♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] Enrichment opportunities can be found in many forms woven through the Loess Hills Scenic Byway.

Artists of all types have staked their claim along the byway to create a vibrant environment for art in southwest Iowa.

♪♪ ♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] In the town of Malvern, a former house of worship has been transformed into a beacon for art thanks to a local artist looking for potential in the building and his hometown.

♪♪ [Zack Jones] I needed a place to live, I needed a place to work and then a place I could open up the doors and host a show.

I was always drawn to the old Main Street two story buildings.

I moved back here without intention of maybe getting an old Main Street building.

But then there was a Facebook post about what could this old building be?

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] Zack Jones, a Malvern native who returned to his hometown over a decade ago, envisioned Art Church Iowa as an amplifier for art of all kinds in southwest Iowa.

[Zack Jones] Once I saw a photo of this upstairs and what could it be, I was like this is a studio on steroids.

♪♪ [Zack Jones] I fell in love with the space.

This has a nice peaceful feel to it, natural light, room to move around.

Other than the amount of work that it needed and continues to need, it really kind of filled all my wants.

[Kohlsdorf] The desanctified structure is Jones' working studio by day and doubles as a multiuse exhibition space.

[Zack Jones] And I got it in my head right then and there, I thought well this would be a great place to do some really intimate singer songwriter concerts.

(nature sounds) ♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] A growing appetite for public art displays would branch out of Malvern and make its way across surrounding communities along the Loess Hills Scenic Byway.

♪♪ [Zack Jones] These towns were not that far apart, ten miles, maybe 20 miles.

I think southwest Iowa has a lot to offer between the communities.

That was kind of the idea with the art tour.

That's our slogan is connecting communities through art.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] For more than a decade, artists and their communities have signed on for the Southwest Iowa Art Tour the third weekend in September.

For two days, travelers can explore all kinds of art in over ten different locations along the byway.

♪♪ [Becca Castle Laughlin] We have everything from stained glass artists to your traditional what you might think of as painting, photography.

♪♪ [Becca Castle Laughlin] There's a lot of pottery.

There's a lot of artist demonstrations that happen along the art tour.

You really get that chance to visit with the artists, learn about their techniques, where they get their inspiration from, maybe even sign up for a class.

♪♪