Join us monthly to generate new creative writing inspired by works in the Stanley collection. Each session will be led by a different talented writer from our area, who will be offering a new prompt and a new approach to ekphrastic writing (writing inspired by visual art). Bring your own notebook and pencil or computer and leave with the beginning of a newly written piece.

Co-sponsored by Iowa City Poetry. Teen and adult writers in all genres are welcome.

Write at the Stanley meets every fourth...

Benjamin Hale will read from his new book, Cave Mountain: A Disappearance and a Reckoning in the Ozarks, and will be joined in conversation with University of Iowa Associate Professor, Bennett Sims. Praised by Patton Oswalt as "The damndest mixing of true crime, memoir, and maybe (?) ghost story I’ve ever read," Cave Mountain tells the true story of how Hale's cousin, Haley, disappeared in a mountain trail in the Ozarks when she was only 6 years old in 2001. After Haley was found, she spoke of...

The Stanley presents a double feature screening in collaboration with FilmScene. Head over to The Chauncey to watch back-to-back screenings of A Dessert for Constance and Towards Tenderness, both films touch on the subject of masculinity and the lives of African immigrants in France.

Reserve your tickets here. Evening screening is Pay What You Can.

This programming is related the exhibition, Flex: Masculinities in the Arts of Global Africa, on view at the Stanley from February 28, 2026 - July 26...

Guest Artist Masterclass: Kenneth Thompkins, trombone

This event is free and open to the public. 

Guest Artist Recital: Kenneth Thompkins, trombone

This concert is free and open to the public.