dsmWeekly - May 14, 2025

By Hailey Evans

School is out, but classes are still in session at the Des Moines Art Center.

Whether you’re a beginner with a blank canvas or a seasoned maker looking for some fresh inspiration or skills practice, the Art Center is offering a wide range of classes starting up in June for community members to create and connect.

Classes cater to all different experience levels. Some offerings include multi-week courses for intro to painting and calligraphy, plus specific skill development like portrait photography and off-camera lighting classes. There are also classes and summer camps for different age groups. One-time workshops are available for learning new skills like stop motion, henna and bookbinding.

Leah Heagy, a dsm contributing photographer, teaches an off-camera lighting photography class as well as a street photography/architecture photography class. During the street photography course this summer, participants will join Heagy on guided photo walks around downtown that highlight the city’s history while receiving hands-on instruction.

"The atmosphere of these classes is really collaborative and supportive. Because everyone comes in with a shared interest in photography, some at different skill levels, there’s an immediate bond that starts to form," Heagy wrote in a note about the classes she's taught. "It’s a mix of hands-on learning, community building and creative exploration."

She added that it's not uncommon for students to continue collaborating outside of class, becoming part of each other's creative network and assisting on future gigs.

To sign up for classes, head to the Art Center’s website. Full disclosure, some classes already have waitlists. If a class interests you but it’s already full, join the waitlist to signal the folks at the Art Center to continue the class next semester. They require at least five participants to keep the class going.

And if you really love creative classes and are looking for more, our friends on Facebook shared a few other suggestions with us:

Guided creative projects at a new maker space and DIY “project bar” called the Glitter Factory by Imperfect Inspiration.

Instrumental and vocal music for all ages through the Drake University Community School of Music.

Private watercolor classes with Humble Hands by Juelie Gish, who brings all the supplies to you and lets you keep them after the class.

Workshops led by residents at Mainframe Studios.

Napoleon Douglas is the artistic director at Pyramid Theatre Company in Des Moines. (Photo: Duane Tinkey)

BEST BET

Catch Napoleon Douglas at Noce

Spend an evening at Noce Jazz & Cabaret with Des Moines native and Drake University graduate Napoleon Douglas. He'll perform alongside local funk band the Dirty Lowdown at 7 p.m. on Friday, and playing music from all-time greats Stevie Wonder (whose birthday was yesterday), Luther Vandross and more.

Douglas has a decorated career. He’s performed on stage, in film, as a vocalist and a dancer, with stops in Hong Kong, Seattle, New York and beyond. Currently, he's the artistic director at Pyramid Theatre Company and serves the community as a board member and artist-in-residence for City Voices, a nonprofit that provides personal music lessons to underserved students in the area. Read more about Douglas in a previous issue of dsm magazine.

All details and tickets for the show are online.

The Week Ahead

Greenbelt Music Festival, opens at 2 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday, Horizon Events Center in Clive. The annual indoor-outdoor shindig features live music with games, food, drinks and fun right off the Clive Greenbelt Trail.

Ankeny Arts Festival, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Along 3rd St. and Walnut St. in Uptown Ankeny. Walk around Ankeny and check out many different types of artwork, including painting, woodworking and jewelry.

Gladiator Assault Challenge, varying times on Saturday and Sunday, Seven Oaks Recreation. If you want to test your physical strength and endurance, sign up for one of these races, which range between three and seven miles. Be aware of obstacles along the way.

Des Moines Beer Mile, 4 p.m. Saturday, SingleSpeed Taproom. Thought college was the last time you’d run a beer mile? Think again. Four beers. Four laps. One mile. Go! A post-race party awaits.

Des Moines Symphony, 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Des Moines Civic Center. The orchestra wraps up its regular season with Respighi’s brassy “Pines of Rome,” Mendelssohn’s “Italian Symphony” and Saint-Saens’ Second Piano Concerto, featuring guest soloist George Li.

Valley Junction Arts Festival, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Fifth Street in West Des Moines. The juried arts festival hosts more than 50 artists from Iowa and farther afield.

Nerdy news: Des Moines Con returns to the Iowa Events Center May 30-June 1 for the fourth annual weekend of comics, cosplay and pop culture. The all-ages event invites fans to Q+A panels with dozens of TV and movie characters, gaming tournaments, costume contests and more. This year, Epic Rap Battles will also perform on Saturday night. See the full schedule of events, speakers and ticket prices at desmoinescon.com.

Architectural tours: The Iowa Architectural Foundation in collaboration with Docomomo US is hosting a three-day architecture and design tour in Des Moines, showcasing some of the most significant modernist architecture in the state. The tour, titled Modernism in Iowa, scheduled from May 30 to June 1, will include the Des Moines Art Center, Drake University and private tours in Oskaloosa, with rare access to two early Frank Lloyd Wright residences. Read more from Business Record.

By Andrea Love

The single most defining moment of Benjamin Wagner’s life took place more than 20 years ago, when he met his neighbor for the first time.

It was 2001, and Wagner was visiting his mother in Nantucket to celebrate his 30th birthday. As he stood on the lawn overlooking the sea, he heard a familiar voice call out in greeting. Wagner quickly recognized the approaching neighbor as Fred Rogers, creator and host of the groundbreaking children’s television show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

With a sense of childlike awe, Wagner shook the TV icon’s hand, initiating a deep friendship that would last until Rogers died in 2003.

Wagner, who was born in Iowa City, is a writer, filmmaker and musician. He’s now preparing for the 2025 PBS premiere of his second documentary film, “Friends & Neighbors,” inspired by the wisdom of his real-life friend and neighbor.

A few years after Rogers’ death, Wagner and his older brother, Christofer, an award-winning video editor, co-produced “Mister Rogers & Me,” a documentary about Wagner’s friendship with Rogers, and his mission to make everyone he met feel seen, heard and cared about. In 2012, the film premiered on PBS and won several awards at film festivals across the country.

Wagner said “Friends & Neighbors,” produced again with the help of his brother, tries to show how access to safe spaces for authentic conversations is essential for mental health. He hopes the film unleashes the potential for healing that’s readily available in every community, through programs and professionals who want to help.

In the documentary, Wagner travels back, literally and figuratively, to his Iowa roots. His parents are from Waterloo, and many of his relatives remain in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids. Through the lens of his childhood, he explores his own early struggles as well as the traumas his family passed down from one generation to the next. He asks his parents tough questions about their tumultuous marriage and his childhood, while illustrating his own memories through animated clips. The stark differences between each version of his family’s shared experiences capture the complexity of the human mind.

The film also features mental health professionals Wagner consults about the causes and effects of stress, anxiety and trauma; the state of mental health care in America; and the physical, mental and emotional benefits of trauma-healing methods like eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

By sharing his own story and those of his friends and neighbors from his current home in Delaware, Wagner’s film sheds light on trauma and how its treatment could benefit America’s collective well-being.

Take a deeper look into the creation of Wagner’s newest documentary and see more of his friendship with Rogers in the full feature article online.

May is Mental Health Month, so we’ll be sharing mental health-focused stories in this newsletter all month long. For more on mental health awareness, programs and resources, see our 2024 Lifting the Veil publication.