Award Winners at the 43rd Fine Arts Exhibition at the Figge Art Museum

The Opening Reception for the Rock Island Art Guild’s 43rd Fine Arts Exhibition was held on Thursday, March 8 at the Figge Art Museum. Art Guild President Robert Lelonek announced the awards that were selected by the exhibition juror Mia Laufer.

First Place: $1000
Meiqi Zhang Before it All

Second Place: $500
Jason Ackmon Upon Reflection

Third Place Founder’s Award in honor of Art Guild member Diane VonDresky: $300
Jack Nixon Study in Light and Form

Digital Art, Performance, Sound, and Video Award: $300
Rachel Merrill Untitled (Slobberknocker)

Sally MacMillan Watercolor Award: $750 (first place)
Julie Nelson Two Vases

Sally MacMillan Watercolor Award: $250 (second place)
Michael Hardwood Lee The Story Of

Zeivel Harris Sculpture Award: $500
Brant Weiland Memory Involontaire

Honorable Mention Award: $100
Molly Borth Fat Girl
Jessie Rebik Bedtime Ritual

The People’s Choice and Children’s Choice Awards ($100 each) will be announced at the end of the exhibition on June 16.

Figge Art Museum

Figge Art Museum Director Michelle Hargrave speaking to audience

 

Molly Borth

Honorable Mention winner Molly Borth (left)

Michael Hardwood Lee

Second Place Watercolor Award winner Michael Hardwood Lee (right)

Brant Weiland

Sculpture Award winner Brant Weiland (right)

Rachel Merrill

Digital Art, performance, Sound, and Video Award winner Rachel Merrill (left)

Jason Ackmon

Second Place Award winner Jason Ackmon (left)

 

43rd Fine Arts Exhibition Call for Entries

The Rock Island Art Guild and Figge Art Museum are proud to announce the call for entries for the 43rd Rock Island Art Guild Fine Arts Exhibition will open on Sunday, Oct. 15!

Artists living within 200 miles of the Figge Art Museum working in any medium, including, sound, video, digital art, painting, sculpture, mixed media, and works on paper, are encouraged to apply.

Read more and apply >>

RIAG Annual Meeting June 21

The Rock Island Art Guild elected officers for the 2023-2025 term at their Annual Meeting on June 21, 2023: President Robert Lelonek; Vice President Elizabeth Russell; Treasurer Holly Sparkman and Secretary Sherry Maurer. The next guild meeting is scheduled for September 18, 2023.

The Rock Island Art Guild sponsors a biennial regional fine arts exhibition in conjunction with the Figge Art Museum and provides funding for art to the Rock Island-Milan School District through the Rock Island Education Foundation. The group also sponsors art awards to high school students through Quad City Arts and funds art awards for students at the college level.

 

Rock island Art guild

Pictured LtoR: Holly Sparkman, Elizabeth Russell, Robert Lelonek, Sherry Maurer

Fine Arts Exhibition Awards 2022

The Opening Reception for the Rock Island Art Guild’s 42nd Fine Arts Exhibition was held on Thursday, March 3 at the Figge Art Museum. Guild President Dan Boeye announced the awards that were selected by the exhibition juror Susan Watts.

First Place $1,000
Tim Olson, The Tryptych of the Adoration at the Terrace Heights Mobile Home

Second Place $500
Larissa Kabel, Spirit House

Third Place Founders Award in honor of Guild Member Mary Lou Romero $300
Timothy Rees, The Bribe 

New Media (digital art, performance, sound, video) $300
Dana Potter and Alex McKenzie, Retrack

Sculpture Award in Memory of Zeivel Harris $500
Jocelyn Chateauvert, Slice

Sally MacMillan Watercolor Award $500
Barbara Weets, Little Blue Herons

Honorable Mention $100
Aaron Lurth, The Barber
Tianquitao Chen, Seen/Unseen: The Migrant Children

Tim Olson, Tryptich of the Adoration at the Terrace Heights Mobile Home

Tim Olson, Tryptich of the Adoration at the Terrace Heights Mobile Home

Larassa Kabel artist

Larassa Kabel, Spirit House

Barbara Weets artist

Barbara Weets, Little Blue Herons

Fine Arts Exhibition Opening Reception

Celebrate the opening of the Rock Island Art Guild Fine Arts Exhibition at the Figge Art Museum on Thursday, March 3 from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Susan Watts, owner and director of Olson-Larson Galleries in Des Moines, was the juror for the exhibition and chose this year’s award winners.

Awards for first and second place, the Sally MacMillan Watercolor Award, the Founder’s Award, the Zeivel Harris Sculpture Award, and the Honorable Mention Award will be presented.

There will also be a new $300 New Media Award presented to an artist working in video, sound, or digital art.

Museum visitors are also encouraged to cast a vote for the People’s Choice Award and Children’s Choice Award winners that will be announced at the conclusion of the exhibition.

Call for Entries OPEN

The Rock Island Art Guild and Figge Art Museum are proud to announce the call for entries for the 42nd Rock Island Art Guild Fine Arts Exhibition. Artists living within 200 miles of the Figge Art Museum working in any medium, including performance, sound, video, digital art, painting, sculpture, mixed media, and works on paper, are encouraged to apply.

Read more >> 

Sherry Maurer Recognized with Riverssance Harley Award

Longtime Rock Island Art Guild member Sherry Case Maurer was the recipient of the 2021 Harley Award for Outstanding Community Art Support. This is an annual award is bestowed during the Riverssance Festival of Fine Art and honors those who’ve positively affected the visual arts and artists in the Quad Cities during their lifetimes.

Sherry devoted her career to the arts since coming to the Quad Cities from Cedar Rapids in 1983 where she worked as the director the Augustana College Centennial Hall Gallery and Museum program from fall 1983 to spring 2013. She then served as Midcoast Fine Arts’ executive director until 2020 and guided the organization through the tumultuous last years before the organization closed Bucktown Center for the Arts and closed the books on Midcoast. Her invaluable experience and involvement in the Quad Cities Art scene has helped innumerable artists and non-profit organizations.

The award was presented at a reception during Riverssance on Saturday, Sept. 18 in Lindsay Park, Davenport. The first Harley Award was given in 1988 to artist John Bloom.

Sherry Maurer

Sherry Maurer

Sherry Maurer

Riverssance Harley Award

The Harley Award

Sherry Maurer

Sherry Maurer recognized with annual Riverssance Harley Award

 

Art Guild Supports Downtown RI Mural Project

The Rock Island Art Guild provided financial support to a mural project in downtown Rock Island located on the 300 block of 20th street in the ally next to Leo’s Shoe Repair. The mural’s inspiration came from Rock Island High School student Riley Jones, who submitted her artwork, “Black Pride” for US Representative Cheri Bustos’ annual Congressional Art Contest. Jones’ piece was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.

A ribbon cutting was held to unveil the mural on Thursday, August 19. Riley’s mural is the first of many future mural projects in downtown Rock Island as part of a new program launched by the Quad City Arts and the Quad Cities Chamber. Read more about the mural project on the QC Chamber’s website >>

 

Riley Jones Jeff Whitaker

Artist Riley Jones, Dr. Reginald Lawrence (Rock Island-Milan Schools Supt.) and Principal Jeff Whitaker (Rock Island High School).

downtown Rock Island

The crowd at the mural unveiling.

downtown Rock Island

Ribbon cutting for the mural.

Art Guild Supports Summer Art Program at King Center

The Rock Island Art Guild provided funding to the Azibuike program at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Rock Island over the summer.
For three weeks in July of 2021, Azubuike provided art instruction for kids attending the summer program at the Martin Luther King Center in Rock Island. Local artist Gwen Ballard Patton taught two classes on Tuesdays from 1:00-3:00 p.m. for nine and ten-year-olds, and two classes on Wednesdays from 1:00-3:00 p.m. for seven and eight-year-olds.
The kids created and customized portfolios from corrugated cardboard, then created artwork to go inside their portfolios. Their work went home with them at the end of the summer program. Read more about the project on the Rock Island Art Guild’s Facebook page >>
Azibuike

A summer program student works on her art project at the Azibuike session.

Azibuike

Students with their finished portfolio

People’s Choice and Children’s Choice Awards Announced!

The Rock Island Art Guild’s 41st Fine Arts Exhibition People’s Choice and the Children’s Choice awards were selected! Overall there were over 700 votes cast. Both winners received $50 prize for the award.

People’s Choice Award Winner: Tom Hempel, Tranquility
Children’s Choice Award Winner: Samuel Seigel, Orchid

Congratulations to both artists!

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