Murals of paper cranes, Black music, film history, and parks and recreation activities will add vibrancy to three Quad City locations this summer.
The Quad City Arts’ Metro Arts Apprenticeship Program is in its 26th year of providing paid creative outlets for area youth, ages 15-21, and business relations experience.
QC Arts Director of Community Engagement Ben Gougeon said the five-week art program is also a workforce development program.
“[W]here we teach the kids and train them [in] the business skills that accompany the arts,” Gougeon said in an interview with WVIK. “A lot of [the] time, people just think of the arts as the art itself. But in order to be a professional artist, you've gotta have the business skills to be able to do that.”
The program works with area nonprofits, businesses, and municipalities to select sites, hear youth presentations, and offer feedback on designs. This year, three murals are being painted. Youth are directed under the lead artists, Sarah Robb and Amanda Stout.
One is on the city of Davenport’s River Edge building, 700 W. River Drive, featuring six panels showcasing the city’s parks and recreation programs. Another involves TMBC Lincoln Center, 318 E. Seventh Street, Davenport, where artists are painting murals highlighting Black music and film in the center’s hallways.
The final mural is in Rock Island at the nonprofit EveryChild, 420 23rd Street, which offers child abuse prevention, education, and treatment programs for children and families. That mural consists of paper cranes flowing from a radiant sunburst surrounding a parent and child.
“[T]hey had just moved to this location in downtown Rock Island and they had a mural on their old building, so [they] were wondering how they could get a mural on their new building,” Gougeon said. “So I was able to connect them and talk with the Rock Island Arts and Beautification Commission about, ‘Hey, would this be a project that you guys would be willing to sponsor?’ And they were aboard. So that was able to come to life.”
The program is holding a mural dedication at the nonprofit on Friday, July 10th, at 9 a.m.
The work and time that youth pour into the program are paid. That’s something Gougeon impresses on the kids.
“Artwork is work. And that, as an artist- and I found this in my art career- you know, kind of before I got into the administration side, people try to get stuff for free from you all the time as an artist, especially as a performer,” Gougeon said. “And teaching them that their art has value and that their time as an artist has value and that it is important as artists to respect that of yourself.”
The program includes a poetry apprenticeship managed by poet and educator Aubrey Barnes, in his fourth year.
“[T]hey have been writing poems and doing public presentations of the poetry. They're also getting a printed chapbook of their work created, which will be available in the community,” Gougeon said. “[T]hey have been meeting at Quad City Arts and Writing. And then we hosted three performances at the Coffee House in the Village of East Davenport. Diane is so gracious and lets us use the space and do the readings.”
Over the 26 years, the program has seen over 1,400 apprentices. Gougeon states that the program not only provides an outlet for youth but also benefits the whole community.
“[H]ow that impacts the economic development of an area, how that adds to creative placemaking. And you drive through a city that's just full of kind of gray concrete or drab walls; it doesn't make you want to live there, work there, or visit there,” Gougeon said. “But when you drive somewhere, and you go into a new town, and you see artwork everywhere, it adds vibrancy and excitement to a city. And so we have people here in town who value that and who want to invest in that and want to invest in our apprentices as part of our future creative workforce, and the people who are going to be involved in placemaking and arts in the community to help our communities be places where people want to live, work, and visit.”
A complete showcase of the more than 30 apprentices will be held at TMBC Lincoln Center on July 23 at 6 p.m.
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