(SOLD OUT)Youth Architecture Workshop

This workshop has sold out, however you may call the Museum front desk to be put on a wait list. The drop in pumpkin decorating and mask making workshop is free and open to all at 10 AM.


Is your child interested in architecture, buildings, and designing things? DuMA’s Community Day begins at 10 A.M. with a free children’s architecture workshop with Az Rashidi and Paul Schulhof, the architects designing the new museum campus.

Participants will share their ideas for the new Museum with Az and Paul and build their own models that describe their vision. Admission is free but advanced registration is required. Space is limited. Ages 9-13.

Community Day

Celebrate the bounty of fall, the power of community, and the opening of four new exhibitions. The day includes family architecture workshops, artist conversations, and a block party. Admission is FREE with donation of a non-perishable food item to the Dubuque Food Pantry.

Come downtown and celebrate the past, present, and future of our community.


10 A.M. – 1 P.M. Children’s Workshops

1 P.M. – Gallery conversation: Roberta Condon, Lorraine Ortner-Blake and Beth Hoffman

2:30 P.M. – Gallery talk with Katie Schutte

4–6 P.M. – Block party and community workshop with DuMA’s architects, Paul Schulhof and Az Rashidi. Live music and food trucks hosted with the Bluff Street Neighborhood Association, on 7th Street


(SOLD OUT)Community Day begins with a children’s architecture workshop with Az Rashidi and Paul Schulhof, the architects designing the new museum campus. Participants will share their ideas for the new Museum with Az and Paul and build their own models that describe their vision. Space is limited for this free workshop and advance registration is required.

Also at 10 A.M. is a drop in pumpkin decorating and mask making workshop, which is open to all.

At 1 P.M., join Long Time Passing artists Roberta Condon and Lorraine Ortner-Blake inside the Falb Family Gallery for a conversation with Beth Hoffman, author of Bet the Farm. The three women will discuss the changing rural landscape, the struggles and joys of life on the farm, and how their experiences inspire their art. At 2:30 P.M., artist Katie Schutte will discuss Distorted Recollections in the Kris Mozena McNamer Gallery.

Also opening are the Dubuque Camera Club’s Rural Life and a showcase of work by students from the University of Dubuque’s Department of Digital Art and Design.

The afternoon culminates with a block party from 4-6 P.M. on 7th Street that includes food trucks, a community workshop with Schulhof and Rashidi, live music by Joie Booth Wails and DJ Charlz, and autumnal décor from local farmers.

Community/Family Day

This free event will also feature live performances by two Dubuque arts and cultural organizations, along with guided tours of the exhibition, refreshments, and hands-on art activities. The lineup and schedule includes:

-Performance by Dubuque’s Dreaming Allegiance: 1 p.m.

Junior Famous Dead Artist Matinee: Renee Tyler performing as artist Elizabeth Catlett, 2:15 p.m. A glimpse into the life of African American artist Elizabeth Catlett who explored themes relating to race and social activism in her sculpture, paintings, and prints. Catlett was a student of Grant Wood and among the first MFA graduates from the University of Iowa, which recently named a dormitory hall in her honor.

-Performance by the Dubuque Dream Center Gospel Choir & Dance Troupe: 3 pm

The exhibition and Free Community Day are sponsored by American Trust & Savings Bank and their Junior Banker program. Additional support was provided by Runde Auto Group, which is sponsoring free admission to the DuMA on Saturday mornings during the Dubuque Winter Farmers’ Market.

African American Art in the 20th Century continues at DuMA through April 21, 2019.

Loïs Mailou Jones, Moon Masque, 1971, oil and collage on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, bequest of the artist.

Community Day/Smithsonian Museum Day Live

Community Day – Women Making History

Join us in celebrating the opening of the exhibition Just to Live is Holy: Women Religious and a Tradition of Art, Faith and Justice and Smithsonian Day Live. This year’s theme is “Women Making History”.

Visitors will enjoy:

  • FREE admission all day (10 am – 4 pm)
  • Staff and docent-led tours of the exhibit Just to Live is Holy
  • “Women of Dubuque” portrait project pop-up exhibit in the Museum Lobby
  • Viewing and celebrating the new outdoor sculpture Irene
  • Viewing and celebrating community mural project, created by Little Luxuries and artist Chelsea Tapia

10 am-Noon

  • Complimentary coffee and donuts