2026 Riverssance Festival of Fine Art at Lindsay Park -- September 19 and 20.
Saturday, September 19, and Sunday, September 20
Lindsay Park, 2200 East 11th Street, Davenport IA
Original works by nearly 100 juried regional and national artists will be on hand at the September 19 and 20 Riverssance Festival of Fine Art, with the 38th Lindsay Park event, hosted by Quad City Arts, boasting a children’s art-activity tent, food and beverage vendors, live music, and Rowen Schussheim-Anderson being presented with the prestigious Harley Award, an honor given to an individual who has affected the arts and artists in the Quad Cities during their lifetime.
An educator, arts supporter, and working artist, Rowen Schussheim-Anderson exhibits her tapestries internationally. During her 41-year tenure at Augustana College, she also served as an academic advisor, chaired the Art Department, and directed a dozen international study trips to Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Ghana, Morocco, and Senegal. Schussheim-Anderson has also taught at Arizona State University, the Smithsonian Institution, Mesa Community College, Appalachian Center for Crafts, and through the National Endowment for the Arts’ Artists-in-Education program. Currently, she teaches at the Figge Art Museum, The ARTery, the Contemporary Art Center of Peoria, and for the American Tapestry Alliance, where she was one of two master artists at the organization’s 2019 members’ retreat. She estimates that she has taught more than 10,000 people to weave.
Schussheim-Anderson's artwork has been acquired for permanent collections including the U.S. Department of State, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Security State Bank, Harper College, Ramada Inn, National Home Loan Bank Board, IBM, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Scottsdale Center for the Arts. Locally, her work can be found in collections at Deere & Company World Headquarters, Bettendorf Public Library, Rock Island Public Library, Augustana College, Davenport Cement, UnityPoint Health, Modern Woodmen of America, and The Current Iowa. Her work has also been featured in books and journals and selected for juried national and international exhibitions, with her tapestries exhibited as far away as Sweden, China, and Israel. Her work was selected for the International Fiber Biennale: From Lausanne to Beijing in both 2012 and 2014. Her pieces push the boundaries of traditional tapestry, and she recently received the Eugene Steward Award of Excellence for her work Road Trip at the GALEX 59 national competition.
As stated at QuadCityArts.com, "Rowen is passionate about providing quality, affordable art opportunities for children. In 1982, she initiated Kaleidoscope, a community art program for youth sponsored by Augustana. The program provided teaching opportunities for scores of Quad City artists while offering art enrichment experiences to thousands of area youth through a year-round curriculum emphasizing imagination, self-expression, and creativity. She wrote and received numerous grants to help sustain the program over the years.
"Rowen directed Kaleidoscope for 42 years before the program moved from Augustana to the Figge Art Museum in 2023, and she continues to volunteer with the program. She has been a visiting artist in schools locally as well as in Arizona, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, where she was part of Ruth Asawa’s Alvarado Art Project. She has also served as a panelist for the Illinois Arts Council, reviewing grant proposals and advising on funding decisions. Rowen has curated and juried numerous exhibitions, including serving as a juror for Riverssance Festival of Fine Art in 2024. She is currently preparing for her solo exhibition, Looking Both Ways, opening at the Figge Art Museum on July 8, 2027."
The live-music lineup for Saturday's Riverssance 2026 features Mo Carter from 10 a.m. to noon, Soultru from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., and Angela Meyer performing from 3 to 5 p.m. David G. Smith will perform on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11:40 a.m., with the musician joined by musical friends from noon to 1:45 p.m., and Bethann Heidgerken will close the live-music session from 2:15 to 4 p.m. On-site food vendors for the weekend include Knight's Pizza, Arley's Food Truck, Bayside Bistro, Fizz & Freezm, and Cedar Ridge Distillery & Wines..
Riverssance 2026 admission for ages 18 and older is $5 per day or $8 for a two-day pass, with ages 18 and under free. Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on September 19 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on September 20,, and more information on this year's Riverssance Festival of Fine Art is available by contacting Quad City Arts at (309)793-1213 and visiting QuadCityArts.com.
