MAINFRAME DONOR RECOGNITION

Unique Sound Installation Highlights Why Donors Value Cultural Investments and Work of Mainframe Artists

Set to begin and complete in 2021, Alex Braden’s donor recognition sound installation goes far beyond the standard names on plaques seen in other nonprofit lobbies. Recognizing that Mainframe’s mission, generously supported by community leaders, is to create a sustainable hub of arts and culture serving not only Des Moines, but the makers and creative laborers who keep our city vibrant and exciting, Braden devised a sound installation that showcases each of these characteristics in turn.

Over a third of Braden’s budget is directed towards custom art by the studio inhabitants of Mainframe. Each participating donor will offer a short, recorded message describing why the arts are important to themselves and to Des Moines—in short, why we need art and culture in our lives and why it’s worth paying for. These recordings, along with sounds of Mainframe artists at work, will be developed into two sound collages, playable through a mural-like arrangement of speakers. Each composition will be pressed onto custom vinyl with unique record artwork jackets commissioned from the artists of Mainframe and produced by Mainframe letterpress studio tenants. In this way the local arts are financially supported and highlighted for their vitality and excellence.