The Metro Arts Youth Apprenticeship program, run by Quad City Arts, is hard at work on three new murals this summer. They are going up at Douglas Park in Rock Island, the K&K Hardware store in Bettendorf, and inside the south parking ramp of Genesis East Medical Center in Davenport.
The five-week summer program allows youth ages 15-21 to participate in a collaborative community beautification effort. Applications are available in January each year.
Sarah Robb is a professional artist who is leading one of the three mural painting groups in her 13th year working for Quad City Arts. Listen to our conversation here about how the creative process moves from conception to completion, and about the unexpected joy she has found in the mentoring process. You can also click on the photo at the top of this page to open a slideshow of the young artists at work.
Improv comedy and photography are two additional projects run by the Metro Arts program this summer. The Metro Improv group has upcoming performances scheduled at the downtown Rock Island Public Library on July 10 at 9:15 a.m., the Moline Public Library on July 11 at 11:30 a.m., and The Establishment comedy club in downtown Rock Island on July 12 at 6:00 p.m.
The photography students' work will be exhibited beginning later this month in Rock Island at Cool Beanz Coffeehouse and the Quad City Botanical Center, in Davenport at CoworkQC, and in Moline at The Black Box Theatre.
