New $300,000 Lighted Public Art Coming to Downtown Moline
The Quad Cities’ public art train keeps chugging along, as one of the largest art installations in the region is coming to downtown Moline.
The Moline Public Art Commission, in collaboration with MetroLINK and Quad City Arts, received over 250 artist submissions from around the world, for a transformational public art project at 1315 4th Ave., Moline. This highly anticipated project – budgeted at $300,000 — “seeks to create an interactive and visually stunning art installation at The Q Multimodal Station, marking the most ambitious public art undertaking in the Quad Cities,” according to Quad City Arts.
It technically may not be the most ambitious ever, as Davenport’s Figge Art Museum in May unveiled the $4-million “Evanescent Field,” lighting the entire four-story landmark museum in subtly shifting LED lights.
Another view of the downtown Moline site for a new “Leading Light” installation, at 1315 4th Ave.
The Moline Public Art Commission interviewed three finalists for the proposed “Leading Light” installation across July and early August. They came to Moline to survey the site and participate in an interview, commission member Daniel Otten said recently, noting they are:
The finalists were chosen from applicants to a Request for Qualifications (https://www.quadcityarts.com/moline-public-art-rfq.html), where they provided examples of prior work and a resume.
Quad City Arts assisted with developing the RFQ and has coordinated with the finalist and stakeholders to schedule the necessary meetings and interview, Otten said. The project for the Q, south of the MetroLINK Centre Station, was one that was identified as part of the “Moline Public Art and Placemaking Plan” adopted by the City of Moline and that also created the Public Art Commission to execute that vision, he said.
“The Art Placemaking Plan was developed with community feedback — we pulled from these themes when developing the RFQ for this project,” Otten noted. “Each finalist is an accomplished public artist and I am eager to see the concepts they come up with.”
Each of the three will be developing and presenting site-specific designs for the project this fall, with an expected final selection to come around October 20, he said. This project is jointly funded through the City of Moline and MetroLINK.
One view of the downtown Moline site for a new “Leading Light” installation, at 1315 4th Ave.
The $300,000 project budget allows for artistic excellence while ensuring durability and safety for an all-weather, outdoor installation, Quad City Arts said. Artists are required to incorporate lighting and other interactive elements to inspire community engagement and dynamic experiences.
“The project offers artists the opportunity to activate a unique urban space with bold, colorful, and imaginative artwork,” the Quad City Arts blog said. “The selected installation will transform the grassy plaza and surrounding structures into a destination for locals and visitors, fostering connectivity and enriching the downtown Moline experience.”
“With this initiative, we aim to reimagine what public spaces can be,” said Jeff Dismer, chair of the Moline Public Art Commission. “This project exemplifies the power of art to create vibrant, inviting environments that reflect our community’s creativity and aspirations.”
“It is a big space to activate,” Otten said recently. “But 100% of the budget listed on the RFQ goes to the selected artist. From which they need to pay for design, materials, engineering, fabrication, shipping and installation. The RFQ doesn’t stipulate a profit margin for the project.”
A series of lit interactive sculptures or one large sculpture could be placed in the grassy plaza to the east of The Q Multimodal Station, according to the project RFQ. A mural, lighting, or sculptural component working in conjunction with the sculptures in the grassy plaza, could cover the stairwell building to the skywalk. The art would activate the space and invite locals and tourists alike to stop, visit, and walk through the area.
At this site, the community has identified the following:
Values:
- The artwork should be bold, colorful, and fun.
- The artwork should be unique and unlike any other art in the Quad Cities.
- The artwork should present concepts that are new and different.
Design Considerations:
- Scale is important at this location.
- Connectivity to the river.
- The piece should be lit.
The goal is for this public art project to celebrate artistic excellence in a work of art that will activate the site and create an art space that will draw people in, engage the community, and encourage social interaction in the heart of downtown Moline.
A 2013 sculpture Gordon Huether made for the Salt Lake City International Airport TRAX Station.
The site for the installation is a portion of a triangular piece of property located to the east of The Q Multimodal Station and south of the railroad tracks. 4th Avenue / Illinois 92 is a one-way street with traffic heading west, located south of the site. There is a continuous sidewalk along 4th Avenue, that leads to The Q. A 44-foot-tall tower is located in the center of the site, which contains a stair and elevator that provides access to the skybridge over the rail line, and connects to the MetroLINK Centre Station to the north. There is a sidewalk from the tower which heads west to The Q, and a sidewalk that connects to 4th Avenue and a drop-off area, which shall be maintained.
Jennifer Hirsch, manager of administration at MetroLINK, expressed the organization’s dedication to enhancing community spaces: “At MetroLINK, we believe that public transportation is more than just moving people from point A to point B; it’s about enriching the journey and the spaces we share. This art installation at The Q Multimodal Station embodies our commitment to creating vibrant, engaging environments that reflect the cultural heartbeat of Moline. By integrating art into our transit spaces, we aim to inspire and connect individuals, making every trip a more meaningful experience.”
Artist statements
The three Moline finalists have all done substantial public art work around the world.
Based in Tucson, Arizona, Joseph O’Connell founded his studio, Creative Machines in 1995 to support his creative practice. A diverse team with backgrounds in art, engineering, architecture, and custom fabrication assist him in realizing his award-winning artwork. O’Connell’s site-specific sculptures have been commissioned all over the world.
A statement on his website says:
“I approach art as a venue for exploring and expanding what it means to be human. Some of my pieces stand as individual actors: mechanical beings sharing our world with their own unique model of existence. Other works form small spaces that surround: uneasy but protected environments that grant us permission to lower our defenses and witness our own true ways of being. Projected light and human-powered motion blur the boundaries between viewer, artwork, and environment, further allowing a temporary suspension of reality and moments of internal reflection. Using beauty to disarm, these works co-opt their larger site framings into stages for moral, emotional, and intellectual self-reflection.”
Skunk Control is a creative collective based in Melbourne, Australia.
“We create visually engaging works and immersive experiences that provide audiences with a sense of wonderment and opportunities to make discoveries,” its website says. “Drawing on technology; design and art and our training in engineering, science and education, our works are interactive and impactful. As well as creating permanent sculptures, ephemeral art installations, bespoke lighting and engaging spaces, we also produce hands on community outreach programs that complement our creative works and engage the community in the artistry and technology that underpins them.
“As for our name and its meaning….we’ll keep you guessing,” the Skunk Control About page says.
Born to German immigrant parents in Rochester, N.Y., Gordon Huether has been creating public art for over 35 years. His work has been exhibited at museums and galleries, and collected across the U.S., including in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and New York. He has received more than 70 public art commissions and more than 175 private commissions.
“Truly successful and exceptional public art should make the viewer’s experience of the installation an adventure, a visually and emotionally engaging experience that not only defines the space, but also creates a unique, iconic and meaningful journey through the spirit, identity and culture of the site,” Huether’s website says.
The budget for this new Moline public art project dwarfs major public mural projects created over the past two years in the Illinois QC. The Moline Public Art Commission and QC Arts in October 2023 celebrated the completion of a large mural on the west side of 1405 5th Ave., Moline, now occupied by Late Rider bar and restaurant. Two Brooklyn, N.Y.-based artists were paid $30,000 for eight days of work on that project.
Quad City Arts coordinated two new murals for the revitalization of Arts Alley, 1719 2nd Ave., Rock Island, which attracted 400 artist submissions worldwide. One QC and one Miami artist were paid a total of $60,000 for their separate murals, on two opposite walls facing the alley, formally unveiled in November 2024. The project to renovate Arts Alley cost a total of $534,000, half of which was covered by a state of Illinois tourism grant.
“Luminous Intervention” is a light installation Skunk Control created for its home city of Melbourne, Australia.
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