Englert Theater at 100

My granddaughter Caroline Louise and I spent the day at the Englert shooting pictures of the PINES and MASON JENNINGS last year. 

Self-portrait: Sandra Dyas with her granddaughter Caroline Louise in the Englert Green Room.

The Englert Theatre in Iowa City celebrates it first century with the exhibit “Englert at 100: Photographs of Sandra Louise Dyas.” A free opening reception and artist talk will be held in the Douglas & Linda Paul Gallery on the 2nd floor of the Englert Theatre on Friday, April 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. as part of the Mission Creek Festival 2013. Sandra Dyas will talk about her methods and work at 5:30 p.m. and refreshments will be served at 6 p.m.

It is no surprise that Sandra, a veteran photographer and lecturer at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, was asked to document a year at the Englert in photographs. Dyas has been using her camera to photograph the Iowa City music scene since she moved to the area in 1987. In 2007 University of Iowa Press published Down to the River; Portraits of Iowa Musicians, a compelling collection of 60 photographs of Iowa City musicians and their performances.

As the Englert’s Artist in Residence, Sandra spent 2012 capturing all the exciting on- and off-stage action of the Englert’s 99th year in thousands of photographs. Twenty-eight of the best photographs have been framed and a slide show of hundreds more will be on display during the reception. The exhibit brings to life the historic theater, capturing the staff who make it all happen, moments in the green room, and the performers who grace the Englert’s stage, including Mission Creek Festival 2012 artists such as the Magnetic Fields, Caroline Smith, and Seun Kuti.

“Englert at 100: Photographs of Sandra Louise Dyas” runs April 2 through 30. An auction and closing reception will be held on Friday, April 26, from 5 to 8 p.m.