In honor of Black History Month, Quad City Arts’ and Azubuike African American Council for the Arts are partnering to curate a juried, group exhibition of artists of African descent. The show will be juried by a group of Quad Cities based African American artists, along with Azubuike Arts and Quad City Arts.   

 All artists of African descent residing within a 250-mile radius of the Quad Cities are invited to submit up to four artworks of any medium for a juried, group exhibition in Quad City Arts’ Rock Island Gallery from February 3-March 17, 2023. There is NO entry fee. 

 Venue: Quad City Arts’ Rock Island Gallery occupies a 1908 department store near the banks of the Mississippi River. The gallery has 1500 sq. feet of space and 106 running feet of wall space, with original wood floors and a 14' high, tin ceiling.  There are floor-to-ceiling north facing windows looking out on the Mississippi River. This gallery is ideal for large work, both 2D and 3D, cutting edge or experimental work, very small work that requires close-up viewing, installation work, performance art, nudes, and everything in between.

This exhibit includes an online gallery and sales opportunity at https://www.quadcityarts.com/rock-island-gallery.html

Selected artists will be notified on January 10. A free public reception for the artists is scheduled for February 3, 2023.

For questions, please email or call Dawn Wolford-Metallo at dwmetallo@quadcityarts.com or 309-793-1213 X108.

Application Requirements

Submit 1-4 high quality images of original artwork or videos created by you.

Eligibility Criteria

This is a regional competition open to artists of African descent, over 18, residing within 250 miles of Rock Island, Illinois (most of IL, IA, parts of WI and MO.)  Only original works of art not previously shown at in a Quad City Arts Gallery and created within the last three years can be exhibited.