Champaign, IL, artist Steven Hudson will have a solo exhibition of his paintings, “Adaptations,” on display through Friday, Nov. 20 at the Western Illinois University Art Gallery. According to his artist statement, Hudson’s work navigates the space of an imagined post apocalypse, depicting a remnant human presence that navigates a bleak landscape. The people and animals exist without direction or purpose among the familiar debris of our time. The work forebodes our current environmental annihilation. Hudson seeks to record a sometimes beautiful, but always melancholy, portrait... Read More

The Western Illinois University Art Gallery is hosting an exhibition by the Experiencing Veterans and Artists Collaborations (EVAC) Project through Friday, Nov. 6. Through “Bridging the Gap,” EVAC uses storytelling and art to educate the public about life in the military. EVAC curators have interviewed veterans about their experiences and artists have made an edition of prints based on their interpretation of those stories. Veterans who participated in the project served from W.W. II through the post 9-11 period, in all branches of the armed services. Sections of the interviews are... Read More

The legacy of an influential early Quad City Arts leader lives on in countless local artists, art supporters, and a huge sculpture in one of the area’s most beautiful parks. The regional nonprofit (based in Rock Island and serving six counties) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Lloyd Schoeneman began working for Quad City Arts in 1978 as a resident artist, teaching art to many groups including children, the elderly, the disabled and the incarcerated. He worked for Quad City Arts for 22 years, including as executive director of the Quad City Arts Council when the organization, along... Read More

Many public places throughout the Quad-Cities are more beautiful and colorful because of Quad City Arts, which marks its 50th anniversary this year. The late executive director Lloyd Schoeneman (who died at 49 in 2001 from cancer) was the driving force behind our public sculpture program. In the 1990s, Lloyd introduced the concept of community-built art to the Quad-Cities, organizing design charrettes which resulted in the Navigation Steps at Leach Park (Bettendorf) the Nature Spiral at Illiniwek Park (Hampton) and the Lindsay Park Architectural Sculpture Park (Village of East Davenport). He also... Read More

Many of the works the Figge Art Museum has collected over the past few years provide insight into modern American life from various points of view. Beginning Saturday, New American Scene: Recent Acquisitions to the Figge Collection will be displayed on the second-floor Gildehaus Gallery, examining some of these modern perspectives on American life with 15 featured works that have been added to the museum’s collection in the last five years. The “American Scene” is a term applied predominantly to representational paintings made in the first half of the 20th century that captured American... Read More

We’re falling into fall, and looking at some of the good news and positive things going on around the Quad-Cities, as we HAVE DONE (foreshadowing there) every month in What’s The Good News, Quad-Cities? Every month around this time, we’ve dropped this column on QuadCities.com and I appear on our media partner show, “Paula Sands Live” on KWQC-TV6 to give you a rundown of some of the cool things going on in and around the area. It’s all good news, all the time. AND… because this has been such a popular feature since it debuted three years ago, we’ve decided to give you... Read More

Like many artistic endeavors since March, the Quad City Arts’ subscription series of benefit parties featuring artists from the Visiting Artist Series program will move online this fall with a virtual dinner and a show. Performing Arts Signature Series, or PASS, will not have in-person events for the fall. The series will instead offer a unique experience with take-out from a premium local restaurant paired with access to an online performance by a visiting artist who recorded a performance specifically for this event. The following performers are scheduled to appear: Thursday, Oct. 15: John... Read More

Quad City Arts’ subscription series of benefit parties featuring artists from the Visiting Artist Series program will move online this fall with a virtual “dinner and a show”. Performing Arts Signature Series, or PASS, will not have in-person events for the fall season.  The series will instead offer a unique experience with curbside take-out from a premium local restaurant paired with access to an online performance by a visiting artist who recorded a performance specifically for this event! The following performers are scheduled to appear: Thursday, Oct. 15: John Patti, steel pans (drums) Thursday,... Read More

Welcome to the QuadCities.com Virtual Art Gallery! In this feature, we’re spotlighting area artists and their work. Every Tuesday we’ll feature a new local artist. It’s free and our way of showcasing awesome area artists and allowing them to include a link to their own online gallery or patreon! If you’d like to be included in the gallery, just send your bio, a headshot pic of yourself and up to a half-dozen .jpgs of your art to Sean@QuadCities.com. We look forward to featuring you and your artworks in our gallery! This week’s artist is Kevin E. Smith! Here’s his bio: Kevin E.... Read More

Quad City Arts invites artists residing within a 250-mile radius of Rock Island, IL to submit a proposal for a gallery exhibition during 2021-22. Selected artists will be paired with one or two additional artists for a 2-month long exhibition between July 2021 through August 2022 in one of our two large exhibit spaces. Cohesive bodies of work are highly desired. All media will be considered. To enter, go to QuadCityArts.com and click on the Programs tab, then Visual Art Opportunities. The entry fee is $10. The deadline: Jan. 1, 2021.  Quad City Arts’ Rock Island Gallery occupies a 1908 department... Read More