 Want to win $100? Enter Quad City Arts’ Summer Selfie Challenge!Take a selfie with one of our recently installed sculptures and enter to win a $100 VISA gift card. Just make sure to tag #quadcityarts and #visitquadcities. The more sculptures you tag the better chances you have to win! Read our blog for all the details, driving directions and start jumping around the Quad Cities! Contest begins July 30, and submissions will be accepted until midnight on August 10th.
HOW TO ENTER: Take pictures of yourself with as many of our sculptures as you can and post with #quadcityarts and #visitquadcities, the person with the largest number of selfies with sculptures from our Public Sculpture Program WINS! The contest begins TODAY, July 30 and submissions will be accepted until midnight on August 10th, 2020. Winners will be announced on August 12th and contacted through social media (Please keep an eye on your inbox!). RULES:
PRIZES: One grand prize will be awarded. Odds of winning depend on the number of participants. Grand Prize: the grand prize winner will receive a prepaid $100 Visa gift card. Winning photos will be posted in an online gallery. Non-winning fun and creative art/selfie photos may also be reshared on our public pages. GENERAL CONDITIONS: Participants must be 18 years of age or accompanied by an adult/parent. No purchase necessary. All federal, state and local laws apply. In the event of a tie, a random drawing will be done to select the final winner.  You may have already heard the news: Quad City Arts has made the difficult decision not to host the 35th Annual Kwik Star Festival of Trees in person this year due to uncertainty and concern for the safety of our volunteers, staff, and community as a whole regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The Holiday Parade and all other special events will also not be held this year. We’re disappointed, and I’m sure you are too. Festival of Trees is near and dear to many of us in the community and it is the place where many memories have been made, family pictures have been taken, and funds have been raised to support Quad City Arts’ mission to provide art for all. Festival of Trees will still continue and we are excited to share with you what we have in store for this year and for years to come! Since we are unable to gather in person, we are asking you to partner with us to continue the spirit of Festival of Trees through a one-day special event in support of the arts! On November 21, join Festival of Trees and KWQC for a fun-filled, one-hour televised holiday special and Day of Giving. It will be a day of support and celebration that we hope will fill hearts with holiday cheer as we ask the community to join us in support of the arts. We will still have some old favorites like the Honor Tree, Isabel Bloom, and VIP Baskets this year, and lots of surprises still to come! Read the full press release below. After thoughtful and careful consideration, Quad City Arts has made the difficult decision not to host the 35th Annual Kwik Star Festival of Trees in person this year due to uncertainty and concern for the safety of our volunteers, staff, and community as a whole regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The Holiday Parade and all other special events will also not be held this year. This decision was led by Festival of Trees volunteer management team with the full support of the Quad City Arts’ staff and Board of Directors. We recognize that Festival of Trees is a beloved holiday tradition in the Quad Cities, and while this was not an easy decision to make, we believe it is the right one. In lieu of an in-person event this year, we are partnering with KWQC to present a fun-filled one-hour Holiday Special to air on Saturday, November 21st during the traditional parade hour, and we are asking the community to partner with us for a Day of Giving on the same day. Our goal is to set up matching donors and sponsors who will help make donations go farther. We know VIP Baskets are a crowd favorite at Festival of Trees, so they will be returning this year, but with a new twist! We have some exciting events and challenges planned for that day as well, so stay tuned for details! Festival of Trees started in 1986 with a small group of volunteers that believed in the impact of the arts. They set out on a mission to support bringing high-quality artists right here to the Quad Cities, inspiring a generation of students and families through access to the arts. That first year, their purpose was twofold: First, be a community celebration of the holiday season. Second, raise funds for the Visiting Artist Series. Over the years, Festival of Trees has not only continued to be a major supporter of The Visiting Artist Series and Quad City Arts, but it’s also become a staple in the Quad Cities as the unofficial kickoff to the holiday season, bringing together hundreds of sponsors and tens of thousands of supporters to experience the magic of Festival. And it all started with that group of people who believed it was possible. We chose the theme for this year, “Believe”, in January not knowing what the next several months had in store, but we are invested in continuing to believe in the mission of Festival of Trees as a community event and fundraiser for Quad City Arts. With that in mind, we hope to bring the spirit of Festival of Trees to the community this year through this one-day special event in support of the arts. In addition, Quad City Arts plans to have select designs available for sale in our Rock Island Gallery, along with items from the Tinsel Treasures Gift Shop and Be Original Gallery. Honor Tree ornaments and Isabel Bloom sculptures will still be available for purchase on the Festival website or at the Rock Island Gallery as we know many will still want to commemorate this year in their collection and honor loved ones with a personalized ornament. The health and wellness of our community is, above all else, our first priority and we truly believe that the spirit of Festival of Trees will be preserved this year through community connection and a commitment to supporting the arts. Quad City Arts is a local, nonprofit arts agency dedicated to enriching the quality of life in the Quad City region through the arts.  Just as last year was unusual for our Metro Arts Youth Apprenticeship program, this summer also is unique. Far fewer students – ages 15 to 21 – are participating, in fewer projects, and they are wearing face coverings and are social distancing, as is the current practice. That does not mean that the two outdoor murals and improvisational comedy being created over the past five weeks are any less meaningful, important or impressive. “Every Metro Arts site has a collection of masks available, if the student either doesn’t have one or has forgotten theirs that day, so we can make sure we’re following the social-distancing guidelines and keeping everybody safe,” Quad City Arts executive director Kevin Maynard said, noting the lead artists also wear masks. “I don’t think that our social distancing guidelines have hindered the process or progress on any of these projects,” he said. “It has limited the number of apprentices. Most sites typically have 10 apprentices and a lead artist, but with the (Illinois) guidelines in phase 3 being no groups larger than 10, we did have to cut an apprentice from each project.” Compared to 2019, when there were about 90 apprentices doing projects throughout the Quad-Cities in the spring, summer and fall, this year about 30 area youth are being provided with five-week paid summer apprenticeships. These apprentices create projects that positively impact our community: a mural in Moline, improv comedy, and a mural in Rock Island. These projects were made possible through support from the City of Rock Island, Friendship Manor, Modern Woodmen of America, The Moline Foundation, and Renew Moline. Since summer 2000, Metro Arts has provided youth ages 15-21 with paid summer apprenticeships in various arts disciplines. They work together in groups to complete projects that enhance the community through the arts. Participants learn artistic techniques and applications of their genre while developing personally and professionally. This program allows young adults to develop new career and artistic skills, build self-confidence and creates a sense of accomplishment as they work under the supervision and mentorship of professional artists. Their mentors are accomplished, local artists who are passionate about teaching and encouraging creativity. “This year, we obviously knew it would be a lot smaller – there were no spring projects with the pandemic going on,” said lead artist Sarah Robb of Davenport, who’s heading both new murals, at 1516 6th Ave., Moline, and on three sides of the Friendship Manor maintenance building, at Rock Island’s 11th Street and 21st Avenue. In her 14th summer leading Metro Arts, she’s been working with eight young artists daily in Moline in the morning for four hours and nine in Rock Island in the afternoon. If painting close together, the students are required to wear masks or face shields, and unlike previous years, do not share paint or buckets with water to rinse brushes. Masks are provided in case students forget to bring one, as well as hand sanitizer, water and sunscreen. The mural in Moline is in the courtyard on 6th Avenue next to La Primavera, on the wall of Bajas Classy Resale, across the street from the mural Robb led in 2018 for the Child Abuse Council (which was supported in part by Quad City Arts’ Arts Dollars, but wasn’t a Metro Arts project). The new mural (called “It’s a New Day”) is the first Metro Arts project in the city of Moline, supported by Renew Moline and The Moline Foundation. Specifically, The Tom and Karen Getz Memorial Fund was established at The Moline Foundation to support and promote civic pride, youth development and the arts. Tom and Karen served and led innumerable community organizations with energy, commitment, and heart.  “This collaborative mural project exemplifies and honors the legacy of these two truly remarkable community leaders,” said Paul Plagenz, president/CEO, Moline Foundation. “It has a positive message during this time – hopeful, a lot of color,” Robb said. The students at both locations have been “troupers” and seamlessly adjusted to the circumstances. “Once they’re working, they’re in their own world,” she said. “We just look different because we have masks on. They all get it, have been cooperative and thankful they still have the opportunity.” “The best part is the community of other artists, and we get to know their style and connect it to make one piece,” said senior Moline apprentice Rebecca Quick, a 21-year-old Moline High alum. “We’re sweating like crazy, but keeping our distance and we’re making it work.” “There have been a lot of changes due to the virus, but obviously things aren’t that different,” said Kamryn Linskey, a 2020 Sherrard High grad who last year did Metro Arts at the MLK Center in Rock Island. “It’s definitely the same amount of fun as last year. Working with Sarah, it’s been awesome.” Since Friendship Manor is a larger project, which involved nearby Olivet Baptist Church, Robb will take a break after this week, and start another five weeks in late July with a new group of 11 or 12 apprentices to finish the building by the time school starts. “That was by design, because it is such a large project, we split it up into essentially groups and two projects,” Maynard said, noting stipends for the apprentices are $500 each; $750 for the senior apprentice, and $2,000 for lead artists. “Most of the cost for the mural goes into the labor and materials. We do have a small administration fee, which is around 9 percent of the total cost. We typically ask building owners to come up with some of those funds,” he said, noting they typically pay at least $4,000 and an average mural costs around $10,000, based on size and number of apprentices.  The three-student improv comedy group meets daily at Schwiebert Park in Rock Island and is led by Erin Mahr, a Rocky grad who did improv with Metro Arts in 2002. “So it’s fun to be on the other side now,” she said. “At the time, I didn’t think I’d ever teach it. I had so much fun learning improv games at the time, and I thought it was a great opportunity to earn money while learning a fun skill like improv. I enjoyed ComedySportz, learning the different games and skills there.” Mahr was in ComedySportz from 2010 until last year, when it disbanded, and is a performer with G.I.T. Improv. This year, with students masked, “It’s been an interesting year,” she said. Mahr was co-lead artist last year with Patrick Adamson, at Rock Island’s former Establishment Theatre, now owned by the Center for Living Arts. They’re outside this year, partly to be safer health-wise. “In improv, you have to work more with body language, being able to hear and understand each other,” Mahr said. “The apprentices have done a wonderful job of adapting and making the most of their experience, given the situation.” Improv comedy translates to everyday life skills, she said. “It’s great for public speaking; it’s a great confidence builder, even just social skills.” Last week, they did a brief improv show July 2 for customers at Theo’s in downtown Rock Island. “What I enjoy most about the improv program is the fact that I get to do something I love every day, and I also get to make new friends that otherwise wouldn’t have existed,” said Teddi White, 18, a new Bettendorf High grad in her second year of Metro Arts. “It’s a little difficult working with masks for a few reasons. It gets very hot very quickly, it’s harder to enunciate, and it’s harder to tell other’s facial expressions.” “I love improv because it’s really flexible and free,” she said, noting she first did improv about eight years ago in a class at Davenport Junior Theatre and has been to multiple ComedySportz shows. Covid also forced changes in how Metro Arts will present their annual showcase – virtually this year, at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 9 (on Facebook and the Quad City Arts YouTube channel). “In a typical year, we’d have every apprentice in the same room, on stage, with their friends and family, talking about the projects they’ve completed and showing some pictures,” Maynard said. “That’s not an option this year, so we’re bringing 3-4 people from each group to talk about their project. We would bring on everybody, but we are limited in how many we can have in the program we use, at one time.” The showcase will display photos of the groups and their work, including recorded clips of the improv group that will be shared as well. It’ll be part of Quad City Arts’ newest video series, “7 with Kevin Live.” For the showcase, the improv students will offer some puns (each from home), and not scene work. “It’s difficult to do that on multiple different screens at the same time,” Mahr said. Last year, there were nine apprentices doing improv. This year, it’s smaller because it was harder to promote with school being out the last quarter. “There was a possibility we were going to have to teach online, and improv is very interactive and sometimes it works online, and others it’s more difficult to do online,” she said. There is an additional Metro Arts project planned this fall in downtown Davenport.
🎥 Tune in on July 9th at 7 pm for 7 with Kevin LIVE! interview, highlighting this summer's Metro Arts Groups. You can watch the live stream through Facebook Live or You Tube. For more information about how to be a part of Metro Arts, view our website.
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