What do hot dogs, a snow plow, an early 20th century automobile, ski boots and a canned ham have in common? Normally, not a lot. But if you visit the Dubuque Museum of Art’s “Dubuque By Design” exhibition, which opened last week, you’ll find all of these objects, and you’ll learn their connections to Dubuque. The idea for the unique exhibition came when Gary Stoppelman, DuMA’s executive director, moved to the area in 2021.
“Gary was pretty new,” said curatorial director Stacy Peterson. “It was his original idea, because he was learning about the community and seeing all of these different things from an outsider’s perspective.” Dubuque’s unique design elements and the history of Dubuque itself got the ball rolling for the DuMA team as it brainstormed what an exhibition featuring the city’s best art and design elements might look like.
“So it’s been three years in the making,” Peterson said. “And with the building project and working with designers and thinking about design constantly, the exhibition is a perfect fit.” “Dubuque by Design” encompasses eight broad areas, including architecture, graphic design, transportation, industrial design, fashion and interior design.
Visitors will see the desk of Alfred Caldwell, the force behind Eagle Point Park. As superintendent of parks in Dubuque from 1933 to 1936, Caldwell oversaw the construction of the park. His landscaping and prairie architecture buildings, both in the city and at the park,.