The Rock Island Art Guild gave out 5 awards at the Annual Quad City Arts High School Invitational at the Opening Reception on Thursday, March 28. RIAG President Bob Lelonek presented the awards and also gave a brief overview of the Rock Island Art Guild’s mission.

• Sculpture Award ($100): Meyah Frazier, Central High School, “Flowing”
• Photography Award ($100): Sunny Roberts, mercer County High School, “Milky Way at 4am in Rural Illinois”
• Painting Award ($100): Nadia Meeks, Figge Art Academy, “The Fortune Teller Remade”
• Drawing Award ($100): Sean Chen, Bettendorf High School, “Self Portrait”
• Rock island High School Student Award ($100); Delaney Carroll, Rock Island High School, “Woman”

A full list of student award winners can be found on the Quad City Arts website.

Delaney Carroll “Woman”

Meyah Frazier “Flowing”

Nadia Meeks “The Fortune Teller Remade”

Sean Chen “Self-Portrait”

Sunny Roberts “Milky Way at 4am in Rural Illinois”

President Bob Lelonek presenting award to Meyah Frazier

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 Award: $100
Evan Ventris, Overlook at Balltown 

The Children’s Choice Award: $100
Robert Caputo, Milk

Figge Art Museum Director Michelle Hargrave speaking to audience

Honorable Mention winner Molly Borth (left)

Second Place Watercolor Award winner Michael Hardwood Lee (right)

Sculpture Award winner Brant Weiland (right)

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

Second Place Award winner Jason Ackmon (left)

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 >>

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.

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

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

Larassa Kabel, Spirit House

Barbara Weets, Little Blue Herons

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.

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 >> 

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

The Harley Award

Sherry Maurer recognized with annual Riverssance Harley Award

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 >>

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

The crowd at the mural unveiling.

Ribbon cutting for the mural.