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On December 1, 2023, the Des Moines Art Center (DMAC) Director Kelly Baum notified Mary Miss, an internationally acclaimed leader of the land art movement, that the DMAC plans to tear down one of the artist’s most significant commissions, Greenwood Pond: Double Site (1989-1996). The DMAC’s decision raises numerous legal and ethical issues and questions about the art center’s stewardship of the artwork and commitment to the artist. And it appears to violate the DMAC’s 1994 contract with the artist in which it pledged to “reasonably protect and maintain” the work, which opened in 1996 and was commissioned for its permanent collection.

���ұ��� (���ұ���) has called for letters to be sent to DMAC Director Baum urging that the demolition decision be reversed and to encourage meaningful consultations with the artist and others to find a solution that results in restoration of artwork and the development of a long-term, ongoing maintenance plan. 

Below are several of the letters sent.