Des Moines Arts Festival® Announces 2025 Jury

Jury of five reviews 953 artist applications for the 2025 Des Moines Arts Festival

(Des Moines, IA) – A panel of five jurors has completed the process of reviewing and selecting artists for the Des Moines Arts Festival® presented by Nationwide to be held June 27 – 29. The artists were selected through a rigorous blind jury process by peer jurors Steve Jones and Mark Suddath, and jurors Suzy McGrane-Hop, Jami Milne, and David Smith. Juror bios are below.

Over three days, the Jury reviewed applications in a variety of mediums from a pool of 953 artists from across the country and will invite 182 of those applicants to the June Festival. Those invited will join another 13 artists already invited because of a previous award. The Jury was only privy to images of the artwork with associated pricing, booth images, and an artist statement; no other information was provided. The Jury used a 1-7 scoring system for the first round, followed by rounds of voting and discussion, eventually narrowing down, and composing the final show. The results of the Jury will be announced on March 6^th at REVEAL presented by Foster Group and then will be made public afterward.

In addition to the professional visual artists, the Jury compiled a list of emerging artists to exhibit as part of the Emerging Iowa Artist program and the Emerging Artist program, both programs sponsored by Principal. Since 2003, the Emerging Iowa Artist program has offered a unique opportunity for visual artists who are Iowa residents and currently enrolled in an institution of higher education to showcase their talents at one of the nation’s most decorated arts festivals. The Emerging Artist program began in 2023 and offers the opportunity for individuals making a new career in art fairs at any stage of their lives.

About the Jury

Steve Jones has a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Jones has been exhibiting his work at Art Festivals for about 10 years, including the Des Moines Arts Festival, Cherry Creek Art Festival, Saint Louis Art Fair, and Plaza Art Fair. Jones’ work has also been displayed in select galleries. In addition to showing his work, Jones has been a full-time art educator for 26 years at both secondary and post-secondary schools. stevejones-art.com 

Suzy McGrane-Hop is an art appraiser based in Iowa. She is an expert in works of art by Grant Wood, Marvin Cone, Regionalists, and other WPA artists. She has additional expertise with prominent Iowa artists such as Robert Bauer, Carl Van Vechten, Mauricio Lasansky, and his illustrious lineage.

Her appraisal career began in 2007, and she earned and maintained CAPP credentials since 2009. Some notable clients include institutions such as the Whitney Museum, Coe College, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the University of Iowa, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, among other private and corporate collections. In addition to appraising fine art, she has 30 years of experience working as a gallerist and a custom framer. Since 2011, she has owned Gilded Pear Gallery, home to a wide range of professional art services and contemporary artist exhibitions. gildedpeargallery.com 

Jami Milne is a visual artist with an emphasis on objects, installations, words, and wonder. She has partnered on visual collaborations with Des Moines Public Schools, dsm Magazine, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Vice Media for Levi’s, and others. Her work has been shown in galleries in Iowa, Arizona, Vermont, California, and New York City. As the current Creative Director for Ballet Des Moines, Jami lives in Des Moines, Iowa, with her husband, children, and devoted Dalmatians. Learn more about her work at jamimilne.com

David Smith is an art collector and patron of the arts, living in the St. Louis area.  Schooled as an architect and the son of a woodturner and a weaver, Smith has a deep understanding and appreciation for creative design, artistic technique, and craftsmanship quality. Smith is an emeritus Board member of the Saint Louis Art Fair, having served on the Board since 2002 including several years as Board Chair. Smith has also served as a juror for various art shows around the country, including Cherry Creek Art Festival and the Saint Louis Art Fair. 

Professionally, Smith held the position of VP at Busch Entertainment Corporation before co-founding Smithink Inc., a strategic planning consultancy serving non-profit organizations throughout the country.

Mark Sudduth is a 1983 graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, where he received the prestigious Top Gund Award. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a Major in Glass and a Minor in Drawing. He studied at the Penland School of Crafts. He has operated a private studio since 1983, has taught glass at the college level, lectured, and taught workshops at universities in the US and abroad.

From a young age, he marveled at his father’s ability to design and create things with his hands. Although not an artist, he often behaved as one. Sudduth took this cue and has followed this passion ever since.

He was awarded the Arts and Culture Creative Fellowship Grant and has received numerous awards for his work in national museums and countless private and corporate collections.

His passion for the material, his abilities in both the cold shop and hot shop, his love for the creative process, and his ability to meld ideas and concepts through glass, are truly his life’s work. sudduthglass.com