JULIA FRANKLIN is an installation artist who uses old, worn objects to transform spaces into nostalgic settings that invite strangers to connect with the past, share their own stories, and spark new conversations.

JULIA FRANKLIN

Julia Franklin uses her art to tell the stories of what we leave behind. She creates immersive installations that memorialize everyday people, places, and moments to explore ideas of memory, loss, and identity. These environments, which are rooted in nostalgia and multi-sensory experiences, have evolved into sets for happenings and collaborative performances.

Franklin received her BFA in Printmaking from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, and earned her MFA in Sculpture from TCU in Fort Worth, Texas. She worked in community engagement at the Dallas Museum of Art before moving to rural Iowa in 2001. She served as Professor of Art at Graceland University for 18 years, where she received the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2011 and the Excellence in Scholarship Award in 2019. While at GU, Franklin was instrumental in the construction and operations of The Helene Center for the Visual Arts and chaired the Division of Fine Arts for 8 years. During her tenure, she taught courses in drawing, sculpture, experimental media, critical thinking, creativity and innovation, and survey art history. She founded Art Academy, a summer art camp for children in rural Southern Iowa and co-facilitated new faculty development. Franklin then managed Drake University’s Anderson Gallery before serving as a Community Investment Specialist and operating grant manager with Bravo Greater Des Moines.

Franklin leads the Friends of Drake Arts Board, chairs the Commissioned Print Initiative for the Des Moines Art Center’s Print Club, and teaches Art Appreciation at Des Moines Area Community College. She actively serves as a juror for competitive exhibitions, gives presentations at conferences, and creates commissions. She recently completed permanent artworks for the State of Iowa Historical Museum and the Surety Hotel in downtown Des Moines. Julia assisted Group Creative Services and other arts nonprofits with grant writing and served as a Facilitator for Artist INC, a professional development group that supports area creatives. Julia maintains a studio at Mainframe Studios in downtown Des Moines.

Franklin is a recipient of the prestigious Iowa Artist Fellowship and several art project grants which were made possible by the Iowa Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Julia has exhibited artworks in over 85 shows across the nation including the Fort Worth Contemporary, Dubuque Museum of Art, City Museum in St. Louis, the Sioux City Art Center, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, the Arlington Museum of Art, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, and many regional colleges and universities. She also participated in a pivotal month-long artist residency at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont.  

CONTACT

julia@juliafranklinart.com
641.781.0540