The Octagon Center for the Arts is a non-profit community art organization located in downtown Ames Main Street Cultural District. The Octagon has been a cornerstone of the cultural scene in Ames since 1966. The Octagon serves more than 30,000 people annually through education classes and outreach programs, rotating exhibits, retail gallery shop, and special events such as the annual Octagon Art Festival. Come experience the arts at the Octagon.The founders of the Octagon visualized an art center that would foster active participation in the arts by providing a place where the arts are taught to people of all ages to give serious practicing artists a meeting place to work together, exchange ideas, and discuss common interests to offer activities that would stimulate the appreciation of the arts and to provide an outlet for the works of area artists
