“47th Annual High School Art Invitational,” through April 25

Through Thursday, April 25

Quad City Arts Center, 1715 Second Avenue, Rock Island IL

Nearly 200 works by gifted student artists will be on display at Rock Island's Quad City Arts Center through April 25 in the expansive 47th Annual High School Art Invitational, a glorious celebration of local talent featuring the Quad Cities’ most promising artists expressing themselves through paintings, drawings, sculpture, paper, recycled materials, and film.

Each spring, Quad City Arts displays artwork from top high school artists and their art teachers. High school art instructors in the greater Quad City region are invited to choose works by their top five students in any category, plus additional works in the categories of film, paper sculpture, and recycled materials. The exhibit fills the walls of Quad City Arts’ downtown Rock Island gallery, the opening ceremony is attended by hundreds of Quad Citians supporting young artistic talent, and students receive thousands of dollars in awards from exhibition sponsors. Everyone is welcome to vote for their favorite high school artist in the People's Choice contest.

This year's assemblage of participating schools and art instructors includes: Alleman Catholic High School (Lisa Wells); Assumption High School (Michelle Sexton); Bettendorf High School (Tim Solbrig and Hilary Puglisi); Central DeWitt High School (Deb Richman and Cassie Dunlavey); Central High School (Annette Lopez); Central/North (Juan Rangel); Davenport Central High School (Renee Ott); Davenport Central/Creative Arts Academy (Clint Balsar); Davenport North High School (Jessica Hill, Kevin Gunn, and Michele O'Brien); Davenport West High School (Chad Wolf, Brian White, Neal Meeker, and Dave Schaeffer); the Figge Art Academy (Pat Beréskin); Kewanee High School (Lisa Stisser); Mercer County High School (Tara Guidinger); MidCity High School (Stacey Jeffrey); Moline High School (Tauwon Taylor, Elizabeth Nache, Chelena Henning Saberton, and Joel Delp); Pleasant Valley High School (Aimee Peters, Ashley Willits, and Rachel Meyer); Rock Island High School (William Gustafson and Andrew Gray); Rockridge High School (Dana Densberger); and United Township High School (Jon Nevenhoven and MacKenzie Jackson).

For many students, the 47th Annual High School Art Invitational will be the first time they receive formal recognition for their creative talents. This can inspire them to pursue careers in the arts and find out how their talents can be applied. Creative people have the ability to problem-solve which is a trait sought after by numerous professions. In addition to the opportunity to show their work publicly, this exhibition is important to show students the process of competing for gallery shows. As professional artists know, getting into exhibitions can be discouraging, but there is value in seeing which pieces were selected. This exhibition is important for the public because it shows the incredible creativity of our young people and our future workforce.

With the recipeints announced at a jam-packed awards ceremony on March 28, this year's prize recipients are:

Senior Scholarship
Sutton Barnes, Pleasant Valley High School
 
Scholarship
Hannah Schulz, Pleasant Valley High School
 
Best of Show
Shea Gende, Moline High School

Juror’s Choice Awards for Artistic Excellence
Alexander VandeWalle, Rock Island High School
Zoe Chen, Figge Art Academy
Ella Strader, Davenport Central High School
Isaac DeHaven, Central DeWitt High School
 
Quad City Arts' Staff Picks:
Justice Harell, Bettendorf High School
Naomi Fiscus, Davenport Central High School
Charlie Hepner, Davenport Central High School
Addison Bomelyn, Rock Island High School
 
The Rock Island Art Guild Members’ Selections
Ceramics: Meyah Frazier, Davenport Central High School
Painting: Nadia Meeks, Figge Art Academy
Digital Drawing: Sean Chen, Bettendorf High School
Photography: Sunny Roberts, Mercer County High School
Outstanding Rock Island High School Student: Delaney Carroll

Don Heggen Memorial Award for Outstanding Watercolor
Summer Shoesmith, Untied Township High School
 
The Most Original Concept Award sponsored by Joel & Diane Franken
Nayeli Lopez, Davenport West High School
 
The Cutting-Edge Award sponsored by Cutting Edge Productions
Maggie Wanek, Pleasant Valley High School
 
Helen Doehler Memorial Award for Artistic Excellence
Mya Griffin, Pleasant Valley High School
 
For the Love of Books & Dogs Award
Rayla Parkinson, Mercer County High School
 
Excellence in Photography Award sponsored by Jack Wilhoit
Sidney Shaffer, Davenport West High School

The Natural World Award sponsored by Ralph Iaccarino
Natasha Henning, Moline High School 

Ralph Iaccarino Award for Mastery of Technique
Nadia Meeks, Figge Art Academy
 
Carlo Centore Awards for Mastery of Technique
Aiden Loy, Pleasant Valley High School
 
Steven Pray Award for Mastery of Technique
Mailli Davis, Davenport Central High School
Hal Hancks, Figge Art Academy
 
Zimmerman Honda Award for Mastery of Technique
Alexander VandeWalle, Rock Island High School
Zoe Chen, Figge Art Academy

Living Lands & Waters Award for best use of Recycled Materials
Nayeli Lopez, Davenport West High School-1st place 
TayLinn Bratton, Mercer County High School-2nd place
 
Elaine & Larry Sneath Award for Thinking Outside the Box
Sherry Tang Pleasant Valley High School
 
Mark & David Burlington Memorial Award for Drawing:
Tatum Miller, Bettendorf High School
 
Keith Bonnstetter Memorial Award for Best Use of Paper as Medium
First Place: Delaney Ray, Davenport Central High School
Second Place: Carys Ricklefs, Davenport Central High School
 
W.C. Griffiths Award for Whimsical Art
Maisy Woods, Rock Island High School-1st Place
Emma Holmes, Central DeWitt High School-2nd Place      
Bryce Puglisi, Moline High School-3rd Place
Zoe Beck-Pleasant Valley High School-Honorable Mention
Hannah McVey-Pleasant Valley High School-Honorable Mention
 
Awards for excellence in film sponsored by dphilms/TAG
Brenna France, Pleasant Valley High School-1st Place
Fox Dobbins, Davenport Central High School/Creative Arts Academy-2nd Place  
 
Figge Class Gift Certificates sponsored by the Figge Art Academy and Pat Bereskin
D.J. Baker, Alleman High School
Willa Halfhill, Bettendorf High School
Emelia Surma, Bettendorf High School
Nathan Kampe, Davenport Central High School
Kaitlyn Miller, Davenport West High School
Tien Tran, Davenport West High School
Cassie Paget, Pleasant Valley High School
Alexander VandeWalle, Rock Island High School
Tatum Miller, Bettendorf High School

Teacher’s Awards
1st place Lisa Stisser, Kewanee High School
2nd place: Juan Rangel, Davenport Central & North High Schools
3rd place: Andrew Gray, Rock Island High School

The 47th Annual High School Art Invitational will be on display at the Rock Island gallery through April 25, regular gallery hours are Mondays through Fridays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission is free. For more information, call (309)793-1213 and visit QuadCityArts.com.