James & Meryl Hearst Center for the Arts

The Hearst Center exists to fulfill our human need to connect, create and express. Vision Statement: The Hearst Center continues to positively impact the quality of life in Cedar Falls by creating a welcoming environment to experience the arts both intentionally and casually. The Hearst is a place visitors feel they belong, a place for free expression of ideas, engaging discussion, recreation, relaxation and stimulation. Brief History: Farmer-poet James Hearst bequeathed his home to the City of Cedar Falls in 1983 and asked that it be used as an arts center for the community. In 1986, as a result of this gift, the Cedar Falls Art & Culture Board was established by the City of Cedar Falls to oversee the operation of the City’s Cultural Division, which includes the James & Meryl Hearst Center for the Arts. The Art & Culture Board raised funds and in 1988–1989, the poet’s home was reconstructed into what is now the community’s own 12,000-square-foot arts center, complete with two galleries, three classrooms, a sculpture garden, two meeting rooms, office space, and a performing arts facility. More than two million visitors have walked through the doors of the Hearst Center for the Arts since they were opened on May 13, 1989.

For well over three decades, the James and Meryl Hearst Center for the Arts in Cedar Falls has provided venues for poets, visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, lecturers, writers, playwrights, students, and arts aficionados of all ages. Opening in May of 1989, James and Meryl’s former residence was willed to the city in 1983 and reconstructed as a 12,000 square foot arts center with two galleries, three classrooms, a sculpture garden, two meeting rooms, office space, and a performing arts facility.

The facility hosts a variety of classes for young writers, poets, and painters, as well as adult education courses and a photography club. In addition, the Center hosts a “Final Thursday” monthly open mic opportunity that includes readings and discussions from published local and regional authors. Musicians and composers from the UNI School of Music offer a lunch hour concert monthly, and a “Slow Art Lunch Club” for sharing perceptions of current gallery offerings over lunch. The Cedar Valley Acoustic Guitar Association also presents concerts from its members, featuring acoustic blues and folk music. With the Waterloo Center for the Arts, the Center offered a bus field trip tour in October of artists’ studios which included lunch in Decorah and visits to a number of professional artists’ studios around northeast Iowa.