EXCLUSIVE: Renew Moline on Friday publicly released a 102-page Public Art and Placemaking Plan, which will be considered by the Moline City Council at its meeting next Tuesday, March 30. The plan lays out three strategies that will help shape the future of public art in downtown Moline and creates a strong foundation in the city to support public art. “Public art in Moline importantly shows a vibrant, growing economy and is reflective of a community emerging from the challenges of the last year,” Mayor Stephanie Acri said in a Friday release. “We are looking forward to seeing the plan and... Read More

Quad City Arts announces the open Call for Entries for public sculpture to be considered for exhibition in the Quad Cities on a one-year lease. Currently, the cities of Bettendorf, Rock Island and Moline participate in the program with their own selection committees who choose from the available sculptures for pieces that provide points of interest, inspire discussion, and attract visitors to the community. Quad City Arts has facilitated the leasing and installation of public sculpture in the Quad Cities since 2002. All the sculptures are for sale and can be purchased by individuals, businesses,... Read More

MOLINE – Brandon Nees squinted into the sun Wednesday morning at the dilapidated, vacant Spiegel building, and all he saw was bright, boundless possibility. That’s partly because the 25-year-old Davenport artist, who graduated from Moline High School, painted the word “possibility” in big turquoise block letters across seven plywood panels – among nine colorful 7.6-foot-by-6.75 feet panels he created for a $10,000 public mural on the boarded-up ground floor of the city-owned Spiegel building off River Drive (200 20th St.) in downtown Moline. “It’s amazing,” Nees said of the finished... 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

Renew Moline is pleased to announce the selection of Quad Cities artist Brandon Nees to complete the public art project on the city-owned Spiegel Building on River Drive in downtown Moline. Renew partnered with the City of Moline and Quad City Arts to issue a Call for Entries, resulting in twenty-eight submissions from artists around the Midwest. After culling the proposals that did not meet submission requirements, Renew Moline’s Public Art Steering Committee evaluated twenty of the proposals and chose three for further consideration. On September 8, Mr. Nees’ proposed concept was endorsed... Read More