The Figge frequently partners with colleges and universities in the region to engage students with projects, such as the College Invitational exhibition, College Night, brown bag lunches with visiting artists, classes in the studios and intern and volunteer opportunities. The college art professors are the unsung partners in these projects.

“Much of the beauty of a turned work of art depends on chance and is an accident of nature. A wood turner not only creates, but uncovers qualities inherent in the wood such as the grain patterns, cracks, worm holes and variations in hue,” said Figge Curator Rima Girnius.

O’Neill will be constructing a temporary woodturning lathe made of cast concrete that he will use to create a large-scale turned wood sculpture. The raw material will be a locally sourced tree trunk provided by the Davenport city arborist.

The exhibit showcases the passion, courage and talent of cancer survivors and patients within a 150-mile radius of the Quad Cities who use art as a way to reflect on and celebrate survival.

The Figge Art Museum has received a major gift of $500,000 from the estate of Ruth Evelyn Katz gifted by son Marty Katz of Moline in honor of his late parents Isador and Ruth Evelyn Katz and his late sister Judith Katz.

Opening Saturday, Two Americans in Paris will feature works by artists Grant Wood and Stuart Davis. Both studied in Paris during the1920s and depicted scenes of American life in their work. Wood emerged as a leading spokesman for Regionalism, while Davis was a strong proponent of American modernism.

From Pencil to Printed Page: Arthur Geisert’s Thunderstorm includes over 180 sketches, plates, print states and hand-colored illustrations immortalized in Geisert’s 2013 picture book Thunderstorm.

Iowa Museum Week starts Monday and runs through June 15. It’s held annually to raise awareness of the significant contributions made to Iowa communities by their museums in relation to quality of life, economic life, tourism and education.

The Figge Art Museum is partnering with the University of Iowa Museum of Art (UIMA) to bring an exciting, interactive exhibition to the Mary Waterman Gildehaus Community Gallery. A Moveable Museum: Works from the UIMA School Programs Collection opens Saturday and is curated by Dale Fisher, curator of education at UIMA, with the assistance of UIMA and Figge staff members.

Figge Art Museum is one of more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to military personnel and their families this summer in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and the Department of Defense.

A floor-to-ceiling curtain of sculpted and fused clear glass will be on display at the Figge Art Museum beginning Saturday. Landscape: Ingalena Klenell and Beth Lipman is on loan to the Figge from the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington and will be on view in the second floor print gallery.

The exhibition features a selection of quilts by MVQG members and showcases the talent and remarkable skills of these area quilters. Last year’s show was held in conjunction with Quilts: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum. This year it will be the only quilt-themed exhibition on view.

The exhibition will feature a dozen paintings from the Figge’s permanent collection, including images that focus on Mary’s relationship with the infant Jesus. Visitors will view scenes of Mary nursing the Christ Child, gazing at him in loving contemplation or playing with him. The works celebrate the endless love and compassion of the Virgin for her son and, by extension, for all of humanity.

The Great Depression had widespread and devastating effects all over the United States. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50% and unemployment in the U.S. rose to 25%. It was a time of vast economic suffering that was difficult to describe.

The Day of the Dead: Celebrating Community, Family and the Immortal Spirit is a new exhibition that will be opening at the Figge Art Museum on Thursday. The installation celebrates the traditions of the November holiday in which the living remember their departed loved ones.