I do understand why museums intimidate us: We feel as if we won’t “get” what is meant to be gotten. But well-curated museums provide a broader experience than we often allow ourselves to have. What if we allowed our own interpretation to be the main goal? When there's nothing to “get” other than our own perspective, a museum visit can uncover a simple contentment, peace of mind, and happiness.

On display from August 4 through September 17, a very special summertime exhibition will showcase the collaborative efforts of the Figge Art Museum, the nationwide program Students Rebuild, and Davenport Community Schools' Creative Arts Academy in Students Rebuild: Facing Difference, a beautiful and moving collection of student self-portraits from around the globe and here in the Quad Cities.

Paintings, sculptures, and works by a prominent Quad Cities gallery owner will all be on display at the Quad City International Airport July 3 through August 29, as Quad City Arts presents a trio of new exhibitions by Des Moines painter Robert Reeves, sculptor Matt Moyer from Columbia, Missouri, and Bettendorf's Pat Beréskin, owner and operator of the city's Beréskin Gallery & Art Academy.

Scultpures and paintings by Iowa- and Illinois-based talents will fill the Quad City Arts Center from June 29 through August 17, as the Rock Island venue houses Dean Kugler's Relics and Erik Ohrn's Momentarily Present – exhibitions boasting works by two gifted artists who use figuration to communicate ideas about psychology, internal states of being, and the solitary nature of existence.