Colorful public art brightens spaces all over QC
One of the many things that makes the Quad Cities great is the jaw-dropping amount and quality of free public art all over the region.
For many years, Quad City Arts has led the selection and installation of public sculptures (some temporary and some permanent), and provided stipends and lead artists for local students to help create outdoor murals to enliven buildings and streetscapes, through the summer Metro Arts programs.
The flourishing of public murals (both within and outside Metro Arts) seems to be exploding in recent years, and a trio of dedicated, amazingly talented women are responsible for many of them. Heidi Sallows and Sarah Robb have often led student murals and have put their own beautiful artistic mark throughout the area, and Atlanta Dawn has unfurled large-scale masterpieces in many public spaces.
In the past year, Sallows painted deeply meaningful, spectacularly colorful art on the walls of El Fogon Mexican Bar & Grill in Bettendorf. Robb led new Metro Arts murals on the east side of the old Goodyear building in downtown Rock Island, and outside on the hillside of the Putnam Museum & Science Center, Davenport.
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Dawn’s eye-popping art includes murals on 18th Street in Bettendorf, and the Palace Tavern and Hey Bryans in downtown East Moline.
Two of her recent and largest projects are murals on the rooftop of the new YWCA building and one of two at Arts Alley in downtown Rock Island. Dawn was honored by Quad City Arts as 2024 Visual Artist of the Year, in its Community Impact Awards.
The busy young mom of two is painting the wall along Davenport’s 5th Street from Harrison to Ripley, reflecting its auto history, commissioned by Rob Wolfe, who owns a shop of antique Americana treasures at 330 5th St.
Dawn launched Art on the Bend in June 2024, a rotating gallery at The Rust Belt, East Moline, in the event space between the concert venue and Midwest Ale Works.
Different artists are featured each month (at no cost); Dawn already has booked 12 for 2025, and she is renovating space in the complex for her own studio.
“It’s got so much possibility and potential in what I can do with it,” she said.
“It’s really cool to provide a room for locals to showcase their work,” Dawn said of Art on the Bend. “It’s a passion project and I love providing that opportunity.”
The Moline Public Art Commission also has welcomed two new outdoor murals in the past 13 months, recently at Bass Street Landing, and last fall on the west-facing wall at Analog Arcade & Pizza on 5th Avenue.
Dawn will be speaking at a special event celebrating the improvements to Arts Alley (1719 2nd Ave., Rock Island), Wednesday, Nov. 20.
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The event starts at 3:30 with:
- Caroling by Rock Island High School Chamber Choir
- Signature drinks by Icons Martini and Theo’s Java Cafe
- Opening of new retail vendor stalls built by Crawford Company, featuring Buttercupp Candles and Lagomarcino’s
There will be a 4:30 p.m. tree lighting, and after the event in Arts Alley, the community is invited to head next door to The Urban Reserve for “An Elevated Unveiling” of the luxury rooftop event space that will feature a special selection of food, beverages and music.
The Arts Alley Holiday Market will be open weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 29 through Dec. 22. Full details about the Arts Alley Holiday Market available here.
Arts Alley improvements (totaling $534,000) include a decorative walkway, lighting and signage; space for social gatherings and performances; retail vendor stalls for seasonal pop-up shop programs; and additional art installations.
The other large-scale mural there was painted by Nicole Salgar of Miami. To check out a Public Art Trail for the QC, go to visitquadcities.com/start-exploring/qc-public-art-trail.
Jonathan Turner is a veteran journalist and piano player, who has made the QC home since 1995 and loves writing about arts and culture. He is the author of the books “A Brief History of Bucktown: Davenport's Infamous District Transformed,” and “100 Things To Do in the Quad Cities Before You Die”.