Cedar Arts Forum Records
Scope and Contents
The Cedar Arts Forum records, dating from 1977 to 1988, consist of materials related to the organization’s work and activities in the Cedar Valley region throughout its history. The records provide insight into how public art was financed and performed in Iowa and the Midwest during this time period. The collection is arranged into five series.
The first series consists of the Cedar Arts Forum’s organizational records, such as its articles of incorporation and by-laws; board minutes; correspondence; and copies of its publications. It also includes committee work, artist contracts, news clippings, and information about its dissolution in 1998.
The Performers and Artists series contains files relating to individuals or groups of artists / performers associated with Cedar Arts Forum programming. Types of materials within these files include local and national news clippings, agency publicity material, and correspondence. Please note that materials relating to combined performances of two or more artists may be filed under just one or all of the artists’ names. The files are arranged alphabetically by performer name.
The Subject files series consists of materials related to local, state, regional, and national arts organizations, conferences, programs, grants, community development, trends, and other Cedar Arts Forum work. The files include correspondence, applications, news clippings, programs, and publicity material. There is some overlap across the subject files. The original processor of this collection relied primarily on the original order of the material to make arrangement decisions.
The Photographs and Slides series contains visual materials from various Cedar Arts Forum events. When the original photograph envelopes were labeled, SC&UA staff transferred that title to its new folder. Any folder that is named “Photographs” or “Slides” did not have an event or other title associated with it.
The Object series consists of awards, plaques, and shirts from the Cedar Arts Forum.
The Audiovisual materials, contains videocassettes, audiocassettes, and a handful of films related to the Cedar Arts Forum. The materials showcase performances and activities from the Cedar Arts Forum. Please see the inventory for a complete list of the materials.
Also included in this collection are oversized posters and artwork that are not tied to any particular series.
Dates
- 1977 - 1998
Creator
- Cedar Arts Forum (Organization)
Language of Materials
Materials entirely in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Most materials are open for research. Materials related to the confidentiality of personnel, student, medical, and other legally protected records are CLOSED to researchers for 70 years from the date of creation. If the date of creation is unknown, they are closed for 70 years from the date of processing. Consult the University Archivist with any questions or concerns.
Technical Access
Some content is recorded on media that requires the use of special playback equipment for access and use. It may require the production of a listening or viewing copy. SC&UA staff will determine options for use on a case by case basis.
General Use, Reproduction, and Copyright Policies
Many items housed in the Rod Library Special Collections & University Archives, including unpublished images and manuscripts, may be protected by copyright, publication rights, trademarks, or model release rights which the library does not own and for which the library cannot grant permission or licensing. Materials currently under copyright are usually still available for research and limited reproduction under Fair Use laws. However, it is the sole responsibility of the patron to determine whether or not their use of a given material falls within Fair Use guidelines and to obtain permission for said use from the rightful copyright owner.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy or similar laws, and the Iowa Open Records Law (see Iowa Code § 22.7). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Northern Iowa assumes no responsibility.
Biographical / Historical
The Cedar Arts Forum was founded in January 1975 to serve as a local arts agency and as a "catalyst for the arts in a multi-county, Cedar Valley, region." The Cedar Arts Forum succeeded the Waterloo Arts Council and expanded its programming and geographical coverage.
The Cedar Arts Forum produced workshops, lectures, conferences, exhibits, performances, and arts residencies for schools, communities, and the general public. Among its best known projects were the annual String Camps, the Very Special Arts Festivals, Food and Art in Lincoln Park, Artworks at the Airport, Black Hawk County art purchases, the Chamber Music Rural Residencies, and Artists in the Schools. The organization brought local, national, and international performers to Black Hawk County and the surrounding area.
Renata Sack served as Executive Director of Cedar Arts Forum from its inception in 1975 until its dissolution in June 1998.
Extent
17.12 Linear Feet (31 boxes)
7.16 Linear Feet (2 oversize folders)
Arrangement
The current arrangement of this collection retains, in so far as possible, whatever original order was apparent when the records were acquired. The non-paper based or oversize materials such as posters, large photographs, audiovisual materials, and textiles, were separated into their own series for preservation purposes.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
When the Cedar Arts Forum (CAF) dissolved in Spring 1998, its Executive Director, Renata Sack, contacted SC&UA archivist Gerald L. Peterson about donating the organization’s records. Peterson visited the CAF office in the Waterloo Public Library and determined that the records were of historical importance for research on the arts in Black Hawk County over the last quarter of the 20th century.
Peterson brought the first acquisition to SC&UA in Summer 1998. In March 2010, Peterson picked up an additional four boxes of videocassettes from Renata Sack. In September 2010, Peterson picked up another two boxes for video and audiocassettes from Sack.
Processing Information
Collection processed by University Archivist Gerald Peterson and Student Assistant Jordan Ockerman and finding aid written by Gerald Peterson, November 2004-January 2005. Updated in February 2015 by Peterson; October 2017 by Library Associate Dave Hoing; and September 2024 by processing archivist Tessa Wakefield and Student Assistant Ilse Hooper.
- Title
- Cedar Arts Forum Records
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script