Iowans are used to being the geographical center of the nation. When it comes to the arts, however, the Midwest is often thought of in the periphery.

This weekend, 150 artists from across the country will dispel this myth as they gather in downtown Des Moines to celebrate the wide world of artistic expression.

The Des Moines Arts Festival is a celebration of the arts in all media that has grown in seven years from a regional event to a nationally recognized arts festival.

Situated on the bridges of downtown Des Moines, the event is ranked as the number four arts celebration in the United States, and festival planners expect to draw 230,000 visitors during the three day weekend.

Executive director, Mo Dana, says the festival’s location adds to both the beauty and excitement.

“It has a European feel to it that is just gorgeous, everywhere you look things are beautiful from the art to the bridges to the Des Moines skyline,” she says.

The chance to not only see the artwork, but to get to know the artist who created it is one of the major advantages of the festival, Dana says.

“Don’t not talk to an artist because you are afraid they will be upset if you don’t buy their art,” she says.

“They love to talk about their work.”

Festival goers are encouraged to take more than a passive role in the artistic process.

The festival provides an array of food choices as well as a number of opportunities for adults and children to join in, including a giant jigsaw puzzle and a musical petting-zoo stocked with a variety of musical instruments for visitor experimentation.

The festival showcases artists from around the world, but prides itself as a venue for homegrown Iowa artists.

One way the festival promotes Iowa artists is through the Emerging Iowa Artists Program. The program allows artists from Iowa going to a college or university anywhere in the country to wave entrance and display fees to have their work judged along with other entries for display at the festival. This year, 23 students took advantage of the program, including eight ISU students.

Carrie Rosman, senior in art and design, submitted her handmade silver jewelry at the festival. Rosman says the news that her work had been accepted came as both an honor and a wakeup call.

“It was pretty overwhelming because there is so much I have to do, I had to make sure I had enough pieces ready. Especially for jewelry, the materials are expensive and each piece takes hours and hours,” she says.

Jonathan Castro, senior in fine arts, says many of his works come from making personalized variations on more common ceramics subjects.

One example of this variation are Castro’s “birds,” a pair of broad based vases with long curving necks.

“I call them my birds because they look like birds to me. It seems silly, but when I made them that is what they reminded me of,” Castro says.

Castro says he was proud to have his ceramic work judged on par with the best artists in the medium.

“I was beyond shocked because I realized a lot of people apply and only a handful make it,” he says.

Dana endorses all the Emerging Iowa Artists, but stresses there is no distinction in the judging process between Emerging Iowa Artists and other artists at the show.

“We have Iowa artists here that we are proud to showcase among the world’s best because that is where they belong,” Dana says.