A beloved, longtime Augustana College Professor of Art and the college's Paul A. Anderson Chair in the Arts who is also a gifted, prolific artist in his own right, Peter T. Xiao enjoys his first solo exhibition at the Figge Art Museum in the venue's A Room That One Is In (And All Things In It), an installation of recent paintings on display through June 23.

On May 30, area art lovers are invited to enjoy their "Last Chance" at touring the Figge Art Museum's popular 43rd Rock Island Art Guild Fine Arts Exhibition, with the Davenport venue's exhibit boasting 62 works – paintings, sculptures, installations, and more – by 42 artists living within a 200-mile radius of the Quad Cities.

Delivering a close look at the artist's early years in New York with her husband Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O'Keeffe's World: Focused on Nature will find Carol Ehlers leading a May 22 program at the Rock Island Public Library's Watts-Midtown Branch, the event's presenter exploring how O'Keefe's close-up and magnified flower, leaf, and landscape paintings forever affected the way we look at nature.

An eagerly awaited springtime event taking place over Mother's Day weekend in Davenport's spacious Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, the 2024 Beaux Arts Spring Fair will treat visitors to an outdoor celebration of visual arts and fine crafts on May 11 and 12, with the annual event featuring food, live music, children's activities, and works for sale by more than 60 artists and Midwestern vendors.

Taking place this year at The Bend Event Center in East Moline, the May 16 Quad City Arts Annual Celebration invites the public to gain insight into the organization's recent achievements, future plans, and community impact, all while enjoying hors d'oeuvres, cocktails, and a performance by Quad City Arts Visiting Artist Daniel Pak.

Thanks to all who submitted images for the 2024 Spring Photo Contest!

On June 15, 2002, at 10 o'clock on a Saturday morning, a crowd gathered for “Black Heroes Carved in Stone,” a ceremony held at Chippiannock Cemetery. They had convened to honor nine black soldiers who had volunteered to fight in the Civil War. The men had lain forgotten in unmarked graves until the cemetery’s office manager discovered their story while creating digital records from handwritten ledgers.

On May 9, area art lovers are invited to celebrate the Figge Art Museum's popular 43rd Rock Island Art Guild Fine Arts Exhibition through a series of quickfire presentations from a selection of featured regional artists, the exhibit boasting 62 works - paintings, sculptures, installations, and more - by 42 artists living within a 200-mile radius of the Quad Cities.

A celebration of work completed by graduating seniors in the Department of Digital Art and Design, the DART Senior Thesis Art Show will be on display at the University of Dubuque's Bisignano Art Gallery through April 27, the exhibit boasting a variety of pieces in illustration, animation, digital painting, motion graphics, and digital artwork, and displaying the wide range of skills students cultivated during their time at UD.

2024 Reader Photo Contest Secret Records Transparent Promo Photo

With spring in the air, it's time again for the River Cities’ Reader's annual Spring Photo Contest!

For 2024, the three new categories for your submissions are: “Secret,” “Records,” and “Transparent.”

Entrants are welcome to interpret the categories however they wish.  Click photo or headline for full list of rules. 

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