Sustaining arts and culture to inspire expression, expand opportunity, and strengthen communities

On any given day, the Waterloo Center for the Arts hums with possibility.

“Waterloo Center for the Arts is one of the most dynamic spaces in the Waterloo-Cedar Valley community,” said Chawne Paige, Executive Director, Waterloo Center for the Arts. 

What began as an art museum now includes a theater, children’s museum, amphitheater, classrooms, and gathering spaces where people come together to celebrate, learn, and connect.

It is more than a place to view art. It is a space built for community.

“We strive to be a space that’s safe for engagement and a champion of dialogue,” Chawne said. “We’re not just the stuff on the wall. We create experiences around ideas so people can connect with them together.”

That connection matters. “Creativity is one of the cornerstones of innovation,” he said. “It gives us the ability to see the world differently.” Exposure to arts and culture helps people understand one another. “It gives us the capacity to hear a different thought and not be so quick to shut it down.”

Art also carries something deeper. “Art has this beautiful ability to be the alchemy of humanity,” Chawne said. “If you support a community with a space where people can tune into that creativity, it has the ability to help heal.”

That belief is visible across downtown Waterloo. Investment in arts and culture has transformed public
space into a hub of activity, from performances at the RiverLoop Amphitheatre to hands-on learning inside the Phelps Youth Pavilion. Families, artists, and visitors of all ages find ways to engage, create, and belong.

“I would love to say we’re the disco ball spinning in the community, reflecting the vibrant light of its people,” he said. “We want to be a mirror.”

That vibrancy extends beyond the Cedar Valley. The Center stewards nearly 9,000 works of art, a collection owned by the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa and held in trust for the community. 

“The collection is owned by the Community Foundation, and we serve as its stewards,” Chawne said. Through partnerships and exhibitions across the country, that collection has helped put Waterloo on a broader cultural map. “There are people across the country who know about Waterloo because of this collection.”

Support through endowment funds held with CFNEIA and grants from the Foundation helps sustain programming, expand scholarships, and ensure continued access to the arts. “That support is essential, especially when the arts face funding challenges,” Chawne said.

Vibrant communities are built over time through creativity, partnership, and shared investment. In Waterloo, the Center for the Arts continues to create space where people gather, express, and see the world in new ways.