In The Spotlight: Brian Allen

At Quad City Arts, we believe that the people behind the scenes are just as inspiring as the work we do in the community. In this edition of In the Spotlight, we’re featuring our Executive Director—a creative thinker, arts advocate, and all-around interesting human! From career highlights to favorite pizza spots, get a glimpse into the personality and perspective of the person helping guide our organization forward. 

Are you a Quad Cities native? What brought you to the Quad Cities?
I am from the Chicago suburbs. My wife and I met at Illinois State University in the middle of the state. At the time we were working on small organic farms, so we chose her side of the state to start our future. Hello Quad Cities! We now live in the small town of Orion.

What is your biggest achievement/goal/moment of success to date – personal or professional?
My biggest achievement is 16 years of marriage to the most wonderful woman on the planet. Together we have three beautiful children who are eleven, nine, and seven. My wife teaches elementary music and each of our kids are engaged in the arts, be it music, dance, art, or theater.

How did you first learn about Quad City Arts? 
I first learned about Quad City Arts through the Rock Island gallery. After I moved here, I wanted to see what local artists were doing, and Quad City Arts was and is the place to do that!

What are you most excited for in your role at Quad City Arts? 
I am most excited to work alongside the amazing staff at Quad City Arts. I am looking forward to empowering and enabling area artists and enriching the lives of all people in the Quad Cities through the arts – all the arts! In schools, on sidewalks, in parks, on the sides of buildings, in the airport, in the gallery, and on a stage near you – Quad City Arts brings art and culture to the community and truly meets people where they are. I am excited to be a part of that!

What is your favorite arts experience in the Quad Cities?
When I was working at the Figge Art Museum, we hosted an exhibition by Vanessa German called Miracles and Glory Abound. We received an Arts Dollars grant from Quad City Arts to work with Colleen Tomlinson as an artist and as a teacher. I worked with Colleen, Heidi Hernandez, and the Creative Arts Academy of the Quad Cities to create an installation of a front porch covered in mosaics in our Studio 1 space. The day when Vanessa German came to visit with the students was magical. She related to the students on a whole other level, not just about going to an arts magnet school, but they even sang together. I still get chills thinking about it.

What is your favorite arts experience outside of the Quad Cities?
My favorite arts experience is visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago with my brother to see a Richard Tuttle exhibition. He doesn’t pay attention to visual art, but when we left, he said, “I like that. It’s cool.” I don’t think Tuttle is the easiest artist to enjoy for someone new to art. I like the memory of sharing that experience with my brother.

Who is your favorite artist? (This can be any artist – visual, performing, etc.)
Historically, I am fascinated by the works of Giotto. I need to visit the Arena Chapel in Padua, Italy before I die to see the Lamentation and the other amazing frescoes painted within. More recently, I am a fan of Thomas Nozkowski and his small non-objective paintings that create fun and quirky worlds for the viewer. I am sucked into the paintings, and they make me think of the fantastical worlds of Dr. Seuss that I grew up looking at. Reading Dr. Seuss with my mother was definitely the reason I wanted to draw. My left-brained, accountant mother loved his absurd language and characters, and I did too.

What is one thing that might surprise people about you? 
My wife and I once owned a 1980 Volkswagen Vanagon. We named the van Double Fantasy in honor of the John Lennon and Yoko Ono album that came out in 1980. We drove it across the country twice – stopping only for friends, breweries, and national parks.

​What are you currently watching on Netflix or TV?
I just finished The Residence. I am a sucker for those Sherlockian characters that have above average intelligence and problem-solving skills.

Star Wars or Star Trek? 
Sherlock (The BBC Version with Benedict Cumberbatch)

Where is the best pizza in the Quad Cities (or where you are from)? 
I am from the Chicago area, but I love Quad Cities style pizza. Living out in Orion, we usually find ourselves at Benny’s in Milan or Bad Boy’z in Moline.

What is your favorite book? 
For all of the sentimental value of my childhood and that I am passing on to my kids – anything by Shel Silverstein. Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic are our favorites.

Where is your go-to place for inspiration? 
Outside.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? 
I would love to work in a library or to write and illustrate children’s books.
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If you could have a drink with any artist living or dead who would it be?
What about a drink and a game of cards? I’d like a bourbon and a game of euchre with Charles Bukowski, Tom Waits, and Philip Guston. After winning, I’d move on to face Miranda July, Joni Mitchell, and Sylvia Plath.

From cross-country road trips in a vintage van to collaborative arts experiences that spark lasting memories, our Executive Director brings both heart and a hands-on approach to his work at Quad City Arts. He’s driven by a belief that the arts should be accessible to all—whether in schools, parks, galleries, or unexpected places. Now 85 days into the role, he’s already making meaningful connections and setting the stage for what’s next. If you see him at an event or in the gallery, be sure to stop by and say hello!
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