Carolyn Martin

Racial inequity in the arts is well documented across all genres, from theatre, to film, literature, and the visual arts. The public outcry and protests that have occurred this year following the death of George Floyd and countless other people of color have resulted in a strong public reckoning regarding our own implicit biases regarding race. Those biases, in combination with existing economic disparities and entrenched institutional hierarchies affect what we see and view on screen, on stage, in museums, and read in books.

The innovative sculptor Beverly Pepper was a resident artist with the Visiting Artist program in the Quad Cities in 1981.  Over a dozen works were created during her time here.  Four of them remain in the Quad Cities, of which three are available for the general public to view. Her sculptures, many of them monumental in size, have been exhibited in major museums throughout the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, and in many locations throughout Italy where she resided for many decades.

Originally from the Quad Cities, Samantha Pauly is an actor best known for originating the role of Katherine Howard in SIX the Musical on Broadway, and for her portrayal of Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd’s critically acclaimed London revival of Evita.

The freelance hairstylist, Amelia Bay, is originally from the Quad Cities and now works in television and on Broadway.  She was in the midst of filming for the TV show Law & Order:  Special Victims Unit when the entertainment industry was shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Local singer/songwriter Mo Carter will be conducting a musical tour of the Figge Art Museum on Thursday, March 12, 2020.  Inspired by some of her favorite art works, she will perform on her guitar and sing in her bold, soulful voice, accompanied by violinist Melinda Leasman.  The “musical musing” begins at 6:30 PM and will wind through multiple galleries. 

The country artist Monica Austin has been busy lately, recently releasing her first EP and opening for Wynonna Judd and the Big Noise at the Rust Belt on Feb 21, 2020. 

This year marks the 100-year anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment, granting women the right to vote.  In celebration, the Muscatine Art Center is hosting three simultaneous exhibits featuring female artists:  Hard Won, Not Done:  Eastern Iowa Women Artists’ Invitational, Letters to My Ancestors:  The Watercolors of Tara Moorman, and The Feminist To Do List by Susan Lenz.  All three exhibits are up through April 12, 2020.

Jon Lovett, host of the irreverent podcast Lovett or Leave It, will be recording his show in front of a live audience at Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City on Thursday, January 30, 2020 at 8PM.

The inaugural Quad Cities’ Environmental Film Series begins on Sunday, Jan 19, 2020 with the showing of The Biggest Little Farm.  In a partnership between The Joyce & Tony Singh Foundation, the Sierra Club Eagle View Group, River Action, and Nahant Marsh, six films will be brought to the Figge Art Museum auditorium through May 17, 2020 which address climate change and the destruction of our natural spaces.

The EVAC Project (Experiencing Veterans and Artists Collaboration) exhibit is on display through February 15, 2020 at the Rock Island Arsenal Museum.  This compelling and thought-provoking show pairs veterans’ stories with prints created by artists, with the intended purpose to bridge the gap between military and civilian life and to increase our understanding and connection with each other. In total, fifteen stories are told by veterans from all five branches of the military, who served in conflicts ranging from WWII to present-day Iraq and Afghanistan.