Davenport, IOWA (October 2012) On Saturday, November 3 from 12:30pm to 4:30pm, Portrait of Maquoketa: The Dimensional View artist Rose Frantzen will lead an art demo at the Figge. Portrait of Maquoketa is a new, multi-dimensional installation that includes 180 portraits of Maquoketans and a 315 square foot landscape view of Maquoketa. Major funding for this exhibition has been provided by the Riverboat Development Authority, US Bank, Dr. Ralph and Jennifer Saintfort and SSAB.

Rose Frantzen will demonstrate the alla prima approach to portrait painting that she used in her Portrait of Maquoketa project. Frantzen demonstrates in front of crowds as large as 750 at events across the country, such as the Portrait Society of America Conference and American Artist's Weekend with the Masters. This is a special opportunity to see Frantzen paint. This event is free with membership or paid admission.

A native of Maquoketa, Iowa, Rose Frantzen has gained national and  international acclaim for her oil paintings from life that bring contemporary and innovative perspectives to a traditional alla prima approach. In addition to landscapes, still lifes, and figurative works, Frantzen often moves to the allegorical, including abstract or surreal settings that present the subject as an archetypal character seen on his or her own internal stage. For these multi-dimensional works, she incorporates diverse stylistic elements along with gilding, stained glass, and mosaic.

Frantzen is a frequent guest lecturer and panelist, discussing art and the artist's life in the 21st century, at museums and national art conventions. Her paintings have been featured in numerous national and international art magazines and journals, and she demonstrates portrait painting each year as a faculty member for the Portrait Society of America and for the annual Weekend With the Masters conference. Her work has been shown at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, Butler Museum of Art, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the Dubuque Museum of Art, the Denver Historical Museum, the World Food Prize and the Portrait Society of America's International Portrait Competition.

Frantzen studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, the Palette & Chisel Academy with Richard Schmid and at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, studying anatomy with the late Deane G. Keller.

 

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 12-5 p.m.  Thursdays the museum is open until 9pm. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit our website, www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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Davenport, IOWA (October 2012) On Thursday, November 1 at 7pm Portrait of Maquoketa: The Dimensional View artist Rose Frantzen will speak at the Figge. A reception for the exhibition and talk will be held at 6pm. The Figge will offer free museum admission from 5-9pm on November 1; there will be no cost to attend the reception and artist talk. Portrait of Maquoketa is a new, multi-dimensional installation that includes 180 portraits of Maquoketans and a 315 square foot landscape view of Maquoketa. Major funding for this exhibition has been provided by the Riverboat Development Authority, US Bank, Dr. Ralph and Jennifer Saintfort and SSAB.

During the 7pm talk, Ms. Frantzen will share her use of representational painting to explore questions of self and community, giving special emphasis to the Portrait of Maquoketa project. This has led her in many directions during her 27-year journey as a fulltime artist. Although she was trained in the alla prima style, she also employs other representational approaches and creates multidimensional works in which she incorporates diverse stylistic elements along with gilding, stained glass and mosaic.

Ms. Frantzen will also be featured in an Artist Demo Saturday, November 3 from 12:30-4:30 pm. Ms.Frantzen will demonstrate the alla prima approach to portrait painting that she used in her Portrait of Maquoketa project. This event is free with membership or paid admission.

 

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 12-5 p.m.  Thursdays the museum is open until 9pm. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit our website, www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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Davenport, IA (October 2012)- On Thursday, October 25 from 6-9 pm students, faculty and staff from any college or university are invited to enjoy free admission to the Figge during the annual College Night at the Figge event. As an extension of the current exhibition, Posing Beauty in African American Culture, which features a selection of photographs that challenge the idealized form of beauty in art, "Maximum Exposure" will be a night focused on questioning the definition of beauty and exploring photography and portraiture. The event is hosted by Western Illinois University Museum Studies students.

Event participants will experience Posing Beauty with maximum exposure through photo, video, dance and social media opportunities. Guests will have the opportunity to share their definition of beauty through planned activities, such as:

·         "Make a Scene" - Take a self portrait using props and speech bubbles to make as statement about how you want to be seen.

·         "Frame It Up" - Make and take a frame for your self-portrait.

·         "Collage for College" - Create a collage page with your self-portrait photos and with Multi-Media supplies.

·         "Photo Face-Off"?Take part in a photo scavenger hunt throughout the museum.

·         Hip-Hop Workshop? LaDerrick from Imani! Dancers & Studio for Cultural Arts, Inc will lead a workshop on expressing yourself through dance.

The Figge will also give visitors the opportunity to create a video for the current video contest, "Questioning Beauty." The contest, which is open to the public, asks people to submit short videos in which they share what they think makes them, or others, beautiful. Event participants are also encouraged to tweet their thoughts and pictures from the night to @figgeartmuseum or use the hashtag #collegenight.

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday, Sundays 12-5 pm and Thursdays 10 am- 9pm. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit our website, www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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Davenport, IOWA (October 2012) ? The Figge Art Museum is pleased to present Quilts: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum, a special exhibition of 27 priceless quilts from the collection of the American Folk Art Museum (AFAM), opening November 3, 2012, and continuing through February 3, 2013.

 

Featured will be classic examples of many major quilt types from the beginning of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century, including wholecloth, whitework, pieced, appliqued and album quilts, and a selection of Amish and African American pieces, all drawn from the AFAM's celebrated collection.

 

As curator Elizabeth V. Warren explains, "The present exhibition highlights the best of the best, quilts that represent the finest examples in a variety of techniques, time periods and regions." The Figge will present an array of public programs and films in conjunction with the exhibition (see below).

 

The American tradition of quiltmaking dates back to colonial times when English immigrants sewed heavy woolen bedcovers for the New England winters. As a greater variety of fabrics and threads became available, and the practice of sewing bedcovers spread through the nation, quiltmaking evolved into a rich and diverse artistic tradition.

 

While countless quilts were used and washed into oblivion, many remarkable examples have survived, and are now admired both for their visual beauty and their extraordinary craftsmanship. The quilting tradition?using remnants of fabrics from clothing and other sewing projects, gathering together for the quilting bee, and adorning the bed with the finished quilt?has come to epitomize the domestic side of the "pioneer spirit" in America. Today, quilting is a vibrant art form practiced by an estimated 20 million men and women around the world.

 

Quilts: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum was organized by the American Folk Art Museum, New York.

 

 

Associated Programming

 

Quilters Appreciation Day

Thursday, January 17, 2013

 

Quilt Appraisals · 10 am-7 pm

Quilt appraiser Janette Dwyer will be available to conduct written and/or verbal appraisals. Each appraisal will take between 30-45 minutes and will cost $40 for a written appraisal (with a monetary value) or $25 for a verbal appraisal. A portion of the proceeds from each appraisal will be used to support Quilts programs. Visitors must schedule their appointment in advance?space is limited. Contact Heather Aaronson to schedule an appointment: haaronson@figgeartmuseum.org or 563.326.7804 x2045.

 

Warm Up with Quilts · 5-7 pm, Free

Drop in and create family-friendly art activities inspired by Quilts.

 

"Quilts as Art?or Not" · 7 pm

Presenter: Tim Schiffer

Figge's Executive Director Tim Schiffer will discuss the myriad ways in which we look at quilts?from works of fine art to historical artifacts or crafts?and how quilts reflect the cultural context of the time and place in which they were made.

 

Quilt Workshop

Saturday, December 1 · 10 am-5 pm

Drop in and create family-friendly art activities inspired by the Quilts exhibition! Free with membership or paid admission.

 

Celebrating Black History Month

10 am-5 pm Saturday, February 2, 2013

Contemporary and antique African American quilts will be featured in a one-day display in Studio 4.

 

Quilts: Masterworks from the American

Folk Art Museum Tour · 11 am

Join a Figge docent for a tour of the Quilts exhibition.

 

Quilting a Community · Noon-2 pm

Figge Studios

Participants will use various materials to design a square for a quilt that will be assembled after the event as a community project.

 

Quilts Lecture · 2 pm

Presenter: Myrah Green, PhD

Dr. Myrah Green is the Distinguished Lecturer of Art at City College and has taught textile arts for 20 years, as well as all levels of quilt making for more than a decade. Her quilts can be found in many private collections including the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum in Washington, D.C. Dr. Green will be speaking about the Quilts exhibition, as well as her own experiences with quilting, textile arts and the history of African American quilts.

 

Documentary Film Series

Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics

Sunday, December 2 and Sunday, January 6 · 2:30-4 pm

Ep. 1: Quilts 101?Antique and Contemporary Quilts

Ep. 2: Quilts Bring History Alive

Ep. 3: The Quilt Marketplace

 

Sunday, December 9 and Sunday, January 13 · 2:30-4 pm

Ep. 4: What is Art?

Ep. 5: Gee's Bend: "The Most Famous Quilts in America"

Ep. 6: How Quilts Have Been Viewed and Collected

 

Sunday, December 16 and Sunday, January 20 · 2:30-4 pm

Ep. 7: Empowering Women One Quilt at a Time

Ep. 8: Quilt Nation: 20,000,000 and Counting!

Ep. 9: Quilt Scholarship: Romance and Reality

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Davenport, IA (October 2012)- With its strong commitment to art and education, the Figge Art Museum is pleased to announce another installation of its annual exhibition, College Invitational, on display in the Mary Waterman Gildehaus Community Gallery from October 20, 2012 through January 6, 2013. This exhibition celebrates the talents and successes of community art students, as well as the faculties and institutions that support them. Included artworks are selected by professors from the art department at each participating institution and this year's exhibition features 47 works from promising artists at: Augustana College, Black Hawk College, Eastern Iowa Community College, Knox College, Monmouth College, St. Ambrose University and Western Illinois University.

The museum invites interested parties to attend an opening reception on Saturday, October 20 from 2-4 pm. An introduction from the Figge's new Director of Education Melissa Hueting will be followed by commentary from the student artists, college faculty and staff. Light hors d'oeuvres will be served.

The opening reception is free to the public. Photography is allowed in the exhibition.

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum, formerly the Davenport Museum of Art, opened August 6, 2005. The award-winning building designed by architect David Chipperfield holds a collection of approximately 3,500 works that reflect artistic styles and developments from the Renaissance to contemporary art, with particular strengths in American Regionalist, Mexican Colonial, and Haitian art.  The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, Sundays 12-5 p.m. and Thursdays 10 a.m.- 9p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit our website, www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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Davenport, IOWA (September 2012) – On Saturday, September 29, 2012, the Figge Art Museum will participate in the Smithsonian's annual Museum Day. The Museum will join other participating museums and cultural institutions nationwide to open their doors free of charge to all visitors who download the Museum Day Ticket from Smithsonian.com. Museum Day is a celebration of the dissemination of knowledge to anyone and everyone interested, without a price tag, emulating the free admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution's Washington, DC-based facilities.

Museum Day will give visitors the opportunity to see the Figge's Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service exhibition, "NASA | ART 50 Years of Exploration" before it closes on October 7. Also on view will be "Posing Beauty in African American Culture" and "Waxing Poetic: Exploring Expression in Art," as well as the Museum's permanent collection.  For more information about Figge exhibitions, please visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

The Museum Day Ticket is available to download at www.smithsonian.com/museumday.

A list of participating museums is available at www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/venues/. Visitors who present the official pass will gain free admission for two people to participating museums and cultural venues. One ticket is permitted per household, per email address. For more information about Smithsonian magazine Museum Day 2012 and links to participating museums' and supporters' sites, please visit Smithsonian.com/museumday.

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum, formerly the Davenport Museum of Art, opened August 6, 2005. The award-winning building designed by architect David Chipperfield holds a collection of approximately 3,500 works that reflect artistic styles and developments from the Renaissance to contemporary art, with particular strengths in American Regionalist, Mexican Colonial, and Haitian art.  The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, Sundays 12-5 p.m.and Thursdays 10 a.m.- 9p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit our website, www.figgeartmuseum.org.

About Smithsonian Media
Smithsonian Media comprises Smithsonian magazine, Air & Space, goSmithsonian, Smithsonian Media Digital Network and the Smithsonian Channel. Smithsonian Media's flagship publication, Smithsonian magazine, is one of the nation's largest magazines with a circulation of more than 2 million and nearly 7 million readers. Smithsonian Media is a division of Smithsonian Enterprises, the revenue-generating business unit of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum and research complex consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities. Approximately 30 million people from around the world visited the Smithsonian in 2010.

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Davenport, IOWA (September 2012) On Thursday, September 27 at 7pm Posing Beauty in African American Culture curator Dr. Deborah Willis will speak at the Figge. Dr. Willis will talk about the contested ways in which African and African American beauty have been represented in historical and contemporary contexts through a range of media including photography, film, video, fashion, advertising and other forms of popular culture such as music and the Internet. The lecture will explore contemporary understandings of beauty by framing the notion of aesthetics, race, class and gender within art, popular culture and political contexts.

Deborah Willis, PhD, is chair and professor of photography and imaging at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, where she also has an affiliated appointment with the College of Arts and Sciences, Africana Studies. Willis, a 2000 McArthur Fellow, is one of the nation's leading historians of African American photography and curator of African American culture. Her most recent works are Posing Beauty-African American Images from the 1890s to the Present; Michelle Obama, The First Lady in Photographs; and Black Venus 2010: They Called Her 'Hottentot' (editor).

Prior to the 7pm lecture an exhibition reception will be held. Refreshments will be served and a cash bar will be available from 5:30pm to 7pm. Both the reception and lecture are free with membership or paid admission.

About Posing Beauty in African American Culture 

Posing Beauty in African American Culture explores the contested ways in which African and African American beauty have been represented in historical and contemporary contexts through diverse media including photography, film, video, fashion, advertising and other forms of popular culture such as music and the Internet. Throughout the Western history of art and image-making, the relationship between beauty and art has become increasingly complex within contemporary art and popular culture.

The images in this exhibition challenge idealized forms of beauty in art by examining their portrayal and exploring a variety of attitudes about race, class, gender, popular culture and politics as seen through the aesthetics of representation.

Posing Beauty in African American Culture is sponsored by the Riverboat Development Authority, Hunt and Diane Harris and Dr. Ralph and Jennifer Saintfort.

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 12-5 p.m.  Thursdays the museum is open until 9pm. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit our website, www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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Davenport, IOWA (September 2012) On Sunday, September 23 the lecture, "Faces of Napoleon: Select Portraits from the Private Collection of Pierre-Jean Chalençon" will be held at 2pm at the Figge Art Museum. In this lecture, Heidi E. Kraus, PhD, co-curator of the University of Iowa exhibition Napoléon and the Art of Propaganda, will examine the political importance, historical reliance and aesthetic value of select Napoleonic portraits created from approximately 1796 through 1850.

While portraits of Napoleon I remain undeniably propagandistic, many possess a beauty, originality and complexity that often is underemphasized by art historians. The lecture will explore concrete examples of how artists working in the service of Napoleon, including Gros, Appiani, Girodet and Delaroche, were engaged with and inspired by their prescribed "official" subject.

The lecture offered in conjunction with the University of Iowa exhibition Napoléon and the Art of Propaganda: Art from the collection of Pierre-Jean Chalençon, on view at the Pentacrest Museums Gallery for Arts, Humanities & Sciences in the Old Capitol Museum, and the Black Box Theater at the Iowa Memorial Union, Iowa City through January 29, 2013. To learn more about the exhibition, visit http://uima.uiowa.edu/exhibitions/.

The lecture is free with membership or paid admission

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 12-5 p.m.  Thursdays the museum is open until 9pm. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit our website, www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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September 8 - November 4, 2012

Davenport, IOWA (September 2012) The Figge Art Museum is pleased to present Posing Beauty in African American Culture, an exhibition that explores the contested ways in which African and African American beauty have been represented in historical and contemporary contexts through a diverse array of media including photography, video, fashion, and advertising. Posing Beauty opens on Saturday, September 8 and runs through November 4, 2012.

Throughout the Western history of art and image-making, the relationship between beauty and art has become increasingly complex within contemporary art and popular culture. The images in this exhibition challenge idealized forms of beauty in art by examining their portrayal and exploring a variety of attitudes about race, class, gender, popular culture and politics as seen through the aesthetics of representation.

This exhibit features approximately 50 works drawn from public and private collections, and the accompanied book, published by W.W. Norton, will be for sale in the Museum Store. Artists in the exhibit include, among others, Carrie Mae Weems, Charles "Teenie" Harris, Gary Winogrand, Renee Cox, Mickalene Thomas and Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe.

The Figge partnered with St Ambrose University, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, Gathering of Women, RI County NAACP, and Imani! Dancers & Studio for Cultural Arts, Inc. to develop programs for this exhibition. "Posing Beauty is a provocative and thoughtful sharing between African American women on their struggle to define their 'beautifulness' and to share their  personal feelings with other 'sistas' on how their 'beautifulness' have been defined and continue to be refined," said Liz Sherwin, President RI County NAACP. Shirleen Martin, founder of Gathering of Women, also worked closely with the Figge Education Department to develop programming for this exhibition. "Beauty is both internal and external and the true beauty of a Black Woman is worthy of all the attention and exploration that the world can offer," stated Martin.

An exhibition reception for Posing Beauty in African American Culture will be held at 6pm on Thursday, September 27.  Following the reception, exhibition curator Dr. Deborah Willis will lead the discussion "Posing Beauty in African American Culture." Willis is chair and professor of photography and imaging at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, where she also has an affiliated appointment with the College of Arts and Sciences, Africana Studies. Willis, a 2000 McArthur Fellow, is one of the nation's leading historians of African American photography and a curator of African American culture.

Posing Beauty in African American Culture is curated by Deborah Willis and organized by Curatorial Assistance Traveling Exhibitions, Pasadena, California. The exhibition is sponsored locally by the Riverboat Development Authority and Hunt and Diane Harris.

Related Programming

The Figge Art Museum will present a variety of special programming to enhance the visitors' experience of Posing Beauty in African American Culture. Admission to all programs is included with museum admission or museum membership, unless otherwise noted.

Special Workshop
"As Seen through the Lens"

7 pm Thursday, September 20

Local photographers Mark Mess and John Mohr will discuss selected photographs from the exhibition followed by a live photo shoot with public participation.

Symposium

"Is My Black Beautiful?"

1-4:30 pm Saturday, September 22

A panel discussion on the ever-changing concepts that define black beauty in the context of fashion and time.

1-2 pm • Panel Discussion, Moderator: Bobbie Lastrapes

2-3 pm • Gallery Talk • Led by Rima Girnius, PhD, Figge Art Museum associate curator

3-4:30 pm • Reception and informal performances by the Imani! Dancers & Studio for Cultural Arts, Inc

Inspired by the exhibition Posing Beauty in African American Culture, this symposium will begin with a panel discussion moderated by community leader Bobbie Lastrapes and will include local African American women spanning sixty years in age, all of whom will be reflecting on what it means and has meant to be beautiful in the traditional sense and also on a personal level. Audience members will be encouraged to contribute their thoughts and add to the conversation. Following the panel discussion, participants will visit the exhibition for an informal tour, led by Figge curator Rima Girnius, after which there will be a reception and performances by the Imani! Dancers & Studio for Cultural Arts, Inc. Refreshments will be served.

Exhibition Reception
5:30-7 pm Thursday, September 27
Join the Figge staff in celebrating the opening of the exhibition Posing Beauty in African American Culture. Refreshments will be served, cash bar.

Curator Discussion
"Posing Beauty in African American Culture"
7 pm Thursday, September 27

Exhibition curator Dr. Deborah Willis will talk about the contested ways in which African and African American beauty have been represented in historical and contemporary contexts through a range of media including photography, film, video, fashion, advertising and other forms of popular culture such as music and the Internet. The lecture will explore contemporary under- standings of beauty by framing the notion of aesthetics, race, class and gender within art, popular culture and political contexts.

Deborah Willis, PhD, is chair and professor of photography and imag- ing at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, where she also has an affiliated appointment with the College of Arts and Sciences, Africana Studies. Willis, a 2000 McArthur Fellow, is one of the nation's leading historians of African American photography and curator of African American culture. Her most recent works are Posing Beauty-African American Images from the 1890s to the Present; Michelle Obama, The First Lady in Photographs; and Black Venus 2010: They Called Her 'Hottentot' (editor).

Lecture
"Posing Questions: Inquiring About Portrait Photography for Personal Meaning Making"

7 pm Thursday, October 11

Ann Rowson Love, director of Western Illinois University-Quad Cities Museum Studies Program, will lead a discussion about interpreting portraiture from a variety of perspectives and current graduate students will demonstrate approaches.

Reception

SAU "Race Matters" Reception
6-7 pm Thursday, October 18

Mingle with fellow art-enthusiasts before the evening's lecture about the exhibition Posing Beauty in African American Culture. Refreshments will be served, cash bar. This reception and the talk that follows is offered in conjunction with St. Ambrose University's yearlong series, "Race Matters" and is co-sponsored by the Women's Studies Department at St. Ambrose University.

Lecture
"You Look Beautiful Like This: Selling Race and Heritage to Chicago's African American Community in the Era of the New Negro"
7 pm Thursday, October 18

Scholar Kimberly Glenn will discuss the New Negro Movement, a blossoming of the arts founded on the premise of African American empowerment and pride in African heritage, which took root in the mid-1920s. This lecture will explore how the ideal of black womanhood was championed through the advertisements of new beauty products that promoted African and African American aesthetic sensibilities with regard to hair and complexion during this time period.


College Night
6-9 pm Thursday, October 25

Inspired by the exhibition Posing Beauty in African American Culture, this event will feature a variety of activities that encourage students to explore identity and personal expression. This event is free to college students, faculty and staff.

Davenport, IOWA (August 2012) The Figge Art Museum is please to announces a free evening of Zumba Fitness on the Figge plaza on Thursday, September 6. The Zumba Fitness class will be lead by Salsa Touch instructor Bettinna Bolger as part of the Figge's ongoing Thursdays at the Figge series. Zumba Fitness combines Latin and International music with a fun and effective workout system. The class is free to the public and runs from 5:30pm to 6:30pm

This new program is offered in conjunction the Figge's participation in the Let's Move! Museums & Gardens initiative launched by the First Lady Michelle Obama.  Let's Move! is a comprehensive initiative dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams.

"Zumba Fitness is a great way for the Figge to support First Lady Obama's initiative, Let's Move! Museums & Gardens, which helps educate children and families about health and wellness," said Melissa Hueting, interim director of education at the Figge. "We look forward to adapting existing programs and developing new ones to demonstrate our commitment to this initiative."

After the Zumba dance party, participants are invited to take part in the 7pm NASA/ART Talk and Demo "Aeronautics and Aerodynamics" and "Robotics 101". The Talk and Demo are free with membership or paid admission.

Thursdays at the Figge is offered every Thursday from 5 to 9pm.  Museum visitors are invited to explore the galleries, attend art talks, take part in guided museum activities, and enjoy dinner and drinks in the Figge Café.

To learn more about Let's Move! Museums & Gardens visit, http://www.imls.gov/about/letsmove.aspx.

 

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 12-5 p.m.  Thursdays the museum is open until 9pm. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit our website, www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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