If you visit the Quad City Botanical Center by the end of May – and you certainly should – you’ll see a portrait of an artist as a young man. A very young, talented man indeed. Eight-year-old Levi Folker of Davenport is the youngest artist ever to have his own exhibit in the 23-year-history of the QCBC, with 28 of his deeply colorful, imaginative paintings on the walls in the main hallway. They’re on display for all of April and May. “I like painting because it makes me happy,” Levi, a second-grader at Adams Elementary, who’s been homeschooled this past year, said recently. “I like... Read More

Quad City Arts presents the 44th-annual High School Art Invitational at Quad City Arts Gallery in Rock Island, from Saturday, March 27 through April 29, 2021. The exhibition is free and open to the public. The gallery (1715 2nd Ave., Rock Island) will be open extended hours — until 8 p.m. — on April 1 and 29th.  A virtual award presentation will go live on Quad City Arts Facebook page on April 1st, along with an online gallery where all of the entries can be viewed at www.quadcityarts.com/hs-invitational.html, This exhibition features exemplary works of art selected by each high... 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

The 2021 Quad City Arts Metro Arts Youth Apprenticeship Program is accepting applications through Wednesday, March 31.  This program provides area youth ages 15-21 with five-week paid summer apprenticeships. These apprentices will create community arts projects that positively impact our community. These projects include mural painting, poetry, film, graphic design, and more. Interested applicants can apply online at quadcityarts.com/metro-arts This year’s Metro Arts program will start on Monday, June 7, and end on Thursday, July 8. Apprentices will meet for up to four hours Monday through Thursday.... Read More

The Bereskin Gallery and Art Academy, 2967 State St., Bettendorf, will highlight the multimedia artworks of Davenport artist Steve Banks in March and April. An opening reception with Banks will be held Friday, March 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Banks’ new exhibit. “Construct/Destruct,” emphasizes the architectural underpinnings in his artwork, which includes several ceramic sculptures. There are 25 pieces — both two-dimensional and three-dimensional works – in the gallery. “It’s something this area hasn’t seen. This is the first time he’s ever exhibited anything like this,”... Read More

In late October 2020, Quad City Arts’ Visiting Artist Series launched the Educational Resources project with content from 11 professional performing artists. A dozen new artists presenting a broad selection of music, dance, theatre and visual arts are joining the project as of Friday, March 5, for a total of 21 artists and ensembles participating. Quad City Arts has enlisted these performers, including a North Carolina rapper and banjo player, a former NPR “Tiny Desk Concert” contestant, and an emerging Chicago dance studio, to create videos and documents to be shared with Quad City educators... Read More

The latest Quad City Arts’ Art at the Airport – on display through April 28 — presents aquatic paintings by Brian Buckles of Waterloo, Iowa, fiber tapestries by Rowen Schussheim-Anderson, Davenport, and coiled fiber baskets by Kelly Hanson of Moline. Brian Buckles was born and raised in the Quad-Cities, yet has had a lifelong fascination with marine life and sharks. “The cruelty of shark finning and the unsustainable fishing practices that are threatening the survival of many species are the inspirations for my work,” he says of his aquatic paintings. “Because most people... Read More

For Western Illinois University art professor Bruce Walters of Davenport, a 37-year career teaching in higher education has been accentuated by the personal artwork he’s created, in a wide variety of media. As he prepares to retire from teaching in May, an exhibit of part of his inspired work — titled “What the Hand Dare Seize the Fire?” — is on display at the University Art Gallery in Macomb through April 2. The title of the current exhibit is taken from a 227-year-old poem, “The Tyger,” by William Blake. “The first drawings in this exhibition are drawn from... 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

Living Proof Exhibit has made many hearts leap in the Quad-Cities with its “Make Hope Soar” birdhouse project, and now that art initiative has taken wing for Chicago senior citizens. Chicago Methodist Senior Services (CMSS) this month has partnered with the Moline-based nonprofit, so far producing 80 decorated birdhouses (done by staff and residents) that will be given to people impacted by cancer. “It’s really been an amazing turnout for this project,” Jenn Ross, the art programming coordinator for CMSS, said Friday. “I think there is this real strong connection to cancer and how it... Read More