The College of Design’s graduate program continues to expand at Iowa State, increasing its borders even beyond campus.

“We have a growing graduate integrated visual arts program in the college that has outgrown its space,” said Michael Miller, manager of information technology II in the design administration department. 

“Because space is so tight here in the college, we started looking for spaces outside the college to house this program.”

The newest addition to the college can be found at 203 Main St. 

“The 203 Main St. location provides a perfect place for us due to its natural lighting — large skylights upstairs — and a chance for the college to be more of a part of the community,” Miller said.

In addition to housing classes for the graduate integrated visual arts students, 203 Main St. will be home to a small first-floor gallery to display student work. Though the work will be displayed, it will not be available for purchase at this location.

“Presently, [20 of] the graduate integrated visual arts students have their studios in this space,” Miller said. 

Not only will these students benefit from this new addition, but the community will have the opportunity to be involved as well.

“Last spring we held an [integrated visual arts] program exhibition at the Octagon,” said Arthur Croyle, associate professor of integrated studio arts and coordinator for the graduate program. 

“It was the first time this program had an exhibition

off-campus and it made us realize that we wanted to be a bigger part of the Ames scene,” he said.

“We feel that this gives us a better tie to the community,” Miller said. 

“Many of our studios and classes work directly with Iowa communities, and this will give us another way to showcase what we do to a larger audience.”