Watkins Grand Foyer
Enjoy One of Our Exhibitions While You Shop or Register for a class in the Watkins Grand Foyer
The Frank E. Watkins Grand Foyer Gallery is near the main entrance to our building by the main desk and World’s Window Gift Store. It features ongoing changing exhibitions, in addition to exhibitions that are planned to interpret and expand upon the permanent collection and focus on Midwest Art, American Crafts, and Haitian and Caribbean Art.
Now Displaying
Twin Passions,
Art and the Outdoors:
Journey from Landscape to Abstraction
by Greg Hargreaves
On view March 17-November 8, 2026
This exhibition features acrylic paintings by retired Waterloo commercial illustrator Greg Hargreaves. At the core of his work is the tension between the ‘wild’ and the attempt to harness and control that ‘wildness.’ His compositions explore the countryside outside his backdoor, which is
a patchwork quilt of pastures and row crops, lush, green, and pastoral. Hargreaves says he finds a never-ending source of inspiration in the
co-existence of chaos and order. An accomplished and industrious Midwestern artist, Hargreaves used to begin with thumbnail sketches,
but he abandoned that in favor of a more intuitive approach. The artist quips, “Just for fun I will throw some paint on a canvas and let the paint lead me in directions uncharted. That journey is to find out just what kind of artist I will be when I grow up. Seriously, our inner child needs nurturing and freedom. That child needs recess. That child needs the open air and a butterfly.”
Gallery Talk & Opening Reception
Friday, March 20, 2026
5:30-7:30pm
Free Admission
Memories of
Woodie Long
On view March 2-December 6, 2026
Self-taught artist Woodrow Wilson “Woodie” Long is known for his expressive, gestural, memory-driven compositions describing the lives
of sharecroppers, women in procession, and children at play. The WCA is proud to present a selection of paintings, some of which are collaborations with other artists, all gifted to the Center by Woodie’s widow Dot Long. This exhibition is a joyful and vibrant celebration of
is life’s work.