A fascinating exploration into the roles of metal objects in sustaining and enhancing life in African communities, the Figge Art Museum's Peace, Power, & Prestige: Metal Arts in Africa, on display through January 8, will offer patrons the chance to view spectacular works in an exhibit designed to demonstrate the aesthetic, expressive, and artistic powers of metal.

Bold and beautiful works by no fewer than 10 area artists are on display at the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery through October 31, with the Moline airport currently showcasing oil paintings by Kate Hoyer of Yorkville, Illinois, and Michael Ryan of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as well as wood-turned art by eight members of the Quad City Woodturning Club: Michael Geist, Dale Hupp, Dennis Hurd, Bill McQuitty, Joe Meirhaeghe, Mike Mosely, Gene Vincent, and Philip Vonthun.

Original works from more than 70 juried regional and national artists will be on hand at the September 17 and 18 Riverssance Festival of Fine Art, with the 34th Lindsay Park event, hosted by Quad City Arts, boasting a children’s art-activity tent, a wine tasting, food vendors, live music, and the presentation of the prestigious Harley Award, given to an individual who has significantly affected the arts and artists in the Quad Cities.

With award-winning, Billboard-charting, Grammy-nominated artists performing on the banks of a mighty river, the Mississippi Valley Blues Fest returns to Davenport for its 36th incarnation on September 16 and 17, the LeClaire Park event – hosted by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society – featuring nine thrilling Main Stage concert sets, nine additionally incendiary sets on the neighboring Tent State, and the return of the MBVS' popular blues-education and -appreciation initiative Blueskool.

Continuing the organization's run of dazzling Third Sunday Jazz Workshop & Matinée Series concert events held in Bettendorf's Rivermont Collegiate, Polyrhythms presents a September 18 engagement with the gifted musicians of the Manny Lopez Big Band, area favorites who routinely deliver a big-band jazz experience with big sound and power.

With his 2021 album Ready the Astronaut praised by Pop Matters for its singer/songwriter's "artistry in exploring two stories with nuance and creativity" that results in a "smart and insightful record," William Fitzsimmons headlines a September 11 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the Jacksonville, Illinois resident a three-time iTunes Award winner for albums including The Sparrow & the Crow and Goodnight.

Lauded by Blues Rock Review for 2018's Sketches of American Music, which the outlet deemed "an excellent debut album," singer/songwriter, guitarist, and Allman Betts Band member Duane Betts headlines a September 10 solo concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, his gifts leading All About Jazz to rave that "contemporary rock and blues may be in the hands of someone who not only appreciates its value, but may also have the talent(s) to do it justice."

Touted as a “gifted young guitarist” by the New York Times and “a guitarist to keep an eye on” by the Washington Post, Grammy-nominated artist Mak Grgić performs a special Redstone Room concert on September 11 in an event co-presented by the Quad City Symphony, allowing patrons an audience with this exciting talent before he joins the QCSO as a guest soloist in the forthcoming Masterworks III: Ode to Guitar.

A revered performer who, 35 years later, remains the youngest-ever winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress, film and television icon Marlee Matlin joins Illinois Libraries Present to share the highs and lows of her Hollywood career and journeys as an activist in A Conversation with Marlee Matlin: From Oscar to West Wing and Beyond, a virtual Deaf Awareness Month program presented mere months after her film CODA swept every category it was nominated in at the 2022 Oscars.

Presented by the area nonprofit Living Proof Exhibit, an organization that celebrates the creative spirit of those impacted by cancer, the eagerly awaited annual exhibition A Visualization of Hope will bring messages of strength and resilience to Davenport's Figge Art Museum through January 1, with Living Proof Exhibit's collection boasting beautiful and evocative works by cancer survivors living within a 200-mile radius of the Quad Cities.

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