By this summer, downtown Moline will boast completion of its most ambitious public art installation ever.
The Moline City Council Tuesday night, January 6th, approved spending up to $400,000 on a long-planned “Leading Light” project – contracting with the Australia-based Skunk Control to create the illuminated “Tapestry” at The Q. That’s the multimodal station at 1311-1315 4th Ave., which will be the stop for the even-longer planned passenger rail service to and from Chicago.
Ald. Matt Timion credited the city Public Art Commission for leading the project, noting art is “always an easy thing to cut on a budget and so their forward thinking and squirreling away the funds for these big projects I think is really community centered and forward thinking.”
“I just love also that it's right by the train station, so when the train comes that's the first thing people are going to see,” he said. “It's a great way to be welcomed into the city. I just want to thank the Public Art Commission for all their work.”
The installation (to be lit at night) will not be painted on, but made with three-dimensional pieces (depicting flowers and butterflies), including stainless steel framing, said Quad City Arts executive director Brian Allen.
The contract with Skunk Control still must be approved by the MetroLINK board, which is due to meet January 14th, and then final approval by the Moline City Council on Jan. 20th.
The final design is expected to be approved March 31 with installation complete on July 7, 2026, according to the contract. The city, upon assuming sole ownership of the project and the artwork, shall be solely responsible for any and all maintenance required to maintain the artwork displayed at the project premises.
The “Leading Light” installation was called for in the 2021 city public art and placemaking plan. There were over 250 submissions from around the world to the request for qualifications, issued in December 2024.
“The top artists from around the world were applying for this,” Allen said, noting $300,000 of the project cost will go to the artist, and half of all project costs will come from MetroLINK.
Chris Mathias, Moline’s director of community and economic development, told the city council that of the finalists, Skunk Control “by far was the more creative and just all around better artistic design. So the brightness of it, how interactive it is, and I think it's going to be a great project for that space.
“We are trying to create place in Moline,” he said. “And so I do want to point out that like I said, this is not just coming out of the city's budget. This is a partner project with MetroLINK.”
The city approval authorizes the mayor to execute a Leading Light Public Art Project Agreement among the City of Moline, the Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District, Quad City Arts and Skunk Control, for the design and installation of a large-scale, interactive and illuminated public art installation at Project Area No. 1.
The agreement is for installation of a large public art project to be located at 1311/1315 4th Ave., adjacent to the Q Multimodal Station, and more specifically on the tower leading to the pedestrian sky bridge over the railroad, as well as on the ground adjacent to the tower.
The Intergovernmental Agreement -- which was adopted by City Council on October 22, 2024 -- forged a joint venture between the City of Moline and MetroLINK (the Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District), as well as provided for consulting services by Quad City Arts in assisting the Public Art Commission to solicit proposals from artist(s) and for coordination of the installation of the art to be recommended by the Commission and approved by City Council.
Per the IGA, three finalists were chosen by the Commission to submit full designs. One artist, Gordon Heuther, withdrew prior to submitting a final design. The two remaining artists, Nick Athanasiou/Skunk Control and Joseph O’Connell/Creative Machines, presented designs to the Commission (including representatives from MetroLINK and Quad City Arts).
The Commission voted unanimously (6-0) in October to recommend Athanasiou (based in Victoria, Australia) to the Committee-of-the-Whole and City Council.
The total project cost was allocated at $400,000. MetroLINK has received a grant to fund half of the project cost of $200,000. The city’s half is budgeted as a portion of the Public Art Fund that was approved during the 2025 budgeting process and is not to exceed $200,000.
Visually striking artworks
“Skunk Control is known for creating visually striking artworks and immersive experiences that inspire a sense of wonder and invite audiences to explore and discover,” Allen said. Some of the standing flower sculptures along 4th Avenue will be up to 22 feet tall.
Tapestry will bring together “art, science, and ecology to create a living, ever-changing experience for the city,” he said. “Activating both the sidewalk and the tower façade, the work comes alive day and night with large-scale flowers and butterflies whose colors continually shift as sunlight and viewing angles change. These vivid colors are not painted; they are created through advanced optical filters that mimic how color is formed in nature.
“As people move through the plaza, the artwork responds by casting animated color shadows that transform both the space and the façade. Tapestry is designed to inspire curiosity, delight, and a deeper connection to local ecology, creating a landmark that evolves with its environment and its community.”
“One of the things I think that makes it beautiful is that it’s always changing,” Allen said Wednesday of the natural light patterns that will affect the display. “As it moves, it’s pushing shadows in different directions.”
“When it came down to the finalists, it was amazing to see two of the three finalists had a similar idea as far as flowers,” he noted. “One of the things that made this really exciting was the number of sculptures, the density of artwork. We’re getting a lot of artistic bang for our buck.”
Skunk Control also plans some educational outreach to the community, which is important, Allen said.
It’s common to have major public art pieces at city gateways or transportation hubs, like airports and train stations. Quad City Arts has long operated an art gallery at the QC airport in Moline.
“I think it’s important because it provides cultural identity,” Allen said. “New York is synonymous with the Statue of Liberty, and St. Louis with the Arch. Even Minneapolis, you think of Spoon Bridge and Cherry. I think having those artworks in those places provide people with enrichment, when they’re passing through that area.
“But it also provides that cultural identity for the community and in our case, we’re always on the lookout to get people to want to view this space as a place they want to live and work, that we’re a culturally rich area,” he said.
This has an element of risk, in hiring an outside artist (as opposed to a local artist), Allen noted. That was the case with the 5th Avenue mural created in fall 2023 at 1405 5th Ave., by two New York City artists.
“That is showing they’re willing to take that risk, to lead and bring in big art projects,” he said. “It’s really ambitious, the public art and placemaking plan they have. We’re excited we get to help and be part of it.”
Quad City Arts acted as a consultant on the project, to coordinate the submission and artist selection process.
“We helped provide advice when they seek it out,” Allen said. “It’s providing that level of expertise in the arts specifically.”
First major Moline public art since 2023
The new art installation would be the first major public art project in Moline since October 2023, when a $30,000 sprawling mural was unveiled on the west-facing wall of 1405 5th Ave., also recommended by the Public Art Commission.
As they have done on downtown streets around the world, Brooklyn, N.Y.-based artists Jari “WERC” Alvarez and Gera “GERALUZ” Lozano created a mural on the wall of the then-Analog Pizza and Arcade building, roughly 120 feet wide by 26 feet tall.
The new Skunk Control “Tapestry” project is comprised of two main elements (The Avenue & the Tower Facade) that are linked to create a work that engages day & night, providing opportunities for discovery & delight, according to the project plan.
The work focuses on local fauna & flora & interplays with light to create vistas under constant color metamorphosis. The work is designed to welcome visitors & locals into the heart of Moline and to create a community crucible that is an integral part of Moline’s community and its memories.
Skunk Control’s website says: “We create visually engaging works and immersive experiences that provide audiences with a sense of wonderment and opportunities to make discoveries. Drawing on technology; design and art and our training in engineering, science and education, our works are interactive and impactful. As well as creating permanent sculptures, ephemeral art installations, bespoke lighting and engaging spaces, we also produce hands on community outreach programs that complement our creative works and engage the community in the artistry and technology that underpins them.
“As for our name and its meaning…. we’ll keep you guessing,” the site says.
The elements in Moline that make up the work are strategically placed to not only make best use of light (to provide intense color shadows) but to avoid glare and to consider drivers. Their positioning is also designed to make best use of rain water for self-cleaning. Among other characteristics:
- The work is designed to remain aesthetically pleasing with the passage time and is fabricated with robust materials (including powder coated stainless steel).
- The work will be under constant change and will be observed differently throughout the day, depending on one’s vantage point of the work.
- Included in the work will be small details that provide additional pockets of delightful discovery for visitors and locals alike.
- The complete work across grassy plaza and the façade is designed to act as community crucible, for the community/visitors and yet be a part of the Moline and greater Quad City community; a destination point that becomes integral to the memories of travelers and locals.
- Community outreach/educational programs (associated with the project) are in-kind and can run pre or post installation (for example creating a fluttering and kinetic butterfly and/or flower).
- Skunk Control are more than happy to work with all stakeholders to determine final design elements (inclusions, omissions) and exact site locations.
- Tapestry will not exceed the allotted budget (as mentioned in EOI documentation) and the associated allowance for site preparation.
- The work will illuminate at night and all lights are controllable.
Becoming an integral part of city
At the Oct. 20, 2025 meeting of the Moline Public Art Commission, Nick Athanasiou’s presentation said the new work is designed to welcome visitors and locals into the heart of Moline and to create a community crucible that is an integral part of Moline’s community and its memories.
On 4th Avenue, a series of 7-9 Wild Geraniums will undergo a color metamorphosis throughout the day, casting color shadows below that will paint passers-by in colors and create lighting effects. The choice of the Wild Geranium is considered one of the showiest of the native geraniums in Illinois. Its petals come in different shapes and colored hues (purples to pinks) that contrast well with pale colors. The 7-9 upstanding geraniums will have a petal span of 5-7 feet wide and have a height of 16-22 feet tall.
The second major element of Tapestry is the tower’s façade and its installation of flowers & butterflies. These flowers and butterflies extend out of the façade (3D) and will be placed on the west, south, and east sides of the tower. A ring LED light will be located on the back of each flower head and butterfly providing night illumination.
If it is cloudy during the day, you will still be able to see the illumination of the optic filters (which will be dichroic and/or grating and/or colored) on the flowers. The butterflies will be of local species.
Athanasiou also spoke of a community outreach program that would involve the public to learn how nature can create color through structure and butterfly ecology.
For more information on the city public art plans coming before City Council, click HERE.
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