Executive Director

Julia@mainframestudios.org

Julia Franklin is a nonprofits arts leader and an Iowa Artist Fellow who uses found objects to tell stories about what we leave behind. Julia creates immersive installations that memorialize everyday people, places, and moments to explore ideas of memory, loss, and identity.

Franklin received a BFA in Printmaking from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, and a MFA in Sculpture from TCU in Fort Worth, Texas. She worked at the Dallas Museum of Art in community engagement and served as Professor of Art at Graceland University for 18 years, where she received awards in both Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship. At Graceland, Franklin taught studio and art history courses and founded Art Academy, a summer art camp for children in rural Iowa.

Franklin then managed Drake University ‘s Anderson Gallery before serving as the Community Investment Specialist for 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 also assists arts organizations with grant writing, facilitates professional development sessions, juries exhibitions, and maintains a studio where she works on new projects and commissions.

Franklin has exhibited artworks in over 85 shows across the nation including the Dubuque Museum of Art, City Museum in St. Louis, the Arlington Museum of Art, and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center and participated in a pivotal residency at the Vermont Studio Center.