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The joke among planners of the Des Moines Arts Festival is that wherever the event goes, construction follows. They had to move the festival from the downtown bridges to make way for the construction of the Principal Riverwalk, and in its first year in Western Gateway Park, they had to work around Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.’s expansion. This year, organizers tried a new layout to accommodate the Pappajohn Sculpture Garden, which is expected to be completed by the time of the 2009 Arts Festival.

But like most event organizers who have found the open urban park to be a great location, Arts Festival Executive Director Stephen King believes these adjustments are minimal compared with the impact of the sculpture garden.

“I think the synergy between the Arts Festival and this park is something you simply can’t deny,” he said. “It’s a perfect marriage.”

Though events such as the Arts Festival and the 80/35 music festival have raised questions about the need for more open space downtown, plans started nearly two years ago for a world-class outdoor art museum are moving ahead. The sculpture garden will showcase 17 pieces donated by philanthropists John and Mary Pappajohn, believed to be the largest public gift of art in Iowa’s history, with an appraised value of $27 million.

“I think everyone realizes obviously 80/35 was a wonderful event, but the sculpture event is 365 days a year and will be for many, many years to come,” said Jeff Fleming, director of the Des Moines Art Center, which received the sculpture donations. “It will not only be a remarkable draw for visitors of this community, but it will have an impact on the cultural landscape of this community for many, many years to come.”

Construction near

After flooding delayed the July start date for construction of the Pappajohn Sculpture Garden, the Des Moines City Council opened the project for bids at its Aug. 11 meeting. Bids are due Sept. 9, with a hearing on Sept. 22.

Meanwhile, several parties have been busy preparing for the park, including Steve Zumbach and Jim Cownie, who have led the $6 million fund-raising campaign to cover the cost of construction footings for the sculptures and reworking the six acres between 13th and 15th streets.

Zumbach said he hopes to wrap up fund raising in the next 30 days. Despite difficult times, he said, “I think everyone has dug a little deeper. They sense the opportunity.”

Donations include $1.5 million from Nationwide, which will buy security equipment for the park and spend $100,000 a year for 10 years to operate it.

The city, the Art Center and the Pappajohns also have been working with Agrest and Gandelsonas Architects LLP, along with sub-consultants such as RDG Planning & Design, to finalize a master plan. Thoughapproved, the plan is flexible, with the indication that the Pappajohns could donate more art.

“From the beginning,” said architect Mario Gandelsonas of Agrest and Gandelsonas, who first proposed the Western Gateway Park concept in his initial vision plan for downtown 20 years ago, “we felt that the Gateway Park should be a civic space in the heart of downtown because it’s a unique space.

You can see it’s going to be surrounded by very important businesses, and that in a way, it needs to symbolize what Des Moines is about. I think the sculpture park will bring that to a world-class level.”

Four virtual “rooms” will be created through topographical “waves” that give the perception of a reduced space in which observers can look at small groupings of sculptures, rather than the entire collection at once. However, the sloped landscape will allow viewers to see sculptures in the distance, encouraging them to keep exploring. People driving along the main corridors of Grand Avenue and Locust Street also will have views of the sculptures, but the edges of the park will be landscaped to add a sense of security by creating entrances into the park.

Festivals reworked

Jeff Wagner, fund-raising and finance chair of the Central Iowa Blues Society, said his feelings are mixed about the project, especially because it forced his group to move its Blues Fest to Living History Farms. But by the time the organization heard it had to move from Western Gateway Park, it didn’t have enough time to raise the $30,000 needed and handle logistics for the multiday festival. It was forced to postpone the event until next year.

“I did think that (Western Gateway Park) was a really nice setting for an event,” Wagner said. “It’s very convenient with hotels nearby. It was set up to do those kinds of things. They installed power just for those kind of events.” As manager of the bar Blues on Grand, he also sees events as more beneficial for his business than a museum.

Wagner said the Central Iowa Blues Society looked at other Des Moines sites, including Blank Park Zoo and the Iowa State Fairgrounds, but they didn’t have hotels within walking distance like Living History Farms.

The 80/35 festival is currently in search of an open grassy space downtown that has enough room for several stages, semitrailer trucks and all the other equipment needed to put on a show. Lloyd Ogle, board president of the Des Moines Music Coalition (DMMC), which puts on the event, said the city has been helpful in locating new sites, such as sections south of the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway bypass.

“We in no way want to be perceived as inhibiting the development of that sculpture park,” Ogle said. “We’re committed to working with the city in finding some alternative locations.”

Ogle added that with the goal to expand 80/35 each year, Western Gateway Park might have been too small for its needs in a couple of years. Still, DMMC wants to keep the festival downtown with a focus on being an urban event.

Des Moines Parks and Recreation Department spokeswoman Marlene Anderson said the city is working with DMMC, but is not looking at creating another permanent open green space downtown at this time.

The Arts Festival is hoping to work around the sculpture garden next year, but it depends on whether the project is completed by late June. Putting artists’ booths in the streets and extending the layout a couple of blocks worked well this year, King said, but organizers also are considering other locations, such as the Principal Riverwalk when that project is completed.

“There’s something really synergetic about this world-class sculpture garden and this festival in terms of the quality of art and everything in between,” King said. “I really look forward to the opportunity to get in there and showcase the garden, showcase this event and see how they work together.”