Visiting artist series continues outreach this fall along with FREE community events

The 2021-2022 Visiting Artist Series continues this fall as artist present demonstrations to students in schools in Davenport, Bettendorf, and Pleasant Valley Schools. Invoke, a modern string quartet, kicked off the season of the Visiting Artist Series with 10 different outreach events, 745 people attended those events,  560 were students, and we partnered with 8 hosting sites to make this outreach possible. Thank you to all who attended and partnered with us to make the arts accessible to all!

The public will also have the opportunity to interact with our next Visiting Artist during these events throughout the Quad Cities (RSVP on Facebook!):

Bassel & The Supernaturals, Syrian-American funk and soul band, will be in residence Oct. 18-21

• Iron + Grain Coffee House, Davenport, will host a pop-up public performance with the band 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19
• Wesley United Methodist Church, Muscatine, will host an informal public performance by the band as part of the Jackson Concert Series 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 21
• Raccoon Motel, Davenport, will present Bassel & The Supernaturals’ full-length public concert with a special guest 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20. The show is for ages 21 and up. Tickets are $10 each and available through Raccoon Motel’s system at https://tixr.com/e/30180.

​Jazzy Ash, presenting traditional African-American music for kids, will be in residence Oct. 25-28

• Sawmill Museum, Clinton, will host a family performance open to the public 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27
• Family Museum, Bettendorf, will host a family performance open to the public 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 28
• The Muscatine Art Center, Muscatine, will host a family performance open to the public 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28

Lowdown Brass Band, all-horn brass ensemble, will be in residence Nov. 17-19

• The band’s public concert will be held as a part of Premiere for Kwik Star Festival of Trees, benefiting Quad City Arts. This full-length performance will be 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19, RiverCenter South, Great Hall, Davenport. Tickets are $50 each and available through the Festival of Trees website at www.qcfestivaloftrees.com/events

These public events reflect several new hosting partnerships that allows Quad City Arts to reach a different audience, expanding on our outreach efforts in new venues. These partnerships are aimed at activating new spaces and reaching more people.

During the 2019-2020 season when artists last visited the Quad Cities, more than 26,600 students participated in the program. Experiences included drama workshops for high school students with an East Coast theatre ensemble, a technique discussion for junior high band students from a Toronto, Canada jazz ensemble, side-by-side concert performance with a Texas string quartet, hip-hop dance presentations on history and technique for elementary students— all arts experiences that students would otherwise not have access to.

Schools can currently schedule residency engagements for this fall and next spring by visiting our scheduling page. Community sites are able to schedule engagements for their patrons and clients through our community scheduling page. (Performance schedulings are prioritized for schools.)

Since 1974, the Visiting Artist Series has engaged Quad City residents of all ages in quality arts experiences with professional performing artists. Artists of various disciplines present demonstrations, workshops, and master classes at pre-K sites, elementary, intermediate, and high schools as well as college campuses and community organizations.

For more information on this residency program, visit www.quadcityarts.com/vas.