On Saturday, October 17, at 2:30 p.m. in the Sioux City Art Center Lecture Hall, actor Tom Milligan performs Grant Wood: Prairie Rebel.
In this fascinating and informative 45-minute, one-man show, Grant Wood chats with the audience as if talking to an old friend across the backyard fence, or maybe at his home at Five Turner Alley in Cedar Rapids. He tells us about his life and how he changed the art world forever with his paintings. We learn more about the man behind American Gothic, and how he took the moments, memories, and the people of our state to show the whole world who and what Iowa is. After the presentation, the audience is encouraged to ask questions about Grant Wood and his life.
This event is presented in conjunction with the Art Center’s current exhibition, Pasture to Present. Pasture to Present offers a rare opportunity to see Grant Wood’s Corn Room mural not just as a celebrated piece of art but as a symbol of a rural ideal that continues to shape American identity. In pairing Wood’s original work with contemporary reflections on rural life, this exhibition honors the artist’s legacy while inviting a new generation to consider the ongoing importance of rural America in the nation’s cultural landscape. Pasture to Present: Grant Wood’s Corn Room and New Visions of Rural America will be in view until December 6.
Tom Milligan has been a working theatrical professional for the past 45 years, working as an actor, director, scene designer, producer, and writer. Originally from Des Moines, companies credited to his resume include Charlie’s Showplace Dinner Theatre, The Drake Opera, The Drama Workshop, and The Old Creamery Theatre.
The Sioux City Art Center has received a grant award from Humanities Iowa, a state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, in support of the Humanities Series programs.
