Quad City Arts granted nearly $140,000 through The Arts Dollars Program

Quad City Arts is pleased to announce 2022 Arts Dollars grant awards to 18 organizations and 15 individual artists, 10 of whom are part of the first ever Visual Artist Grant cohort. Since 1990, Quad City Arts has supported the local art community by awarding grants to local artists, non-profit organizations, and schools. 

Arts Dollars funds are generously provided by the Hubbell-Waterman Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency. This year, Quad City Arts received additional funding from a funder who wishes to remain anonymous to fund Visual Artist Grants. In total, Quad City Arts granted nearly $140,000 to local artists and organizations during this grant cycle.
 
Arts Dollars has been granting funds to artists and nonprofits in the Quad Cities region since 1979 thanks to our generous funding partners who believe in the power of the arts to enrich our communities. The funds awarded in the Project and Education categories are an investment in the arts across the six-county region served by Quad City Arts, activating nonprofits and artists who are engaging their community through projects in visual arts, theatre, music, film and more. 

The vision that Quad City Arts has in facilitating these grants is that individual artists and nonprofits of all sizes would be able to accomplish projects in the Quad Cities and surrounding communities and that those communities would see a long-lasting benefit from the completed projects, paying artists for their work in the process. Each year, artists and nonprofits apply for grants in one of three categories: Projects, Education, and Capacity-Building. Keep an eye out for our 2023 grant round opening in December!

Capacity-Building grants are highly competitive and specially designed for arts-centered nonprofit organizations who are seeking support to expand their reach and impact through the arts in their community. This category was added in 2016 as Quad City Arts saw a need for small organizations to have access to funds to increase their capacity. Arts Dollars has funded important organizational infrastructure support like strategic planning, database solutions, temporary staff, and more.  

This year, Quad City Arts received additional funding from a funder who wishes to remain anonymous to fund Visual Artist Grants. The purpose of these funds is to provide visual artists with the funding they need to focus on their craft. The artists in this cohort also have the unique opportunity to participate in masterclasses coordinated by Quad City Arts.
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Our 2022 grant awards were recommended by a panel of community members who sifted through the nearly $130,000* in requests from across the region and approved by Quad City Arts Board of Directors. Please join us in celebrating these individuals and organizations! We are excited about the impact each one will make on our community as they advance their mission and the mission of Quad City Arts: to enrich the quality of life in the Quad City region through the arts.
*This amount does not include the Visual Artist Grant requests.
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​Project, Education, and Capacity-Building Grants Awarded

Below are the organizations awarded and a description of their projects.

LULAC 5285
Parade/Fiesta celebration (Note: funds will pay artists involved)

ArtsBASICS
Courage & Identity: Sharing our Stories and Learning about Others – a mural project encouraging students to engage with others and learn that we all have a story to tell

Cambridge CUSD #227
School of Rock II – partnering with Lewis Knudsen and Aubrey Barnes to learn about songwriting and poetry, and culminating in a community theatre play

Handicapped Development Center
Provide art activities to individuals with disabilities

Hot Glass, Inc
Free glass blowing field trip for area high school students

Lincoln-Irving and Willard Elementary
Share Music, not Illness – funds for COVID-safe musical instruments that can be easily disinfected

Love Girls Magazine/QC Community Foundation
Media Arts camp at TMBC – girls will learn about journalism and publish a photo essay, and have hands on writing and podcast workshops

Muscatine Art Center
Visiting Artist Summer Workshops

Steam on Wheels
Technology to facilitate creation of digital art

YouthHope
CRE8 STUDIOS programming

Center for Active Seniors
Pottery studio for seniors

Dreaming Tree Foundation dba Fresh Films
“I am Able” documentary screening and discussion series

Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre
Production of “Remembering Buxton”

German American Heritage Center
Blaudruck: The Art of German Blueprint – exhibition and workshops

Living Proof Exhibit
A Visualization of Hope: an Exhibition of Art created by survivors

Moline Public Library
Opera out of the Box – partnership with Opera Quad Cities to bring opera to Moline Public Library

Playcrafters Barn Theatre
2022 Season of shows, featuring intentionally diverse and inclusive casting

Ridgewood Elementary
Outdoor instrument installation

Aubrey Barnes
“It is good, it is written” poetry collection, reflecting on 2020

Dania Green
Visual narrative of the women in her family

Josh Graves
QC Collabs – completion of collaborative hip hop album

Madelyn Dorta-Shaummann
Duende: Quad Cities Documentary – behind-the-scenes lives of Quad Cities creatives

Pamela Crouch
Dr. Cooper’s Guide to Cancer Care, or How I helped my mom beat this stupid disease four times – a 36-page book written from the perspective of a dog
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Visual Artist Grants

Amber Williams
Mural Artist

David Zahn
Sculpture

Dena Border
Acrylic on Cotton

Gabriella Torres
Acrylic on Canvas

Heidi Sallows
Mural Artist
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Joseph Lappie
Paper Art

Lori Roderick
Clay/Pottery

Nathan Parr
Large scale photography

Tommy Riefe
Sculpture

Lee McClain
Metalworking
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We can't wait to share updates of these projects as the year unfolds! Keep watching our social media pages for previews and insights of these completed projects.

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