For Immediate Release
June 29, 2012
Dubuque County Fine Arts Society announces the support of Dubuque Racing Association. May 2012, Dubuque Racing Association granted Dubuque County Fine Arts Society $9,698 for technology upgrades.
The Dubuque County Fine Arts Society (DCFAS) is a volunteer-driven 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit arts organization serving the Dubuque, Iowa community. DCFAS serves as an “umbrella” organization for a range of affiliate groups and programs and is governed by an active volunteer board and committees. The group’s mission is “to encourage, promote, and present local and regional arts including music, writing, theater, and fine art.”
With a team of like-minded individuals, Ruth and Russ Nash founded Fine Arts Society in 1976 to enrich the cultural landscape of Dubuque. With Russ and Ruth’s passing in 2000 and 2002, respectively, board members and volunteers committed themselves to maintaining the core programs of the organization and guiding DCFAS toward a more sustainable future. The challenge of reinventing Fine Arts Society has resulted in a number of new volunteers, committee and board members, bringing new ideas, energy, and vitality to the group while remaining true to its mission to provide free or low-cost access to arts experiences through a variety of cultural programming.
DCFAS affiliates and programming continue to keep the arts alive in the Dubuque community.
- The city’s longest running festival each May, DubuqueFest Fine Arts Festival brings three days of free concerts, dance, performance, two days of a juried fine art fair, and the annual Dubuque Old House Enthusiast’s Old Home Tour.
- Dubuque Area Writer’s Guild, meets to share their written work with others and publishes an annual anthology of creative writing and art by local writers.
- Dubuque Fine Arts Players put on the oldest one-act play contest in the United States. The contest receives entries from around the country and around the world; the top three plays are produced and performed by the group each year in the Fall. Productions feature the talents of local actors and directors in the world premiere performances of winning plays.
- Voices from the Warehouse Art Exhibit, is a month-long art exhibit and cultural event located in a re-purposed 15,000 square foot gallery space within Dubuque’s Historic Millwork District. V8 Innov8 Break the Paradigm with contemporary artists and cultural programming events this September.
- The new Nash Gallery, located at 489 4th street in Cable Car Square, downtown Dubuque gives the Dubuque County Fine Arts Society a meaningful presence in downtown Dubuque’s cultural district and serves as a creative hub for the organization and its affiliates.