Lloyd Schoeneman Community Impact Award Winners Announced At Annual Celebration

6/3/2022

From left to right: Dr. Carolyn Martin, Board President at Quad City Arts; Dr. Carl Herzig, Lloyd Award recipient for Outstanding Arts Educator; Johnnie Cluney, Lloyd Award recipient for Outstanding Artist; David Smith, Lloyd Award recipient for Outstanding Arts Supporter; Kevin L. Maynard, Executive Director of Quad City Arts.

Last night, Kevin Maynard, Quad City Arts’ Executive Director, took the stage at the Rhythm City Casino Resort to share the successes of the past year at Quad City Arts. Despite a challenging couple of years, there was a lot to celebrate. Maynard’s presentation reminded attendees about the numerous Quad City Arts’ programs, what is yet to come this year, and how none of these things would be possible without support from the community. While the 2022 year is nearly half over, Quad City Arts still has numerous projects in the works outside of our regular programs:

· Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce and the City of Rock Island worked with Quad City Arts and Visit Quad Cities to submit a grant for the Arts Alley redesign and this grant has been fully funded! Quad City Arts will create a process that includes input from the public and the local business owners to help curate the artwork for Arts Alley, but more importantly, will help put artists to work!

· Soon to be announced, professional development opportunities for artists. The opportunities will range from workshops on framing and photographing your artwork to the in-depth business of being an artist like finding your audience, tax implications of being an artist, e-commerce, and more.

· Quad City Arts will be working to create a custom Artist Index platform! This Artist Index will help more people connect with artists in our community and it will help Quad City Arts connect with more artists which is going to be important because there are a lot of upcoming artist opportunities!

· On top of all of that, you may be asked to fill out a brief survey the next time you attend a performance or arts event. Thanks to support from the Quad Cities Cultural Trust, Visit Quad Cities, and the Iowa Arts Council, Quad City Arts will be working with Americans for the Arts to ensure our region is represented in the next Arts and Economic Prosperity Study. This year-long study will break down the economic impact the arts have on our community. These results will be published in 2023.

Quad City Arts' Board President, Dr. Carolyn Martin, presented the winners of the 2022 Lloyd Schoeneman Community Impact Awards:

David Smith received the award for Outstanding Arts Supporter. David is an artist and owner of David Smith Studios in Geneseo, where he features over 20 different local artists including his own original work, and offers art classes for all ages. He has played a major leadership role in advancing the arts in Geneseo including founding the Geneseo Art Walk, Scarecrow Row, and Arts for All group to promote and support local artists in all disciplines.

Dr. Carl Herzig was awarded for Outstanding Arts Educator. As a professor of English at St. Ambrose University, Carl has dedicated over 30 years to teaching and mentoring students in the art of creative writing. He is also the founder and editor of Quercus literary arts magazine since 1992 which publishes writing, artwork, and photography from SAU students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Dr. Herzig, who is retiring at the end of this year, was nominated by an overwhelming number of students and staff that have been positively impacted by him over the years.

Johnnie Cluney received the award for Outstanding Artist. Johnnie is an illustrator and musician from East Moline, IL. He is known for his unique pen & marker illustrations, having fashioned over 10,000 hand-drawn artist portraits for the Daytrotter sessions and album covers for the likes of John Denver, The Lumineers, George Strait, and 60 other national acts. Johnnie’s work can be seen in many iconic designs emblematic of the Quad Cities area including the “Welcome to Davenport” mural at the foot of the Arsenal Bridge. He is also a singer/songwriter having formed and performed in a half-dozen bands in the past 20 years.

The Lloyd Schoeneman Community Impact Awards recognize excellence in the Quad Cities arts community. Since 2005, the awards have been given in honor of Lloyd Schoeneman (1951-2001) who began his career with Quad City Arts Council in 1978 and worked tirelessly for the arts and artists in our community.

The awards feature an enclosed rubber band ball because Lloyd liked to make rubber band balls and shoot them over the cubicle walls. Creating something colorful, fun, and unique from everyday objects was second nature to him. The award has become a symbol of Lloyd’s playful and creative spirit.

In closing, Maynard stressed that all of this is only possible through the hard work of many individuals:
· The Quad City Arts team works daily to create arts opportunities for our community.
· The Quad City Arts Board of Directors, who set the direction for the organization.
· The committees of volunteers who help guide and shape programs and events.
· Grantors who help fund the programs.
· Sponsors who make events possible.
· Donors who see the value in the arts, the impact of the arts, and want to create a thriving artist community in the Quad Cities.

Thank you to our creative community! We can't wait to do more with your help!