Cultural Opportunities Are Outstanding
You don't have to live in a large metropolitan area to enjoy rich cultural resources. The Iowa City area offers a wide array of arts, humanities, and other cultural experiences that reflect the diversity of our population and help define our communities.
Every week brings new activities and opportunities: national and international art exhibits, performing artists, community and professional theater troupes, live music, lectures and forums, local public radio broadcasts, book and poetry readings, and a wide range of community and special interest festivals. Many are free or low cost.
Hancher Auditorium, a modern performing arts center on the UI campus, hosts some of the world's top talent. The Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra and the U.S. Cellular Center provide wide-ranging, world-class offerings.
There are also many small live-music venues—featuring everything from blues and rock to folk, jazz, and polka—plus a number of local live-theater companies and venues.
More than 30 museums—including the African American Museum, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, Old Capitol Museum, National Czech & Slovak Museum, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, University of Iowa Museum of Art, the interactive Science Station featuring an IMAX® Dome Theater, and Iowa Children's Museum—draw thousands of visitors every year.
In the summer, Iowa City Summer of the Arts sponsors free weekly downtown jazz and pop concerts. Throughout the year, major poets, writers, artists, historians, scientists, and others speak or perform in University of Iowa venues and at the nationally recognized Prairie Lights Bookstore in downtown Iowa City.