Talking Art

The QC Theatre Workshop's 3rd annual Susan Glaspell Playwriting Festival will be held Feb. 1 and 2, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. in Davenport. Featuring original plays written by local and national playwrights, the works contain strong female lead characters and focus on gender issues, social justice, and current events.

Diego Lasansky is an accomplished printmaker and painter from Iowa City, who at the age of 21 held his first solo exhibition at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. Still in his 20's, his paintings and prints evoke the work of famous old master artists, but are executed with a thoroughly modern twist and in his own unique, preternatural style.

Augustana College's Center for Creativity opened in the fall of 2018 in Rock Island. Students are encouraged to think creatively and collaboratively there in a comfortable lounge-like space filled with bean bag chairs and couches and illuminated by soft lamp lighting.

Tierney Brosius is a biology professor at Augustana College who also happens to be an accomplished illustrator. She combines her passion for entomology—the study of insects—with beautifully detailed drawings.

Quad Cities music entrepreneur Sean Moeller is putting the finishing touches on his next music venue: The Rust Belt. Scheduled to open February 2019 in East Moline, the space will hold up to 4,000 concertgoers. Moeller plans to showcase a variety of high-profile bands, filling a void in the current Quad Cities music scene.

Ballet Quad Cities will perform the quintessential holiday favorite The Nutcracker this weekend at the Adler Theatre in Davenport.

Miguel Rosas is the owner of both New Style Barbershop and New Style Hair Academy in Moline. He has become well known for his hair portraits in which he shaves the incredible likeness of well-known personalities and cultural icons into the back of customers' heads.

Felix Vallejo purchased in 2017 a dilapidated building at 820 5th Avenue in Moline that had originally been a Skelly gas station. Built in 1932, it needed significant repair work and had become an eyesore in the Floreciente neighborhood. A collaboration between Felix and the Global Communities organization resulted in the historic renovation of the building’s exterior and the painting of a brightly colored mural on the retaining wall adjacent to it.

William L. Hawkins was a self-taught artist who created an astonishing body of vibrant, colorful, and large-scale paintings late in life, executed in a highly personal style. Hawkins incorporated collage and assemblage of found objects to create work meant to both shock and delight viewers. His cityscapes often portrayed buildings in his beloved town of Columbus, Ohio. He also vividly portrayed historical events, religious subjects, and animals in his unique and joyous style.

The Beréskin Gallery & Art Academy moved to its expanded gallery and classroom space at 2967 State Street in Bettendorf, Iowa, in August of 2017. The top floor is a large light-filled space featuring the work of various local artists in all mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography, fiber, ceramics, and more.