(Davenport, Iowa - May, 2011) The Figge announces the fall exhibition, Restoring the Spirit: Celebrating Haitian Art and the recent reinstallation of the Figge's Haitian Gallery with an event on May 18.  The upcoming exhibition celebrates Haiti's complex visual traditions and the devotion of artists to creative endeavors in the face of national adversity.  The exhibition will open September 17 and run through January 15, 2012.

The Figge's Haitian Collection is one of the first and most comprehensive collections of Haitian art in the United States.  The collection was established through a gift from Davenport native Dr. Walter E. Neiswanger and charts the growth and development of the country's rich artistic tradition from its origins in the 1940s through today.

Now on view in the reinstalled Haitian Gallery is the triptych Azaka, Agro Rex by Edouard Duval-Carrie.  Duval-Carrie, who was featured in the solo exhibition, Migration of the Spirit at the Figge in 2006, will have work included in Restoring the Spirit exhibition.  Duval-Carrie will visit the Figge on October 13 to lead a "Thursdays at the Figge" art talk on his experiences as a Haitian artist.

On May 18, in honor of Haitian Flag Day, the Figge will host an event to celebrate the announcement of the exhibition and the recent Haitian Gallery reinstallation.  The Figge is partnering with Kids Against Hunger Your Quad-Cities to bag life saving food which will be delivered to Haiti.

Kids Against Hunger is an international food relief organization working to save the lives of starving people. The local chapter has provided over 500,000 meals to starving people in Haiti, Honduras, and Nicaragua, many of whom suffer from malnutrition and resort to eating mud cakes to stave off the hunger.  In addition, they have provided nearly 60,000 meals to hungry people in the Quad Cities. The bagged meals, made up of rice, soy, six vegetables and twenty-one vitamins and minerals, provide a nutritionally complete meal and cost $0.25 per meal.

The Figge is seeking over 100 volunteers to help bag food from 2:30pm to 4:30pm on the May 18.  Individual cash donations of $20 are encouraged to help cover the cost of these meals.  For a fee of $360, teams of 12 volunteers can sign up to create 1440 meals in an hour.

Leading the bagging efforts will be Keith Donohue.  Donohue is the founder of Positive Present®, an organization devoted to making a positive impact through philanthropy. His organization is currently embarking on a unique project called "50Give," where Donohue will trek cross-country to volunteer in each of the 50 states as well as Canada, Mexico and the District of Columbia.  Travelling by car, plane or boat, Donohue will devote over five months of his time helping various nonprofits, charities and other worthy causes.

Donohue volunteers at one non-profit in each state and has chosen to spend his time in Iowa volunteering at the Figge.  In addition to helping bag food, Donohue will help in the administrative offices and assist Figge outreach staff with an elementary program in the Davenport School District.

There will be a brief program at 2pm with remarks by Figge staff and community members. Haitian gallery tours will be offered at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm by Sally Ruggeberg, a Figge Docent who has spent time volunteering in Haiti.

To volunteer, please contact Jennifer Brooke at the Figge Art Museum 563.326.7804x2048 or j.brooke@figgeartmuseum.org

For more information on 50Give and Keith Donohue visit www.50give.com/contact.

For more information on Kids Against Hunger Your Quad-Cities, contact John Kessler at info@kahqc.com or 309.762.0437.

This event is being sponsored by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. As the country's largest fraternal benefit society, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans does much more than offer financial services. It offers programs and outreach opportunities where members can connect with each other, learn new things, and help their communities. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans supports two foundations that address a variety of needs and serve charitable purposes that support individuals, organizations and communities.

For more information on Thrivent Financial for Lutherans contact Tom Brooke at 326.650.2389 or Thomas.Brooke@Thrivent.com.

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ROCK ISLAND, IL (04/29/2011)(readMedia)-- Eight graduating studio artists will present their artwork on Tuesday, May 10, at 10:30 a.m. in the Augustana Art Museum in the lobby of Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave.) The free and public 50-minute program will include a "walking tour" of the exhibition, conversation with the artists and a reception.

All studio art majors complete a final senior project that is displayed in the Augustana Art Museum. This year, the students' work will be on display from May 7-16 and May 20-21. The museum is free and open to the public from noon-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. The exhibit this year features several local students.

Audrey Waner from Davenport, Iowa, is majoring in art with minors in art history and graphic design. She will display works in 2D and 3D that explore different life stages. She has enjoyed working with a variety of mediums and has always been interested in interplay between childhood and adulthood.

"The senior studio art exhibition could not be a better culmination of my time as an artist at Augustana," Waner said. "I've learned what goes into a professional body of work and its exhibition, and I am more dedicated to my own work than ever."

In addition to studying art, she works on the SAGA Art and Literary Magazine and is involved in the Asian Student Organization and the Web Authors Guild. She intends to pursue a career in graphic design.

Gina Jarrell from Davenport, Iowa, is majoring in art with a minor in art history. Her project is called "A Visual Rondeau of the Imaginary Consciousness." She did a series of fantasy images on vellum that incorporate scenery from East Asia.

Jarrell spent ten weeks in East Asia in the fall as part of an international study program. She kept a journal of sketches as she traveled, which she used as the basis for her project. "I am excited to see people's reactions to my series," she said.

Jarrell is involved in the Asian Student Organization and the Jenny Lind vocal ensemble. Next year, she is moving to New York City to become a graphic novelist/illustrator.

Anita Cook from Davenport, Iowa, is majoring in art with an emphasis in ceramics. Her series is a collection of relief masks depicting various emotions. Her goal is to display the emotional diversity that can be observed in real life.

"My work is a reflection of my personal journey with bipolar disorder," she said. "I want my work to encourage viewers to reflect and meditate on how emotions have played a role in their lives."

Cook works as a licensed massage therapist and sings in the Augustana Choir and the Quad City Choral Arts. She and her husband Patrick will celebrate their second wedding anniversary in May.

Sherry Maurer, director of the Augustana Art Museum, says that the senior project is designed to challenge and encourage student artists. "The capstone project allows students to demonstrate the skills they've developed at Augustana, but also to reflect on the value of their work to the common good," she said. "This process also increases awareness of professional exhibition practices."

About Augustana: Founded in 1860 and situated on a 115-acre campus near the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private, liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college enrolls 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and offers more than 70 majors and related areas of study. Augustana employs 287 faculty members and has a student-faculty ratio of 11:1. Augustana continues to do what it has always done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and service in our complex, ever-changing world.

"Art & Ideas" Series offered at the Figge

The Figge Art Museum presents the third lecture in a four-part series entitled "Celebrating Ideas" at 7 pm Thursday, April 21. Dr. Emil Kramer, Associate Professor and Chair of Classics at Augustana College will present the lecture "Egypt, Athens, Rome?and Us: Five Millennia of Connections through Art." The lecture series is offered in conjunction with the special exhibition Celebrating Ideas: Bridging Communities with Augustana's  Liberal Arts through the AGES, on view at the Figge through May 29. The exhibition of 100 works is in celebration of Augustana's 150^th anniversary, and presents a rich and diverse art historical overview of pieces from the Augustana College Art Collection.

Professor Kramer's talk will highlight the ideas behind School of Athens, a fresco painted by the Renaissance master Raphael in 1510-11. This well known image depicts the Classical Greek Philosophers Plato and Aristotle surrounded by mathematicians, naturalists, astronomers, geographers, and other philosophers. Pope Julius II commissioned School of Athens, along with twelve other frescoes, for one room in the Vatican palace. An engraving by Joannes (Giovanni) Volpato after a drawing by Joseph (Giuseppe) Cades of Raphael's School of Athens is included in the Augustana exhibition.

The "Celebrating Ideas" series is part of the Figge's weekly Thursdays at the Figge programming. Admission to the museum and lecture is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and Figge institutional members. The Figge Arts Café and Bar will be open before and after the lecture.  

A space where theater practitioners can come to organize, workshop, showcase and interact.

When:  Friday, May 27 and Saturday, May 28, 7pm until 9pm

Where:  421 Brady Street, 3rd Floor, Davenport

What:  Complimentary hors d'oeuvres, tours of the space, revolving presentations of the original performance art: "A Scenic Place," on-site art creation, displays of artwork by local artists for sale, opportunities to meet and speak with the artists involved.

Ticket price:  $5 per person.

Join the Internet Players as we unveil our new space on April 29th and 30th from 7:00 - 9:00pm!  A performance has been developed by QC native Tom Awad especially for this event, entitled "A Scenic Place" which combines live action, music and installation art.  It will be performed multiple times with the characters aging throughout the evening.  The show willmake audiences reflective of their own lives and allow them to make personal connections to the performance.

Local artists such as Tony Carter and Liz Davenport will have their artwork on display and for sale throughout multiple rooms.  Also, guided tours of the space with details on the future functions of The Internet Players' Studio will be available, as wel as information on upcoming productions, workshops and events put on by the organization.  Please stop by throughout the evening for though provoking performances, intriguing artwork and good company.