Creating art is typically a solitary activity. For Black Hawk College students this spring, it was more isolating than usual, as they worked together – while physically apart – to produce a 36-page art magazine. ArtFusion magazine is produced every other year by and for BHC visual communications students. It features essays, digital drawing, photography, painting and other student works. When the college’s Art 248 – Production and Prepress class (about 14 students) went completely online in mid-March – because of Covid-19 — creating the collaborative, full-color publication became... Read More

You can help make a child’s first day at school a lot more special by helping The First Day Project. Over 25,000 kids receive free or reduced lunches, and therefore they qualify for free school supplies through the project, which relies on the generosity of locals in the community to help out. The First Day Project used to partner with the Postal Service to collect the school supplies but three years ago they Postal Service stopped the program and United Way stepped in to help. “In the past, we worked mainly with our business community to collect the items but the need is too great... Read More

From July 2-August 31, 2020, Quad City Arts Art @ the Airport presents Ralph Scott’s digital paintings, Andrea Van Wyk’s oil paintings and Terry Rathje’s sculptures. Ralph Scott (East Peoria, IL) manipulates cellphone images to create digital paintings. Through the use of software, Scott can achieve painterly effects or rework the composition to place emphasis on the most important details. He combines images, such as a tricycle with clouds, to create an otherworldly effect. The finished images are printed on aluminum. Andrea Van Wyk (Pella, IA) paints realistic magnifications of flowers... 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 adding YOU to the gallery! Our latest artist is a multi-talented creator, Jenny Lynn Stacy! Jenny Lynn hails from Davenport,... Read More

The Mississippi Valley Fair will go on, albeit in a stripped back fashion minus all of their big-name Grandstand Acts, Aug. 4-9 at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust, Davenport, event representative Shawn Loter announced in a live press conference broadcast on Facebook Monday night. The move to downsize is a different one from those taken by most other area events. The majority of local performance venues and events have decided to go virtual, including the Walcott Truckers Jamboree being held online July 9-11 and the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival, being held online July 31 and... Read More

During this unprecedented, scary time of Covid-19, it seems apropos that the first indoor live theater in the Quad-Cities since the shutdown will be the spooky ghost story, “The Turn of the Screw,” next month at Moline’s Black Box Theatre. The 60-seat theater (1623 5th Ave.) will open at half capacity on July 16 and close the 19th. “It is a short run,” said director Lora Adams, “but the set was almost completed and the actors’ schedules have changed since March, so we are only able to do the four-day weekend.” Actor Matt Walsh and Kayla Jo Pulliam will bring the creepy tale to life... Read More

No doubt about it, these have been some tough times we’ve been going through. But even through all of the negative events going on, there has been some good news, and that’s what we concentrate on here, in our What’s The Good News? column on QuadCities.com and KWQC-TV6’s “Paula Sands Live.” So, what’s the good news for this month? Creature Feature Creeping In The Quad Cities has a new remedy for all that ails them, as Dr. San Guinary brings his Creature Feature T.V. program to the Saturday night airwaves at 11 p.m. starting on July 4th on COZI 6.3. The one-hour program, hosted by... Read More

With social distancing and safety measures in place, the 2020 Quad City Arts’ Metro Arts Youth Apprenticeship Program was still able to move forward, providing thirty area youth, ages 15-21, with five-week paid summer apprenticeships. These apprentices create arts projects that positively impact our community: a mural in Moline, Improv Comedy, and a mural in Rock Island.  These projects were made possible through support from the City of Rock Island, Friendship Manor, Modern Woodman of America, The Moline Foundation, and Renew Moline. The mural in Moline is underway and located in the courtyard... Read More

Eight months after its stirring premiere at the Putnam Museum Giant Screen Theater in Davenport, “A Bridge Too Far From Hero Street” – a new film that tells the true story of one local soldier’s involvement in the largest air assault in history – will be shown in two free online screenings over the July 4th weekend. Moline-based Fourth Wall Films and the Putnam Museum will screen the documentary at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 5, followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle. An encore presentation will stream at 7 p.m. Monday, July 6. Viewers are invited to visit Facebook.com/HeroStreetMovie... Read More

Are you NERVOUS? Well, maybe you should be if you think you might miss Nervous Neal Smith’s live stream featuring his original music! Monday the 29th at 8 p.m. Central time, Smith will be presenting a Facebook live stream consisting entirely of original music. Included in the mix will be songs recently licensed for use by NBC Sports, The Science Channel, TruTV, and Telemundo. Smith is best known for his work with a variety of acts around the Quad-Cities, including the Kabalas and Metrolites, as well as his own bands. “If you don’t think the music will entertain you, watching... Read More