Copy: MidCoast Fine Arts has grown into a multifaceted organization that puts the arts square in the middle of Quad-City area urban renewal, education and tourism. MidCoast's ArtOberFest, in conjunction with National Arts & Humanities Month. ArtOberFest includes 15 activities, includes amateur film festivals, artist-instructed salons and what has become the group's signature event, the eighth-annual Great Mask Auction. This diverse representation of art, and what it can do for a community, won MidCoast the arts organization of the year award in February 2002 from the Iowa Arts Council. Prior to its incorporation as a non-profit organization in 1994, what became MidCoast started in 1991 with a series of makeshift galleries in vacant storefronts in what was to become The District of Rock Island. The next step was a gallery at the Mississippi Valley Welcome Center in LeClaire, Iowa. That was followed by showcases in unique locations: The RiverCenter in Davenport, Centre Station and The Mark of the Quad-Cities in Moline, and its own gallery on 2nd Avenue and 16 super 1/sub 2 Street in Rock Island. " Art Under Glass" has moved from Rock Island to Davenport. MidCoast has also developed a strong education component. As funding for arts education in schools dwindles, MidCoast has tried to bridge the gap with Art-O-Mobile, a traveling education center. MidCoast's Web site, www. midcoast.org, has lesson plans available for teachers to create art projects, even though the teachers may not have much of an art background. MidCoast also began the branding process of the Quad-Cities as the "Midwest Arts Mecca."

Categories: Galleries

Locations: Quad-Cities, Rock Island