What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 6:30pm Tuesday 8am - 6:30pm Wednesday 8am - 6:30pm Thursday 8am - 6:30pm Friday 8am - 6:30pm Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 10am - 5pm

Mainframe Studios

Home
United States
Des Moines, IA
Mainframe Studios

Vision // A lasting space where artistic expression is cultivated, protected, and celebrated. Studios may be shared by two or more artists.
(1)

Mission // To provide affordable arts workspace and foster creative communities in central Iowa. Mainframe Studios is on track to become a powerful national nonprofit model for strengthening creative culture in urban areas. The game-changing project will transform Central Iowa’s arts scene by creating a financially self-sustaining cultural and economic driver that ensures permanent space for artis

ts in the city. Annual rents for standard studios are $7 per square foot plus utilities (e.g. a 350sf studio is $204 per month plus utilities); annual inflation adjustments will apply. Premiums will be charged to those requiring special units or features. Interest is outpacing workspace availability. Our current waitlist includes ceramicists, photographers, glass artists, actors, illustrators, musicians, painters, metalsmiths, sculptors, printers, game developers and many others. Mainframe Studios' founder Justin Mandelbaum co-founded Western Avenue Studios in Lowell, Massachusetts. The once vacant mill building complex is now home to the largest artist community on the east coast. With 250 studios, 50 live/work lofts and over 300 artists, it covers 250,000 square feet. Central Iowa is experiencing significant revitalization in recent years and is home to established, nationally-recognized arts organizations. With the addition of Mainframe Studios, Des Moines is unusually poised to prosper as a hub for vibrant creative culture.

07/03/2025

Mainframe Studios is proud to present "Bienvenidos a Iowa", an inspiring exhibition curated by Colectivo Luchart!

“Bienvenidos” means “welcome,” and this exhibition embraces the spirit of the Statue of Liberty, welcoming all to celebrate the richness of culture, community, and belonging.

Featuring powerful works by immigrant, Latino/a/x, Chicano/a, and Indigenous artists, the exhibition honors their heritage and vital contributions to our state. Join us in recognizing the beauty and strength of a truly united Iowa.

Please note all submissions are due by August 4th at 11:59 PM (CST), and late submissions will not be accepted. Artists will be notified by August 15th, 2025. There is no entry fee to apply.

Accepted Works will be on display in all four public gallery spaces at Mainframe Studios during September 2025, with a special reception held during First Friday, September 5th, 2025 5-8pm. All participating artists are encouraged to attend.

Mainframe Studios se enorgullece de presentar "Bienvenidos a Iowa", una inspiradora exposición curada por Colectivo Luchart.

La exposición “Bienvenidos” abraza el espíritu de la Estatua de la Libertad, invitando a todos a celebrar la riqueza de la cultura, la comunidad y la pertenencia.

Con obras impactantes de artistas inmigrantes, latinos, latinas, chicanos, chicanas e indigenas; la exposición honra su herencia y sus contribuciones vitales a nuestro estado. Únase a nosotros para reconocer la belleza y la fuerza de una Iowa verdaderamente unida.

Tenga en cuenta que todas las inscripciones deben presentarse antes del 4 de agosto a las 23:59 (CST) y no se aceptarán envíos fuera de plazo. Se notificará a los artistas antes del 15 de agosto de 2025. La inscripción es gratuita.

Las obras aceptadas se exhibirán en las cuatro galerías públicas de Mainframe Studios durante septiembre de 2025, con una recepción especial el primer viernes 5 de septiembre de 2025, de 17:00 a 20:00 h. Invitamos a todos los artistas participantes a asistir.

Images credit to Seso Marentes
Curation by Colectivo Luchart
Translation by Miriam Alarcon Avila

07/01/2025

No First Friday in July, but Art is still everywhere!

You can still experience the creativity of Mainframe Studios artists all month long at local festivals and exhibitions!

Summer Festivals:
-Middle of Nowhere Festival – July 12
-Waukee Arts Festival – July 18 & 19
-Indianola Summer Art Festival – July 26 & 27

Exhibitions:
-Rooted in Hope Grand Opening - July 10th 5-8pm at Community Support Advocates
-Iowa Artists 2025: Ben Millet – Opening July 25 at the Des Moines Art Center
-Firelei Báez Exhibition – Des Moines Art Center

Come out and support local artists, explore new work, and keep the creative spirit alive all summer long!

Let us know in the comments what you are up to this month!

06/30/2025

A huge THANK YOU to the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, for supporting Mainframe Studios’ Youth Field Trip Program!

During the 2024–2025 school year, we were thrilled to welcome:
📚 23 field trips
🏫 representing 10 Iowa school districts
🤝 4 youth service nonprofits
👩‍🎨 939 K–12 students engaged in hands-on arts experiences.

Your support helps us inspire the next generation of creators, Mainframe tenants, art patrons and supporters! 💫

06/24/2025

Join us in celebrating the incredible talent from Mainframe Studios featured at this year’s Des Moines Arts festival! Stop by their booths, explore new work, and say hello!

The Artists:
- LS18C
* -LN3
- GS8
- GS10
- LS33C
- LN39Cfer.in * - GS9
* - LS20
- GN52
- maisa – Fashion Show on Sunday!
- Quincy’s Sensory Space

*Recognized as Emerging Artists by the Des Moines Arts Festival

✨ Don’t miss Nathalie Girod’s isa maïsa fashion show on Sunday, June 29, from 2:30–3:00 PM on The Roots Stage presented by Cedar Ridge Distillery.

✨ Jill Wells is the 2025 recipient of the G. David Hurd Innovator of the Arts Award. Jill is an advocate in the arts and will be working with ⁠Quincy’s Sensory Space in the DLR parking lot at 1430 Locust St. all three days of the festival!

Des Moines Arts Festival
📅 June 27–29, 2025
📍 Western Gateway Park, Downtown Des Moines

Celebrate creativity, community, and the power of local art at this iconic summer festival. We’ll see you there!

06/20/2025

One week left to apply to Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists! Mainframe Studios is excited to partner with Springboard for the Arts to offer this 12-week professional development program in Fall 2025.

20-25 artists will be selected to work with co-facilitators:
Amee Ellis
Siriaco Garcia
Ben Millet
Amy Putney-Koenig
Jill Wells

Check out the link to apply! https://form.jotform.com/251146138913152

06/19/2025

Shoutout these amazing artists who have been recognized this year for their work. We are proud of your accomplishments and happy that you are part of the Mainframe community!

Maggie Douglas - Best of Show // Valley Junction Arts Festival & Ankeny Art Festival
Meghan Hammer - Best 2D // Valley Junction Arts Festival
Kaitlin Harvey - Honorable Mention // Polk County Heritage Gallery
Seso Marentes - Governors Heritage Award // Iowa Arts Council
Craig Miller - Best of Show // Polk County Heritage
Jill Wells - David G. Hurd Award // Des Moines Arts Festival

Be sure to check out these artists in person at a First Friday, a festival, or give them a follow to keep up to date on their creative journeys!

06/17/2025

Thank you for celebrating Nonprofits at Mainframe with us at our June First Friday! It is a pleasure to have these Nonprofits at Mainframe, and to see firsthand how art has the power to foster connections. These Nonprofits work hard year round to make our community a safe, expressive, and vibrant place. Please continue to learn more and support!

There is still time to check out Mainframe Artist's Spotlight on the 2nd & 4th floor galleries. Fertile Ground presented by the North River Arts Council is on display on the 3rd floor gallery. The last day to view these works is July 22nd!

You can check out the full album on our page!

Photos by StreetCred Studios, an enterprise powered by ArtForce Iowa.

06/16/2025

06/13/2025

A portion of Pam Douglas's epic project, "Folding Cranes: Enfolding Community." is on display in the 2nd Floor Gallery until the end of July as part of our Mainframe Artists' showcase.

"Folding Cranes" is a memorial dedicated to Iowans who lost their lives to Covid-19. Douglas has folded a majority of the 10,700 cranes, and wants people to remember COVID deaths were not just a statistic - they are people who loved and are loved.

Douglas felt a profound call to address our collective loss, both tangible and emotional, through creativity, choosing to recognize our collective grief and desire to honor the victims of the pandemic. Where names are known, they are handwritten on the cranes.

The crane was chosen for this memorial to incorporate the globally-recognized tradition of paper crane folding as an act of love to encourage healing and hope.

You can read more about Pam, her work, and the Iowa Covid-19 Memorial Project here: http://www.pamelasdouglas.com/

06/10/2025

We absolutely loved being part of City Sounds' Painted Piano Project! Today the 2025 painted pianos left the atrium and are heading to their new homes in the community. Be sure to find them in the wild and give them a whirl!

Thanks to those who painted a piano key at our June First Friday. Together we made 41 keys - nearly half a full piano!

Come paint a key, and check out the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floor galleries!
📍 Mainframe Studios is open
M-F 8am–6:30pm
S&S 10am–5pm

2025 Artists:
Braden Bagley
Christina Farrell
Terrinye Goetz & Thomas Goetz
Sandra Kirpalani
Ryan Koning
Amanda Stout
Lucy Watters

06/05/2025

Join us for the opening of Fertile Ground tomorrow on First Friday!

Presented by North River Arts Council, this vibrant exhibition features work from 16 Central Iowa artists, celebrating growth, exploration, and creative potential. Don’t miss this inspiring showcase of local talent!

North River Arts Council is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the arts, supporting artists, and enriching Warren County communities through education and creative opportunities.

Exhibiting artists include:

Rachel Terlop
Summer Hoyt
Evan Hoyt
Lisa Huyette Smith
Alicia VanAusdall
Josh Steele
Kerrie Hill Elliot
Dale O’Connell
Dana Burk
Bob Klin
Angela Davidson
Mark True
James Fantino
Tina Campbell

First Friday, June 6th 5-8pm
Mainframe Studios - 900 Keo Way, Des Moines
Always free and open to the public!

05/30/2025

✨First Friday is one week away! Join us at Mainframe Studios on June 6th, 2025, from 5-8PM. Celebrate the remarkable work of the arts and culture focused nonprofits at Mainframe Studios!✨

Non-Profits:

KFMG Radio 98.9
csa

🖼️ The event will feature multiple special exhibitions including a group showcase by Artists of Mainframe Studios, a retrospective of posters from the Des Moines Arts Festival, “Fertile Ground” by the North River Arts Council, Youth Artists Highlights by ArtForce Iowa, painted pianos by City Sounds, and Seso Marentes at M/A/S/S Gallery.

Enjoy open studios, delicious food and beverages, hands-on art activities, a silent auction hosted by KFMG, and live music will be provided by Iowa Blues Hall of Famers Scott Long, J.C. Anderson, and Friends.

With expanded overflow parking and a complimentary shuttle service, getting here is a breeze. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind celebration of creativity and community!

🗓️ Friday, June 6, 2025
🕔 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
📍Mainframe Studios, 900 Keosauqua Way, Des Moines, IA 50309

Address

Des Moines, IA

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 6:30pm
Tuesday	8am - 6:30pm
Wednesday	8am - 6:30pm
Thursday	8am - 6:30pm
Friday	8am - 6:30pm
Saturday	10am - 5pm
Sunday	10am - 5pm

Website

https://linktr.ee/mainframe_studios?utm_source=linktree_admin_share

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Mainframe Studios posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Mainframe Studios:

Shortcuts

Our Story

We believe developing proper infrastructure for individual artists is as important as creating a world-class art center, sculpture park, opera or theater performance venues. Des Moines is fortunate to have all of these, and we are demonstrating to other cities why giving equal attention to creative professionals benefits communities in profound ways. Opened in late 2017, Mainframe has quickly realized substantial achievements: 3 of 5 floors renovated; all but $1.7M raised of our $14.5M capital campaign; renovations to complete the project have begun; 75 current non-residential studios support five nonprofits and over 90 creatives from 16 regional communities representing 25 disciplines; 100% occupancy and 120 on the waiting list who have paid deposit; and $400k in current annual rental revenue. In pre-Covid days, our doors welcome over 19,000 visitors a year through artist-led activities (workshops, photoshoots, demonstrations), event space rentals (summer camps, conferences, weddings, fundraisers, music video shoots), public tours and our popular monthly First Friday public festivities. Mainframe has prided itself on showcasing the high-quality of talent that’s been previously hiding in basements, at kitchen tables and in the dreams of regional artists.

We love our community and we are determined to progress as a beacon of resilience, inclusiveness and recovery. Art and humanity go hand in hand. #weR1dsm - This week we begin to finish what we started. This is our 2nd floor being demolished so more creatives can make their mark with confidence and collaboration. We are committed to going forward together. #BLM Rent for standard studios start at $7.43 per square foot plus utilities (e.g. a 350sf studio is $217 per month plus utilities, which includes heating, cooling, wifi and general liability insurance); annual inflation adjustments will apply. Studios may be shared. Interest is outpacing workspace availability. Our current waitlist includes ceramicists, photographers, glass artists, actors, illustrators, musicians, painters, metalsmiths, sculptors, printers, game developers and many others. Mainframe Studios' founder Justin Mandelbaum co-founded Western Avenue Studios in Lowell, Massachusetts. The once vacant mill building complex is now home to the largest artist community on the east coast. With 250 studios, 50 live/work lofts and over 300 artists, it covers 250,000 square feet. Central Iowa is experiencing significant revitalization in recent years and is home to established, nationally-recognized arts organizations. With the addition of Mainframe Studios, Des Moines is unusually poised to prosper as a hub for vibrant creative culture.