This weekend artists from nearly every state and countries as far away as England, Israel and Argentina will converge for three days in Des Moines for the 10th year of the Des Moines Arts Festival.

Iowa State will be represented by 12 participants in the festival as part of the Emerging Iowa Artists program.

Amy Eaton, marketing and communications manager of the event, said the Emerging Iowa Artists program is “a chance to get their name out there and expose them to other fellow artists.”

Eaton said that while they are judged, there is no entry fee, nor does their booth cost them anything.

“It’s a place for them to make money off of their work and get some exposure.”

There is a $1,000 award to whoever is judged as best of show Emerging Iowa Artist.

Alex Harding, senior in art and design, will be displaying his work in paintings, graphite

drawings, woodcuts and lithography.

Harding said his education at Iowa State really helped him out.

“It gave me some direction with my life. The small size helped my strengths a lot,” he said.

Maria Lux, alumna and instructional support specialist in agronomy, said, “The extracurricular activities with the paint club and the practice of being at a show was really supporting.”

Lux said the staff of the College of Design interacting with the students was another big help

“The community of design is great,” she said.

Lux’s work exhibit will be oil paintings and charcoal drawings.

Harding said he thought he was chosen because of his different take on things.

“Art is all about who likes it. One day, 50 people could like your work. The next day, it could be one person. It varies by your strengths.”

“I think my work is representative with portraits and what people like,” Lux said.

Both of them said they were quite excited for the festival.

“It’s great to see them put an emphasis on the arts, and seeing how the festival keeps growing,” Lux said.

The 12 ISU participants will be at the festival for the three days and each will give a one-hour demonstration of their work at some point during the weekend.

The Des Moines Arts Festival is Friday through Sunday at Western Gateway Park in downtown Des Moines.