College Hill Arts Festival Records
Scope and Contents
The College Hill Arts Festival records date from 1978 to 2015 and document the activities and operations of the festival and its organizers during the majority of its existence. The collection includes planning documents, correspondence, photographs, artist information and records, financial information, and publicity materials related to a majority of the year’s in which the College Hill Arts Festival was held.
Many topics are represented across the records, such as meetings, festival patrons, judging and jurying information, artist details, promotional work, and various administrative records.
Most years include photographs in color prints, black and white prints, slides, and negatives. The photographs are a mix of labeled and unlabeled. There are also a number of undated photographs. The photographs show artists and their work, judges, jurors, organizers, patrons, award winners, and festival crowds.
Dates
- c. 1978-2014
Creator
- College Hill Arts Festival (Organization)
Language of Materials
Materials entirely in English.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions. Materials are open for research.
Technical Access
Some content is recorded on media that requires 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Many items housed in the Rod Library Special Collections & University Archives, including unpublished images and manuscripts, may be protected by copyright, publication rights, trademarks, or model release rights which the library does not own and for which the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 College Hill Arts Festival traced its roots to “Left Bank Days” which was held in 1978 to determine if there was interest in creating an annual arts festival. This first iteration of the festival included 24 artists and was held on the sidewalks in the College Hill area of Cedar Falls, Iowa. The first official College Hill Arts Festival was then held in 1979 with 42 participating artists. The College Hill Merchant and Professional Association (CHMPA) was the major festival sponsor and supporter from 1978 to 1992. By 1986, the majority of the artists’ booths had moved from their 23rd Street / College Hill locations to the University of Northern Iowa campus.
Over the course of its history, the festival grew in size and variety of represented artists, ranging from local to regional and national artists. People who have held leadership positions or been associated with the festival include Karen Mukai, Len Froyen, Mary Sue Bartlett, and artist Gary Kelley.
Festival organizers suspended the 2023 festival and ultimately made the decision to disband the festival entirely.
The collection includes a document called “College Hill Arts Festival, 1979-2003” written by Karen Mukai and C. Hugh Pettersen, which contains detailed information about the festival during that time span.
Extent
18.61 Linear Feet (18 boxes)
3.58 Linear Feet (oversize folder)
Arrangement
Karen Mukai and C. Hugh Pettersen organized the records before they were given to SC&UA and the collection’s arrangement follows Mukai’s arrangement in nearly all respects.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Karen Mukai donated these materials to SC&UA in 2005, with more records donated in 2016.
Processing Information
Collection processed and finding aid prepared by University Archivist Gerald L. Peterson, February 2007. Additional materials have been added in increments since the original acquisition, including in 2016 (Gerald Peterson). Updated by Library Associate Dave Hoing, October 2017, and processing archivist Tessa Wakefield, December 2019. Inventory updated by student assistant Ilse Hooper, September 2024, and finding aid extensively edited by Tessa Wakefield, September 2024.
- Title
- College Hill Arts Festival Records
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script