Just Crushing | Accepting Applications!

Do you know a teen who lives in Johnson or Muscatine County in Iowa who loves art? Is interested in civics? Enjoys demolition derby?

BFF grantees Allison Rowe and Nancy Nowacek are excited to share they are currently accepting applications for their June 2025 Art & Civics Camp:  a 5-day camp where 14-17-year-olds from Eastern Iowa will work in teams to decorate demolition derby cars about a social issue important to them. In July, teens will get to see their complete cars in a winner-takes-all demolition derby heat at a local County fair!

Learn more about this opportunity, the artists and educators who are leading it, and apply here:

This program also involves a research component that the artists and their collaborator, social studies educator Maia Sheppard, are running through the University of Iowa in order to better understand how participation in this public art-making project influences teens' ability and interest to engage with civic issues.

Support for this work is provided by Big Field Fund, a program of Public Space One. Funding is provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. It is also supported by a grant from the Iowa Arts Council, made possible by the Iowa Economic Development Authority.