Bruce Carter Retrospective

Please join us at Scott Community College - Belmont Campus on Wednesday, May 11th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. for a reception and the unveiling of "Creation Sunrise Mosaic".  This outdoor ceramic mural was created to honor the memory of Bruce Carter who was a beloved art instructor at Scott Community College.  The mosaic was inspired by "Creation Sunrise" one of Bruce's paintings.

Bruce passed away in November 2014 at the age of 66.   He was born in 1948 in Philadelphia to Henry and Gloria Carter. He spent a portion of his childhood surrounded by the smells and sounds of Brazil. He was an artist, a poet, a teacher, an interviewer and a collector of stories and ideas. He attended college preparatory school at St. Paul's in Concord, New Hampshire, where he ran track, boxed and played football. In his youth, he traveled down the Amazon, worked on a shrimp boat and explored the world. Bruce's higher education included a Bachelor of Arts in English and Fine Arts from the University of Notre Dame, and an MFA in printmaking from the University of Iowa, where he studied under Mauricio Lasansky. He first came to the QCA to be the chairman of the art department at Marycrest International University. He learned the art of sales during his time in advertising and marketing at KRVR, Davenport. This led Bruce to spend many years guiding community artists as manager of Dick Blick art supplies. Bruce was a beloved teacher, working as a professor at Kaplan University, the Figge Art Museum and Scott Community College, where he was awarded teacher of the year in 2012. Radio was another one of Bruce's passions. He was a successful interviewer with a longstanding radio program, "ArtTalks," broadcast on WVIK Radio, Augustana College. His past broadcasts included a jazz program from his college days at Notre Dame and "Jazz on the Run" heard on KALA at St. Ambrose University. A gifted artist himself, and a strong promoter of the art community, Bruce was an essential member of the Riverssance Festival Award Committee, and a review writer for the River Cities Reader.

The mural was created by the Spring 2016 Honors Seminar students with instruction from SCC Art Instructor, Rob Lipnick and lead artist Stacey Houk.  This project was supported with Quad City Arts Dollar$ funds, provided by Hubbell-Waterman Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, John Deere, and the Doris and Victor Day Foundation.

In addition to the unveiling, in the Library Gallery there is currently an exhibit composed of Bruce's works from his college days to his most recent art before his passing.  This exhibit will be open April 18-May 18, 2016.

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