Exhibitions

Current Sioux City Public Museum Exhibitions:

April 21 - August 19, 2018
Modernism’s Messengers: The Art of Alfonso and Margaret Iannelli
The story behind the couple who created the elaborate sculptures of people, spirits and animals that have adorned the courthouse since 1918.

The Chicago Origins of the Courthouse
The companion exhibit to Modernism's Messengers: The Art of Alfonso and Margaret Iannelli, this exhibit features artifacts from the Museum's archives and a slideshow of photographs from the courthouse's history. Many of the photographs are part of the Museum's William Steele Collection. Steele worked in the Chicago office of renowned architect Louis Sullivan. The courthouse is the largest public building ever constructed in the Prairie School style.

June 16 - October 14, 2018
Traditional Arts of the Bedouin
This traveling exhibit is a program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and The National Endowment for the Arts.

On display through December 30, 2018
Native American Artwork featuring Chuck Raymond
A retrospective of the prominent Winnebago artist's works is showcased along with a selection of Native American artifacts from the Museum’s collection.

On-going special exhibits:

Nature's Kaleidoscope: Digging into the Past
A world class collection of agates, geodes, minerals, fossils, petrified wood and meteorites.

Past Exhibitions:

March 17 – May 12, 2018
Sioux City History Projects Exhibit
The 27th annual display of models and posters created by 4th grade students of local historic landmarks, people, and events.

September 2, 2017 - March 31, 2018
Honoring Our Armed Services: 1861-2017
Area armed service members have contributed to every major U.S. military effort from the Civil War to the ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. Explore the military contributions of Siouxland residents past and present through uniforms, weaponry, equipment, and photographs.

February 3 - March 11, 2018
Sign of the Times: The Great American Political Poster 1844–2012
Explore a variety of styles, design trends, and printing technology of some of the most exciting and rarely seen posters created in the last 170 years. This traveling exhibit is a program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and The National Endowment for the Arts.

 
November 11, 2017 - January 7, 2018
Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland
A traveling exhibit that brings to life the excitement of Coney Island, showing visitors how its magnetic world of attractions has become a touchstone for American mass culture and popular recreation. The exhibit is made possible by NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Mid-America Arts Alliance.

October 3 - November 5, 2017
Fully Involved
In recognition of Fire Prevention Month, 51 firefighting images of Sioux City Fire Rescue by prolific local photographer George Lindblade are on display along with two historic International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 7 banners.

 May 19 – August 13, 2017
The Hidden Works of Jay N. “Ding” Darling
A traveling exhibit featuring the works and personal artifacts of the pioneering conservationist, creator of the Duck Stamp and two-time Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist who grew up in Sioux City and started his career at the Sioux City Journal. 

June 17 – August 6, 2017
Vibrant Bounty: Chinese Folk Art from the Shaanxi Region
This traveling exhibit is a program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and The National Endowment for the Arts.

March 18 – May 13, 2017
Sioux City History Projects Exhibit
The 26th annual display of models and posters created by 4th grade students of local historic landmarks, people, and events.

March 31 – May 7, 2017
Diaries of Humanity Holocaust Exhibit  
This traveling exhibit features a collection of diaries or handwritten notes from a variety of areas in Europe during the Holocaust. On loan from The Institute for Holocaust Education.

The display also includes selected images from the Sioux City Public Museum's Vernon Tott Collection. Tott, a Sioux City native, was a WWII soldier who took photographs of the newly liberated prisoners at the German concentration camp Alhem.

December 9, 2016 - March 19, 2017
A History of Brewing in Sioux City
Learn more about Sioux City's early breweries, their products, and the impact state and federal prohibition laws had on the industry locally. 

January 28 – March 5, 2017
Cloth as Community: Hmong Textiles Exhibit
The exhibition features 28 textiles—flower cloths and embroidered story clothes—by those in the Hmong community. This traveling exhibit is a program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and The National Endowment for the Arts.

November 12, 2016 - January 8, 2017
A Photo Album of Ireland   
From the earliest photographs taken in the 1850s to the advent of the digital era in the early 1990s, these images reveal details about how people lived, worked, and gathered that official historical records may have overlooked. This traveling exhibit is a program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and The National Endowment for the Arts.

September 3 - November 27, 2016
New to You: Recent Artifact Donations
A diverse selection of artifacts from recent donations to never-displayed treasures from the Museum’s collection. Among the highlights is memorabilia from Sioux City high schools and colleges.

August 19 - October 30, 2016 
Uncle John’s Mural 
The full set of panels created by local artist Paul Chelstad more than 30 years ago for the venerable music store Uncle John’s Records. Chelstad re-created one of the panels recently that was damaged when the mural was removed from the store's ceiling.

July 8 – August 14, 2016
Wandering Spirit: African Wax Prints  
A traveling exhibit that serves as a tribute to the century-old handmade designs and patterns on textiles that originated in Indonesia and were copied and industrialized by Europeans and exported to Africa. A program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and The National Endowment for the Arts.

June 17 – August 7, 2016
Backstage Pass: Baron Wolman and the Early Years of Rolling Stone 1967-1970 
A traveling exhibit exploring how the lens of one artist’s camera captured and helped define one of the most important eras in rock-n-roll history.To provide a local angle to the exhibit, a display of Siouxland music memorabilia will be showcased including murals from long-time music store, Uncle John’s Records. A program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and The National Endowment for the Arts.

March 19 - May 15, 2016
Sioux City History Projects

November 21, 2015 - March 6, 2016
When Quality Was Higher than Price: Martin's, Davidson's and Pelletier's

October 20, 2015 - March 6, 2016
You Are the Curator

September 5 - October 18, 2015
For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights
This exhibit was made possible through NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It has been adapted and is being toured by Mid-America Arts Alliance. For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights was organized by The Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in partnership with the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution.

June 13 - September 13, 2015
Saturday in the Park: Rockin' for 25 Years

January 17 - May 31, 2015
Native American Artwork featuring Chuck Raymond

April 4 - May 17, 2015
Sioux City History Projects
The 24th annual exhibition of 4th grade projects showcasing the students' knowledge of local history.

January 24 - March 15, 2015
The Homestead Series

August 23, 2014 - January 4, 2015
Sioux City Journal: 150 Years in Siouxland 1864-2014

April 12 - August 10, 2014
Denmark: October 1943

April 5 - May 18, 2014
Sioux City History Projects

Through March 16, 2014
Homegrown Art: Traditional Quilt Designs