.
TalkBack Studios has also taken a huge step forward. This year, we expanded the studio into a much larger creative space with a live studio, a mixing studio, and two vocal booths. This has opened the door for more students, bands, vocalists, songwriters, podcasters, and community members to record, learn, collaborate, and create in a professional environment.
There is something powerful about watching a student hear their own voice played back for the first time. You can see confidence appear in real time. You can see them start to understand that their voice matters.
Our Rock Academy students continue to rehearse, perform, and grow as musicians and people. They are learning commitment, courage, teamwork, stage presence, and how to show up for each other. Our young visual artists continue to fill our studios (and stairwell) with color, ideas, questions, and imagination. Our outreach programs continue to reach students and adults who may not otherwise have access to the arts.
Nearly 80 percent of our youth students receive financial aid. That is central to who we are. We never want cost to be the reason a child cannot take an art class, join a band, record a song, have an instrument, or find a creative home. Every day, we see students who simply need access, encouragement, supplies, transportation, food, clothing, and adults who believe in them.
This year, our Carry Out Corner food pantry and clothing closet have also become an important part of how we care for people. These resources have helped Academy families, but they have also helped the wider community. Sometimes someone needs a coat. Sometimes they need food for the weekend. Sometimes they need hygiene items, school supplies, or clothing for a child. Sometimes they just need to know that someone sees them and cares.
We are proud to be a place where people can come as they are and receive support without judgment.
We are also incredibly proud of our student interns. They come to us from area high schools, colleges, and universities, and they bring so much energy, creativity, curiosity, and heart into this building. They help in classrooms, support programs, assist with events, sort bread for the food pantry, learn from our staff, and become part of the life of the Academy. Watching young people grow into leaders, teachers, artists, musicians, and professionals is one of the most meaningful parts of this work.
We are huge supporters of local creative people because we know how much talent exists right here in our community. Through our Litow Gallery, local artists have a place to display their work and share their voices with the public. Our building is becoming a place where people can see local art, meet artists, support handmade work, and understand that creativity is not something that happens somewhere else. It is happening right here.
That is also why we are so excited to host our first art market, Chroma, on June 13th right here on our property. Chroma will bring artists, makers, families, shoppers, and community members together in celebration of local creativity. It is exactly the kind of event we dreamed about when we imagined what Arthur could become. A place where the arts are visible. A place where artists are supported. A place where the community gathers.
Of course, with this growth comes responsibility.
We are still working hard to make the Arthur building fully accessible. The Hall-Perrine Foundation is offering us a $300,000 matching grant for this work, and we are very close to meeting that match. We just need one more push to get across the finish line.
These renovations are about more than construction. They are about dignity, independence, and access. They are about making sure that every child, parent, artist, volunteer, student, musician, and community member can fully take part in life at the Academy. Elevators, accessible restrooms, safer entryways, classroom access, accessible sinks, and other improvements are all part of making sure this historic building truly serves everyone.
Looking ahead, we are focused on building an Academy that is creative, accessible, welcoming, and sustainable.
We are also working hard to build long term sustainability. That means growing our endowment, increasing earned income through classes and rentals, strengthening our donor base, supporting our staff, and making sure the Academy has the structure needed to continue serving people well into the future.
There is still a lot of work ahead. Some days the building feels big. Some days the needs feel even bigger. And yes, I truly believe this work is life changing. And, I know for a fact it is lifesaving.
For many students, the Academy is more than a place to take a class. It is the place where they feel safe after school. It is the place where they find their people. It is the place where they are not judged for being different. It is the place where they can make noise, make art, make mistakes, make friends, and make sense of the world around them. Here are just a few comments from our students:
"The best part of the programs here is all the social connections I have made that have made me a more confident and happy person." -- Annabelle, 17
"RockAcademy gave me an opportunity I never would have had. It let me play live music with amazing people and play gigs for big crowds. The directors help push us, and teach us" -- Miles, 15
"I am not judged for my ideas. I have freedom to create and it makes me realize how happy art makes me." Jacqueline, 11
"Here I can get my creative ideas out. I am made to feel like a real artist instead of just a kid." --Scarlett, 9
That kind of belonging matters.
And we remember exactly why we are doing this.
Eastern Iowa Arts Academy has always been about more than classes. It is about access. It is about creativity. It is about acceptance. It is about giving people the chance to discover who they are and what they are capable of through the arts.
This year has shown us what is possible.
Now this incredible staff and I are building what comes next. For you and for this community. Here is to our future... where artists are made!
Heather Wagner
Executive Director
