Quad Cities - On June 13-21, more than twenty museums from across the Quad Cities region will welcome visitors for a week-long adventure of fun activities, great discoveries, and exploration.  Don't miss the first-ever Quad Cities Museum Week!  Information on participating museums and their events can be found at www.qcmuseumweek.com.

Quad Cities Museum Week is for everyone!  Enjoy this celebration of the region's museums and participate in special activities, exhibits and promotions during this fun-filled week.  Each museum features its own, unique theme, history, galleries, and exhibits.  Come and discover these wonderful gems!

Area museums also encourage you to tweet and post about your museum experiences on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.  Use hashtag #QCMUSEUMS!

What you can expect to find:

·        Underground Tunnel Tour - Deere-Wiman House

·        Emancipation and Its Legacies Exhibit - Davenport Freemont Library

·        Driving Tour - Buffalo Bill Museum, Buffalo Bill Cody Homestead, Dan Nagle Walnut Pioneer Village, Alexander Brownlie Sod House

·        Behind the Scenes Art Tours - Augustana College - Augustana Teaching Museum of Art

·        Catich Gallery Art Exhibition - St. Ambrose University

·        Buckskinners Rendezvous and House Tours - Colonel Davenport House

·        Archives & Communities' Education Display - Davenport School Museum

·        Rainforest Exhibit and Kids Yard Sale - Family Museum

·        Highlight Tour, Free Family Day, PechaKucha Night presentation, Print Sale - Figge Art Museum

·        A Look at the Book Exhibit - German American Heritage Center

·        Guided House Tours - Hauberg Center

·        History Presentations - Black Hawk State Historic Site - John Hauberg Indian Museum

·        Kids Scavenger Hunt and truck films - Iowa 80 Trucking Museum

·        Presidents of the Continental Congress manuscript exhibit - Karpeles Manuscript Museum

·        Rock Island Arsenal Exhibit, D-Day 3D Documentary, Family Science Night - Putnam Museum

·        Masonic Temple and chiropractic museum self-guided -  Palmer College of Chiropractic

·        Made in Rock Island County Exhibit - Atkinson-Peek Historical House- Rock Island County Historical Society

·        "Vietnam War" Exhibit - Rock Island Arsenal Museum

"Even if you can't make one of the special events or activities taking place, the museums are open and ready to welcome you all during Museum Week and throughout the year," says Charlotte Doehler-Morrison, VP Marketing & Communications, Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau.  "This is a great opportunity to spend time exploring our wonderful museums with families and friends."

Quad Cities Museum Week was created through collaboration between area museums and the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau.  The event is designed to showcase the wealth of museums in the Quad Cities region and to create a greater awareness about what each museum has to offer to a variety of audiences throughout the year.

The unpredictable nature of water media fused with powerful design principles will be featured at the Beréskin Fine Art Gallery & Studio during the month of July, with an exhibit of local artist Robert Zeidler's transparent watercolor paintings. Bob has worked in the graphic arts field and advertising for over 40 years and you can definitely see the influence in his paintings. Because of that background, his style translates well into the transparent watercolor medium, with emphasis on simplified, bold, colorful shapes.

As an example, he chooses one painting in the collection to showcase his process. Included are a black & white compositional sketch, a quick gestural thumbnail, several "warm-up" paintings, and then the finished piece where it all comes together in a semi-abstract style. It's interesting to understand his methodology and how he manages to "loosen up before the performance" as he puts it.

About his color choices, Zeidler says, "I don't really think about it much." Interesting, since they are unusual and hard to describe. He goes on, "If my composition is strong and the values are arranged correctly, I can use about any color I want. Sometimes I use only two colors; other times I use them all. That's half the fun of watercolor. Since the paint is fluid, it creates new colors on its own; colors that I could never mix or even imagine left to my own devices. This helps keep the painting fresh and interesting, as well as allowing the viewer to see something new each time."

Robert Zeidler lives in Davenport, Iowa, and is a signature member of the Iowa Watercolor Society. He's had paintings accepted in national juried competitions, and received many awards.

The Beréskin Fine Art Gallery & Studio is located in the Bucktown Center for the Arts, 225 East 2nd Street, Suite 104, in Davenport, Iowa, and is open Wednesday through Saturday, from 11am to 6 pm; open until 9 pm every Final Friday. For additional information contact Gallery Director Pat Bereskin, bereskinartgallery@gmail.com or at www.bereskinartgallery.com Telephone is 563-508-4630.

June 4 through July 30, 2015

Musser Museum Gallery at the Muscatine Art Center

FREE ADMISSION

"Older than the State of Iowa" is one boast the Muscatine Journal can make. The paper began in 1840 as the "Bloomington Herald" and has documented local response to national events, changes in transportation and technology, and politics, including statehood itself, have touched lives of people living in the community. The change of the City's name from Bloomington to Muscatine brought about a new name for the paper as well, when in 1849 it became the "Muscatine Journal".

The exhibition marks the 175th anniversary of the paper and includes an interesting chronology with Orion Clemens purchasing an interest in the Journal in 1853 and the first issue of the "Daily Journal" in 1855. Highlights of the exhibit include; two murals created for the Journal by Alva Runyon, displays of cameras, The Associated Press, darkroom equipment, press tools and type, Editor John Mahin and the bombing of his home, and "Special Editions".  Also items included are original construction contracts from some of the five Journal locations and original newspapers reflecting the banner or name changes over the years. The exhibition will be on view in the Musser Mansion Gallery from June 4 through July 30, 2015.

Admission to the Muscatine Art Center is FREE. Donations are appreciated.

Please contact Melanie Alexander, Director, with any questions or concerns at 563-263-8282 or by email at malexander@muscatineiowa.gov.

The Muscatine Art Center is located at 1314 Mulberry Avenue in Muscatine, Iowa. Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursday evenings until 7:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated. Go to www.muscatineartcenter.org for more information about programs and events and to download a class brochure.

The Bereskin Fine Arts Gallery & Studio, formerly Atom Studio + Gallery, is proud to present it's premiere exhibit, "Finding a Creative Voice." Beginning May 29th through June 20th the gallery will feature the award winning high school artists from Pat Bereskin's Mrs. B.'s School of Art program:

Olivia von Gries  (BETT)

Kasey Vanausdeln (BETT)

Annie Peters (PV)

Rachel Lyle (Davenport Central)

Elizabeth Masterson  (Hone Schooled)

Hannah Weickhorst (Home Schooled)

Madeline Fox (Morning Star Academy, Bettendorf)

"The art classes we have attended have given us the ability to think creatively and express ourselves individually with a very unique voice. This new way of seeing the world around us has also influenced our lives in many other ways," chimed in Madeline Fox.

"As we take our next steps into the future, we realize what can be accomplished if we work toward our goals," said Kasey Vanausdeln.  " We have a better appreciation and understanding of the skills we have learned and that they will be a part of our lives forever," Rachel Lyle injected. Olivia von Gries added, "We hope everyone will enjoy the show and in some way see and experience our artistic point of view and love of life."

"We feel proud to be a part of this exhibition and be able to share with people the outcome of our creative learning, our artwork," said Ann Peters, she added, "It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from - Art speaks to us all across cultures and the world."

The Beréskin gallery features original art for sale, but visitors can also have the unique experience of observing the artists at work in the studio. And to go a step further, after 25 years of teaching under the name of Mrs. B's Art, Pat is now involving and encouraging all the Beréskin artists to teach art and mentor other budding artists. Their schedule continually offers a wide variety of classes for beginners and advanced students.

Artist David Anderson echoes Bereskin's comments, "We're very excited about the gallery's new direction and sharing our joy of the art experience with collectors, artists, students of the arts, and the public in general. That collaboration feels just as gratifying as when I'm painting."

Presently, the Beréskin Fine Art Gallery & Studio features artists Pat Bereskin, David Anderson, Brad Bisbey, Gene Brack, Jason Frank, Dean Kugler, David Zahn, and Robert Zeidler.

The gallery is located in the Bucktown Center for the Arts, 225 East 2nd Street, Suite 104, in Davenport, Iowa, and is open Wednesday through Saturday, from 11am to 6 pm; open until 9 pm every Final Friday. For additional information contact Gallery Director Pat Bereskin, bereskinartgallery@gmail.comor at www.bereskinartgallery.com Telephone is 563-508-4630