Being an artist isn’t the most lucrative profession.

The term “starving artist” seems to be the new professional title for free spirits the world over. Which is another reason why artists in Iowa this weekend will be visiting or exhibiting in Des Moines, trying to get some recognition while they can still enjoy it.

Six ISU students and recent graduates will get the opportunity to show and sell their work among professional artists in downtown Des Moines this weekend. The Emerging Iowa Artist Program, hosted by the Des Moines Arts Festival, will showcase 19 up-and-coming artists from Iowa colleges and universities during the three-day event starting Friday.

Mo Dana, executive director of the Des Moines Arts Festival, oversaw the selection of the student artists, and was impressed by their talent and potential.

“They’re taught to do a little bit of everything,” Dana says. “They really bring a very diverse group of work to the festival.”

Jill Anne Benedict, an alumna in art and design and West Des Moines native, won Best in Show of the first Emerging Iowa Artists at the 2003 arts festival.

“I had gone to the festival for years, and it was overwhelming to be in it, but very rewarding,” Benedict says. “I was proud to be a part of it, it was amazing.”

Benedict won the award for her ceramic art, which she refers to as “functional pottery, stuff you can use in everyday life.”

Kara Hedge, junior in art and design, will be presenting and selling her 2-D mixed media artwork for the first time this weekend.

“This is similar to what you would do as a graduate, traveling around and selling your art,” Hedge says. “This is our first taste of that. It will open my mind to selling art instead of just making it.”

John Kastendieck, an alumnus in art and design, will be showing his wood artwork through the Emerging Artists Program as well. Like Hedge, Kastendieck sees the program as a unique opportunity for young artists.

“Career-wise, there is not a big field for professional artists,” Kastendieck says. “This opens up the world for beginners to get out into the community. It tells you how well you can do in the market.”

Benedict continued to sell her art, and is now teaching pottery classes for the city of Fort Collins, Colo., which she accredits to her experience with the Emerging Artist Program.

Sponsored by the Principal Financial Group, the Emerging Iowa Artist Program promotes student artists free of the normal fees required by a fine arts festival, and offers a Best in Show prize of $1,000 to the student deemed the best student artist.

“It’s kind of hard to be an artist and know where the money is coming from,” Benedict says. “The Emerging Iowa Artist Program is great because it lets artists know that there is a place for them out there.”

Benedict will present her ceramics through the Emerging Artist Program again this summer as part of her 2003 award. She will be selling new designs and, due to the overwhelming demand for her art in 2003, a lot more of it.

“I’m hoping I have enough to showcase throughout the entire weekend,” Benedict says.

The Des Moines Arts Festival has earned the title of the fifth-best fine arts festival in the country, beating out arts festivals in Chicago, Minneapolis, and Kansas City for the honor. The Des Moines Arts Festival hosted nearly 220,000 visitors in 2003, and Dana expects that the popularity of the festival will grow again this year.

“When we started this event, it was to get a reputation for arts in the area, that we are culturally progressive. That’s not how people usually think of Iowa,” Dana says. “Our goal was to get ourselves to a position where we could be talked about with the other festivals on that list.”