Educational Resources features a dozen new artists for Spring 2021

​The 47th season of Visiting Artist Series continues online with content from 12 new artists presenting a broad selection of music, dance, and theatre genres. Collectively, these videos and residency materials are called the Visiting Artist Series Educational Resources Project.

We asked artists, including a North Carolina rapper and banjo player, a war refugee turned former NPR “Tiny Desk Concert” contestant, and an emerging Chicago dance studio, to provide materials. These resources that students would otherwise not have access to, such as videos on building mobiles, an introduction to Celtic music, and a string quartet program celebrating the life and legacy of Madam C. J. Walker, the first female African-American self-made millionaire in America.

The content is only accessible through our gateway and will be available until June 1, 2021.

Access to Educational Resources is FREE and open to teachers, parents, and other educators looking for supplementary arts materials and content.

​It just takes a few clicks to view and use the exclusive materials from these artists. First, sign up for access at https://www.quadcityarts.com/vas-educational-resources. Then log in to the Educational Resources site. Select an artist to view the posted videos and documents. Click the link to watch the video or download the written materials. It’s that easy!

The entire season of artists in residence is available when you sign up, from musicians to actors, dancers to storytellers. Teachers, students, and parents can access performing artists' resources on any device connected to the internet, anytime, anywhere. 
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If you are interested in additional, live performances, such as a Zoom concert or a live-streamed workshop for students, please reach out!  Margot is happy to coordinate experiences for students that will enrich their learning experience and expand access to the performing arts.

Ailie Robertson is a multi-award winning composer, performer and creative curator whose work crosses the boundaries of traditional and contemporary music. She is widely regarded as one of Scotland’s leading traditional musicians and Celtic harpists. She is a five-time National Mod Gold Medalist and a BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year finalist.

Folk musician Demeanor from Greensboro, North Carolina, merges hip hop and folk elements like banjo, bridging the gap between contemporary and traditional cultural music, celebrating folk music as an African American art form.

Ephraim Bugumba, a singer who spent his childhood as a war refugee from his homeland of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was a contestant on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert and “American Idol”. His second single, “Stormz,” has been viewed over 1.7 million times on Bugumba’s TikTok.

Invoke is a multi-instrumental band whose encompasses traditions from across America, including bluegrass, Appalachian fiddle tunes, jazz, and minimalism. Invoke has shared the stage with diverse and acclaimed ensembles ranging from the Ensō Quartet to the U.S. Army Field Band and has also appeared with musicians in greatly varying genres - from chamber rock powerhouse San Fermin to DC beatboxer/rapper/spoons virtuoso Christylez Bacon.

Jacob D’Eustachio, a juggler/storyteller who performed throughout the U.S. for two seasons with the Zoppe Family Circus. He spent three years at the prestigious Ecole de Cirque de Quebec, Canada and performed at the renowned Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Jaerv is a described by Jeffrey De Hart, a Billboard Sweden Correspondent, as “an innovative Swedish folk quintet with jazz and pop leanings who flawlessly blend original songs with stellar takes on captivating Scandinavian folk songs, some dating back 700 years. The combined talent, humor, and professionalism these impressive men exude is unparalleled. Musicians. Vocalists. Songwriters. See them. Feel them. Experience them.”

John Driskell Hopkins is most well-known as a founding member, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter of the Grammy Award-winning Zac Brown Band. John became a founding member of the Zac Brown Band (ZBB) in 2005 as a bass player and has enjoyed engineering and songwriting credits on hit songs including “Toes,” “It’s Not OK,” and “Sic Em On A Chicken,” from the triple-platinum selling record “The Foundation”, as well as “Nothing,” “I Play The Road,” and “Settle Me Down,” from the platinum selling record, “You Get What You Give”.

PUBLIQuartet is a string quartet that was described by The Washington Post as “a perfect encapsulation of today’s trends in chamber music.” The quartet has held residencies with American Composers Orchestra and Deer Valley Music Festival’s “Emerging Quartets and Composers” program. In 2019, the group received their first Grammy nomination for their sophomore album, “Freedom & Faith”. 

SchoolSculptures with Kevin Reese is a residency program where he works with school and civic communities to create large permanent moving sculptures inspired by the participants’ designs. Kevin was selected in 2013 as the Residence Teaching Artist at the National Gallery of Art. In the past 20 years, SchoolSculptures with Kevin Reese has created over 190 installations in 30 states throughout the country.

Skerryvore represent the best in contemporary Scottish traditional music with their mix of fiddle, accordions, pipes, and whistles, alongside guitar and vocals, underpinned by bass, drums and keys. Their six studio albums demonstrate their unique fusion of folk, traditional, rock, and Americana, even jazz. Skerryvore is two-time winners of Scotland's Traditional Music Awards coveted “Live Act of the Year” (2011 and 2016).

South Chicago Dance Theatre is a multicultural organization aiming to preserve the art of dance through quality performances and educational opportunities. The diverse repertoire of the company fuses classical and contemporary dance styles as well as preserves historic dance works.  
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Symbio is a Swedish duo is regarded as one of the most interesting new bands from the Swedish Folk & World music scene thanks to the interplay of hurdy-gurdy and accordion. They were awarded as the Best New Artist of the Year at the Swedish Folk & World Music Awards in 2016.

We will keep you informed on upcoming event details, as we look forward to ease in to more in-person events.

​Quad City Arts receives significant support for the Visiting Artist Series from National Endowment of the Arts, Bechtel Charitable Trust, Regional Development Authority, Iowa Arts Council, Arts Midwest Touring Fund, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Scott County Regional Authority, Rock Island Community Foundation, The Amy Helpenstell Foundation Fund and the John J. Quail Fund at the Quad Cities Community Foundation, Doris & Victor Day Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine, Melvin McKay Trust, Mary Iva Gittens Knouse Trust, Rauch Family Foundation I, Kiwanis Club of Davenport, Moline Rotary, Quad City Arts PASS and Festival of Trees. Additional support comes from service fees paid by school districts, Parent Teacher Associations, service clubs, and businesses. 
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