Check out our featured artists'
pages !!!
Eric Mart, with
Tribal Moon
"Sculptures" of
Todd McGreevy
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Support
...those
who create with promotion and exposure...
how
2
support the Arts
...to
over one million viewers a year in our bi state region...
B
a pART
P.O. Box 4142
Rock Island, IL 61204-4142
(309) 786-2430
MidCoast
Fine Arts Gallery
Gallery Hop
Arts
Literacy Goes to School
BlueSKool
Art 'N Alley
Call FOR entry
Art
In Urban Renewal 101
Art
Under Glass
Art
Works Window Walk
MidCoast
at the RiverCenter
MidCoast
at Centre Station
BenchMARK Reached!
Pastel
Exhibition/Competition
Great Mask Auction
Calendar
MFA is not your
typical arts organization. It is the one area arts
organization that exposes the work of some of the area's
best established and emerging art talent to an estimated
one and one half million viewers a year in our bi-state
region.
MFA creates new
visions of our area by emphasizing the important role art
plays in the quality of our community's growth. Promotion
of regional artists in high-profile presentations
stimulates urban redevelopment, redefines our community's
perception as a tourist destination and adds to our
quality of life.
MFA takes no
commission from the sale of artists' works. This permits
a more cost effective way to incorporate art in our lives
and increases sales and support of regional artists.
MFA asks you to
share in the support of our region's cultural present and
future.
Yes, I've thought
about it...
count me in !
Tax-deductible
gifts* may be sent to :
MidCoast Fine Arts
P.O. Box 4142
Rock Island, IL 61204-4142
Questions? Call, (309) 786-2430
If you would like more information on how you can support
MidCoast Fine Arts, either by a tax deductible gift* or
in kind gifts of services, supplies and/or equipment,
e-mail rmullins@netexpress.net.
Join MFA ARTFORCE
- Volunteer a little of your time to help the arts in our
community.
Call Sarah - (309) 762-2495
*MFA is a not-for-profit organization that allows gifts
from contributors the greatest deduction allowed by law.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the
Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
Thank you...
for your support
Call
for Entry
If
you're an artist ... Be a pART
... of the promotion and recognition ... if you're
successful and recognized, maintain and enhance your
regional profile while supporting the efforts of and
providing opportunities to emerging artists eager to earn
their own success and recognition ... if you're
struggling and unrecognized, or somewhere in between,
we'll aid in building your regional profile and help with
the support, promotion, and sales of work.
Get
a call for entry and enter before the August 3rd deadline.
Call for Entries are available at Quad Cities and Iowa
City Galleries, Libraries and Art Supply Stores.
Prophecy
What Will
The Next Millennium Bring?
Two dozen artists will be given the opportunity to
enlighten the world with their vision of the future in a
site specific, theme specific (the future) window
installation. Various sized and shaped window spaces
provided, with limited lighting. Sorry, no electricity.
Submissions should include: A brief (less than one page)
written description. A sketch/diagram/visual
representation of your proposal. A stamped, self
addressed envelope. You must have submitted a MidCoast
Call for Entry.
Send proposal material by August 15th to:
Prophecy
C/O MidCoast Fine Arts
P.O. Box 4142
Rock Island, IL 61204-4142
Gallery
Hop
Friday,
September 10, 1999 5 - 10 pm
Gallery Hop, featuring
MidCoast Fine Arts Art Works Window Walk, will host a
September event. Gallery Hop keeps getting bigger and
better and now includes even more...
Open artist studios
Public art sites
Alternative and formal gallery exhibits
Artist demonstrations and performances
Guided historical trolley tours of the Arts and
Entertainment
Mobile Children and Parent Art Resource Center
Thanks to Illini Hospital and MetroLINK, the trolley now
includes stops at local senior high rises. Seniors from
Coventry Apartments, Fort Armstrong and Spencer can enjoy
the Gallery Hop while receiving the royal treatment. Big
thanks goes to the River Cities Reader, WHBF and the
Connoisseur Communications radio stations Lite FM and
Planet 93.5 for sponsoring and promoting this fun and
cultural event. MidCoast Fine Arts and the Arts Alliance,
as part of an Arts Literacy public awareness, is proud to
be introducing the mobile Children and Parents Activity
Resource Center at the upcoming Gallery Hop. Pick up a
copy of The Reader on Wednesday, September 8, for Gallery
Hop's September 10 schedule. All your friends will be
there - Don't miss it!
Arts
Literacy Goes to School
MidCoast launches a bold
new initiative to turn on the art lightbulbs and to turn
out the best in each student in our schools.
Dramatic
National Test Results
The 1998 National Assessment of Education Progress
(NAEP), a "Nation's Report Card," revealed that
students nationwide lack sufficient learning
opportunities to meet minimal standards of arts literacy.
Recently, the Secretary of Education, and Chairman of the
National Endowment for the Arts, reflected on the NAEP
findings, and presented four general areas that
demonstrate the crucial need for arts education in
meeting the challenges of the changing economy:
creativity, cognition, culture and communication. This
marks the first time that national leaders in education
and the arts have drawn a correlation between arts in
education and workforce development.
Exploring
Workforce Development
Today's global marketplace is marked by a dramatic
evolution in technology and the dependency of commerce on
the ability to understand the perspectives of a diverse
array of people. This new era brings a new mode of
information delivery, based on sights, sound and
movement, establishing a new language, new criteria for
literacy among our nation's youth and the need for new
tools to build that literacy. To move into the 21st
Century, we must provide our youth with the skills they
need for this changing environment, skills that are most
fully realized through the language of the arts.
Generation X is the first generation raised on the new
literacy of the information age and often has difficulty
adapting to a paper based corporate structure.
A
Local Response
A new partnership between MidCoast Fine Arts and the
Family Museum of Arts and Science has lead to the
creation of a coalition of local school districts, the
Davenport, Bettendorf and Illinois Chambers of Commerce
and the Arts Alliance. Nancy Senn, Education Director for
the Family Museum of Arts and Science, calls the
partnership groundbreaking, "Our project will
advance the development of our community," Senn
says, "providing continuity in the form of
long-range planning among the arts, business and
education sectors." The campaign will include
research and promotion of the economic and educational
impact of the arts in workforce preparation.
New
Programming Launched
Growing community interest and partnership with the Mississippi
Valley Blues Society have initiated the
development of a mobile children's activity and parent
resource center by MidCoast Fine Arts and additional
partners in presentation. The studio was designed as part
of the public awareness campaign of the Arts Literacy
program and will provide information to parents on the
value of the arts in education and how they can take the
next step to act as advocates for arts in the schools.
Appearances are scheduled for the studio at several
upcoming festivals including the Mississippi
Valley Blues Festival in Downtown Davenport and
the remaining Gallery Hop events in The District in
September and December. The partnership with the
Mississippi Valley Blues Society is timely. The studio is
part of the inaugural presentation of a children's area
called BlueSKool at the Mississippi Valley
Blues Festival on Saturday, July 3 and Sunday July 4 at
LeClaire Park in Downtown Davenport. In addition to the
arts activities and parent resource center being offered
by MidCoast Fine Arts, the BlueSKool will include a Youth
Stage and Music Teachers Fair organized by the
Mississippi Valley Blues Society.
BlueSKool
What is BlueSKool?
We're
so glad you asked! BlueSKool is the first annual
children's area at the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival,
Sat & Sun July 3 & 4, in LeClaire Park, hours
1:30-5:15 pm. BlueSKool is the MVBS Education Committee's
effort to incorporate a safe, fun-filled and educational
Blues environment for children of all ages. The 1999
BlueSKool will consist of a Youth Stage, Arts Pavilion,
Parent Resource Center and Music Teacher's Fair.
The Youth stage will host a variety of performances and
workshops, designed to educate children about Blues
history, culture and music, as well as showcase the
talents of local and regional Blues Youth. The Arts
Pavilion is aimed at the shaping of a hand's on
environment, in which children are challenged to interact
with a create art via the Blues, while parents are
informed of the benefits of involving their children in
the arts.
To ensure the quality of the activities and literature
presented, MVBS is working closely with MidCoast Fine
Arts to build a Parent Resource Center within the Arts
Pavilion. MidCoast Fine Arts, in conjunction with the
Arts Alliance, has established an Arts Literacy Campaign
that strives to raise community consciousness on the
powerful impact that the role of the arts can have upon a
child's development. In addition to a Youth Stage, arts
activities, and a Parent Resource Center, BlueSKool will
contain a Music Teachers Fair. Music instructors from the
area will be available for one-on-one, sample lessons,
and question/answer sessions regarding getting started on
any particular instrument. If you, or your child, have
been thinking of taking lessons, but weren't sure how,
where or why to start, here's your chance to discuss any
uncertainties with a music instructor first hand!
As if the afore mentioned activities weren't enough,
there will also be a coloring book picture design contest
(proceeds going towards Blues in The Schools), raffle
drawings, face painting, and drum circles! This event is
sure to be a success and for what better cause than to
educate our children about the Blues!
**All children 14 and younger MUST be accompanied by an
adult.**
Art
'N Alley
When is
an alley not an alley? When it becomes a night time
attraction.
NuVisions, Third Edition
released in December 1998 featured "before"
photos of a downtown Rock Island alley with a prediction
that before the summer of '99 there would be created
MidCoasts' first art in the alleys project. True to the
commitment, this art and alley project was unveiled at
the May 7th Gallery Hop.
"Art
'N Alley" is the first in an annual series
of art in the alleys restoration projects planned by the
Development Association of Rock Island and to be
orchestrated by MidCoast Fine Arts. This premier project
is located in the alley running north to south between
18th and 19th streets, accessed at 3rd Avenue near the
base of the WHBF tower. Day viewing is encouraged but for
full impact night viewing is a must.
This
project was sponsored in part by
participating District building owners and businesses,
the City of Rock Island, Illinois Main Street, Quad City
Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, and the participating
MidCoast Fine Arts artists Jill Rodts, Dean Schroeder,
Kunhild Blacklock, Terry Rathje, Cyndy Gilroy, Corrine
Smith, Rachael Mullins, Todd McGreevy, Eric Mart and
Kathleen VanHyfte.
MidCoast
at Centre Station
John Deere Commons, Moline, IL
John Deere Commons in downtown Moline has been recognized
as our region's most comprehensive urban renewal project
and with Common's visitor attendance projected at 400,000
in 1999, it has initiated a truly new tourist
destination. Centre Station, the ground transportation
hub located in the Commons, has melded arts, tourism, and
the mass transit experience into a new generation
facility. The partnership includes MetroLINK,
the City of Moline,
MidCoast Fine Arts,
and Deere & Co.
as sponsor of the arts presentation. If you haven't yet
had the opportunity to enjoy the complete
"Commons" experience, stop in under the
clocktower and view the work at MidCoast Fine Arts Centre
Station Gallery ... it's an uncommon gallery experience.
For all who see it, the John Deere Pavilion in Moline,
Illinois is an impressive site. The 14,000 square foot
glass-enclosed structure pays homage to Deere's
contributions to the world and it does so by blending an
impressive past with a promising future. The Deere story
is told throughout the facility on interactive computer
screens, large screen videos, and through the subtle
display of art. Noteworthy by themselves are wrought-iron
truss designs by award winning craftsman John Medwedeff,
depicting the food and fiber theme, and murals in the
Pavilion and the adjoining John Deere store by artists
Robin Moline and Rob Case.
A 12' X 4' mural, site specific created by artist Paul
Esparza for Centre Station, was unveiled Earth Day week,
on Friday, April 23, 1999, at 7:00 pm.
Mr. Esparza was chosen for the project because of his
life long knowledge and interaction with mass transit,
and his recognition as an award winning area artist.
Paul, 37, is a member of the Association of Retarded
Citizens, and his family members attribute much of his
independence and personal growth to his unique mastery of
mass transit. The mural is a multimedia work that links
our community landscape with Paul's personal insight of
mass transit today and his vision of it's future.
BenchMARK
Reached!
The
fundraising effort to bring art to The MARK of the Quad
Cities has just passed two-thirds in with a recent
corporate contribution from IPSCO Steel. That combined
with a promissory grant from the Moline Foundation and a
corporate gift from Royal Neighbors of America, we are
coming within reach of our $22,000 construction goal. The
gallery when completed will feature quality rotating art
exhibits near the MARK's highly trafficked two-story
glass rotunda. If you're a corporate contributor looking
for real community impact ... don't miss The MARK ...
only three, maximum, contributing opportunities are still
available. Call Dean at (309) 786-2430.
MidCoast
at the RiverCenter
East
Third Street, Davenport, Ia
North Building, Gallery Walkway, by the Adler Theater
The Adler Theater's
rebirth, and the RiverCenter's creation, were benchmarks
in downtown Davenport Iowa's urban renewal process. They
since have grown in annual attendance to become a
recognized local and tourist destination. And now,
MidCoast at the RiverCenter brings an added cultural
element to their annual estimated 300,000 guests. The
rotating art exhibit is on display in the North
Building's gallery walkway.
Even during "non-event" days (when you can find
them) the Adler Theater and RiverCenter Civic Center are
together a hub of downtown energy. Now add over 200 sq.
ft. of art under glass in their connecting corridor and
you'll know why they're on the cultural forefront and why
MidCoast Fine Arts is a partner in presentation. New
artists' works move through here quickly so don't miss
the art of David Zahn up only through late June and
Catherine Jones Davies works on view July and August.
These quality exhibits will make your next visit
"event" day.
MidCoast
Fine Arts Gallery
Mississippi
Valley Welcome Center
Interstate 80 sand the Mississippi River in LeClaire, IA
Presenting the arts where
tourists visit, and building visitation because of the
arts, is the clearest of definitions of cultural tourism.
Our area's best example of such a presentation is the
MidCoast Fine Arts Gallery. The Mississippi Valley
Welcome Center in LeClaire, Iowa is the gallery's host
facility, which is part of the Quad City Convention and
Visitors Bureau. The gallery recently received the Iowa
Tourism's Department 1998 Tourism and Arts Award, a
category predicted to be the biggest growth industry in
the United States. You can pretend you're a tourist if
you want, but you should see for yourself the most
visited gallery presentation in the region. Have you seen
it? ... every 60 days? ... Then you've been missing out
on one of Iowa's premiere art presentations and one of
MidCoast's best events. Every artist reception* features
great live music, catered cuisine by Lisa Mohr, Blue Cat
Brew Pub microbrew, and the kind of relaxed atmosphere
MidCoast events have become famous for. Only eleven
minutes from the I-74 Bridge, the MidCoast Fine Arts
Gallery is closer to you than you ever knew.
*Artist receptions sponsored in part by Riverssance
Festival of Fine Art.
Artists Exhibiting June through July
Bob Brehmer
Vicki Racer
Artists reception will be held on Friday, June 11th from
7 - 9 pm
.Artists Exhibiting August though September
Less Bell
Joel Ryser
Artist Reception Friday August 13th, 7 - 9 pm,
Art
in Urban Renewal 101
Bring
art to the streets and create a win, win, win.
Win for the artist: Their works raise awareness of the
quality and diversity of our arts community through
combined exposure, promotion and sales opportunities in
high profile presentations.
Win for the downtown communities: Their recognition,
promotion and celebration of our rich cultural community,
nurtures the pedestrian and business environments,
creates added tourism opportunities and elevates the
downtown's perception and potential.
Win for the art viewer/collector: Easy viewing, 24 hours
a day, seven days a week. Works often found in the most
exclusive of galleries near and far, are far less
expensive because they deal directly with the artist in a
no commission environment.
Art
Works Window Walk
Art
Works Window Walk is supported in part by "The
District" Exhibition space
and electricity currently being donated by these District
businesses:
The District, Circa 21, V.I.P., Hairy Design.
Art
Under Glass
Downtown Davenport, IA
"I believe that Art Under Glass, in downtown
Davenport, has restored a sense of vitality in a once
woefully under-utilized corridor of our downtown. The
diversity of this rotating artwork delivers a perpetual,
creative and stimulating environment within our
community. Art Under Glass is literally bringing art to
the streets while reaching an eclectic audience. Whether
an individual is downtown to eat, shop, play or stay, he
will likely encounter the presentations displayed on
Second Street. The simple fact that these exhibits are
able to reach hundreds of people daily, and knowingly or
unconsciously incite an impression of either inquisitive
appreciation or uncertain regard is in itself quite
wondrous." - Heather Kearns, Downtown Davenport
Association
Art Under Glass has received support from the Riverboat
Development Authority, the Putnam Estate and River
Cities' Reader. Current program sponsors are: Downtown
Davenport Association and Davenport Downtown Development
Corporation.
Pastel
Exhibition Competition
Saturday
May 29, 1999
The Arts and
Entertainment District, Rock Island, IL
Teams from ten local high
schools, representing some of our area's best emerging
art talent, competed in a five hour creative marathon to
bring to life original works of art with chalk and pastel
on 8'x8' canvases. The works produced this year were all
of such quality that jurors Ralph Iaccarino and Loren
Shaw-Hellige shared the award money between all
participants with an additional stipend given to one
school for "creative concept." Ralph and Loren
created their own works while sharing the day with the
students observing and nurturing the creative process.
The $1,700 in awards given to enhance schools' art
department supply budgets was shared between these
participating schools: Alleman High School, Bettendorf
High School, Moline High School, Orion High School,
Pleasant Valley High School, Riverdale High School, Rock
Island High School, Rockridge High School, United
Township High School, West High School...
and Pleasant Valley High School receiving the additional
"Creative Concept" recognition.
This is a competition where students are allowed to
stretch their creative capabilities and every school is a
winner. Event sponsors over the past five years have
contributed $6,500 to area high school art departments in
recognition of the important roll the arts play in our
schools. (see Art's
Literacy) The major sponsor of this year's
event was Riverssance Festival of Fine Art. Contributing
sponsors included: Xenotronics, Blue Cat Brew Pub, Life
at Night, Dr. Amir and Dr. Lisa Arbisser, Bob & Judy
Nixon, Steven Pray, Marlin Wholesale Supply, Gere Dismer
Architects, Royal Neighbors of America, Bituminous
Insurance Company, Barkan's Clothing, Cheryl Ealy, United
Building Centers, Cleaveland Insurance Group,
Huckleberry's Pizza, "The District" and
Zimmerman Pontiac, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Honda.
Great Mask
Auction
The Arts and
Entertainment District, Rock Island, IL
This annual Halloween
gala in late October that features the no-commission sale
of one-of-a-kind artist-created masks.
Calendar
Art
Happenings
Gallery Receptions & Events
Artist Reception - Leslie Bell,
oil/acrylic and Joel Ryser, ceramic. MidCoast
Fine Arts Gallery, Mississippi Valley
Welcome Center, Leclaire, Friday Aug. 13..
1999 Bi-State Competitive Art Exhibition Open House
Reception, Davenport Museum of Art,
Davenport, IA, 1:00 - 4:00 pm, Saturday July 10.
Corrine Smith, Dale Osterle & Alan Weinstein
reception, Quad City Arts Center,
Rock Island, IL, 7 - 9 pm, Friday July 16.
"Quilting Past & Present", exhibit
reception, Quad City Arts Center,
Rock Island, IL 7 - 9 pm, Friday Aug. 27.
Art Exhibits
32nd Annual Snake
Alley Art Fair, features 124 selected
artists from throughout the Midwest, displaying their
works on North 6th Street, a unique brick pathway in the
Heritage Hill Historic District of Burlington,
Sunday Jun 20.
Delores Gress Lesser, will exhibit figure studies and
sill lifes in acrylics and colored pencil. Bettendorf
Public Library, Bettendorf, IA,
through Jun 30.
1999 Bi-State Competitive Art Exhibition, Davenport
Museum of Art, Davenport, July 3
through Sept. 5
Beaux Arts Fall Fine Arts Fair, Davenport
Museum of Art, Davenport, Sat Sept.
11, 10 - 5,
Sun. Sept 12, 10 - 4.
MidCoast Fine Arts "Art Under
Glass", View the works of Judith
Anderson, Marty Beckman, Kathleen Lawless-Cox, Sara Slee
Brown, Bruce Walters, Dorothy Beach, David Hast, Teresa
Mesich, Kathleen VanHyfte, and Bill Wohlford. Downtown
Davenport, through Tuesday Aug. 31.
MidCoast fine Arts "Art Works
Window Walk", View the works of
Cheryl Hetherington, Marge Schroeder, Ralph Marquis,
Chuck Knudsen, Dan Lawrence, Ina Loewenberg, Kristi
DeMarr, Barbara Doehler, Cathy Bolkcom, Iaccarino, John
Huffman, Kunhild Blacklock. Rock Island District Business
Buildings' Windows, through Tuesday Aug. 31.
Dennis Deakin and Lance Lau, Quad City
Arts Center, 1715 2nd Ave. Rock
Island, IL through Friday Jul 9.
"Artistic Kaleidoscope", presented by Artist
Unlimited. Reher Art Gallery,
Moline Downtown Library, Moline, IL, During Library
hours, through Saturday Jun 12.
MidCoast at the RiverCenter,
View the work of David Zahn on display at the
RiverCenter, 136 E. 3rd St., Davenport, IA, through
Wednesday Jun 30.
MidCoast at the RiverCenter
presents Catherine Jones Davies July 1 through August 31.
Pottery & Poems on Walls, Lori Roderick's pottery and
Beth Robert's poetry. Rock Island
Public Library, Rock Island, IL,
through Wednesday Jun 30.
Keum Won Chang, RK Courtney, Mark Fowler, Akio Hizume and
Tomoko Ninomiya, exhibiting work of local and
international two- and three-dimensional artists, Arts
Iowa City Arts Center & Gallery,
Iowa City, through Friday Jul. 2.
Bob Brehmer & Vicki Racer, MidCoast
Fine Arts Gallery, Mississippi Valley
Welcome Center, I-80 & US Highway 67, LeClaire, Free,
through Jul 31.
Leslie Bell & Joel Ryser, MidCoast
Fine Arts Gallery, Mississippi Valley
Welcome Center, I-80 & US 67, Leclaire, Free, Aug 1
through Sep 30.
Call for Entries
MidCoast Fine Arts 1999 Call
for Entry for exhibits in the year
2000. Deadline August 2nd. for information contact Jodean
Rousey at 309-788-6430.
Quad City ArtsCenter Exhibition
season, from September 2000 - August 2001, Deadline
Wednesday Jun 30. Phone Ryan Burkhalter for information
at 309-793-1213
mailto:rmullins@netexpress.net This Page Designed & Maintained by
Blue Cat Brew Pub and MidCoast Fine Arts
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